Wisconsin and M, Georgetown

"Wisconsin and M, Georgetown" 10x10 oil on panel

       I painted this little painting over the weekend using the same process I detailed in my last post. You might find it easier to see what I meant by the spots of color coming together to create the vehicles. They are not drawn beforehand. It works better for me if I lay down the dark colors and then the light ones where I see them forming the correct image. They are really quite loose and it is the placement of the bright splashes of light reflecting on them that gives the sense of realism.
      In the road a good deal of my under painting shows through and that helps keep the expanse of road in front of the approaching car from being too flat and poster like. That is fine if that is the style you are going for but that is not what I am after in my own work.

       I think I am gaining enough confidence to attempt some much larger paintings than I have been doing.  I may discover that the smaller format works best for me but I want to find out. More to come!
          Here is the little on site sketch executed in ballpoint in my 4x6 sketchbook
        

 

The Devil is in the Details

"Cloudburst on Pennsylvania Avenue, 12x24 oil on panel

     This is the final version after I repaired the scratches suffered when the painting fell from the easel. Twice!  It is also a more accurate photo so far as the color is concerned. By the way, I now wad up some tape and attach it to the back of the panel, pressing it against the easel as clumsy artist protection.

      I have been asked by several people to describe my process for painting such a detailed cityscape.  There is the word I want to talk about. The painting is detailed but then it isn't really. I will come back to that and explain.
       Other questions; Do I do a detailed drawing on the panel first, do I use photos, is this plein air? No, yes and sort of. I do an on site drawing in a small 4x6 inch sketchbook which gives me a lot of freedom to walk around looking for images for paintings. Before I head out I scale rectangles on the sketchbook pages using an architects rule to accurately reduce the size and shape corresponding to the panels or canvas I plan to paint on. Then  when something inspires me I draw the image in the rectangle corresponding to the shape I think it would look best in. My favorite drawing tool for these sketches is a ballpoint pen because they are fluid and great for continuous line drawings. I generally carry both a fine and a medium point pen.
      I take digital photos for references that my quick sketch can't provide.  Also in the field the camera is handy in the following way....For the painting above I used a photo taken from further back down the avenue near the National Gallery. On site I zoomed in on the photo to find the best composition and then moved up the street closer to my chosen image, stood in the broad crossing median Pennsylvania Avenue provides and scrawled out my sketch very quickly. Besides this process I sometime do small plein air paintings and then use them as studies for the larger paintings. That is for days I plan to stay in one spot.
      Back in the studio I often do a color study in another, larger sketchbook using oil on paper. I did not do that for this painting.

        So back to DETAIL.  How much detail? I ask myself that at the start. For me, if I am doing a well known place such as Pennsylvania Avenue , I feel there should be enough detail so the important buildings are recognizable but not so much that they become architectural renderings. I do not use straight edges. I will rest a yard stick on the top of the painting to support my arm (like a mal stick) and paint my edges freehand. I prefer the edges to be soft rather than hard. I eliminate details that are not important. Windows should follow the perspective but you will notice they are not detailed. The busy traffic beyond the foreground vehicles are really splashes of paint dominated by bright headlights. Enlarge the image and you will see what I mean. This painting is about a moment on Pennsylvania Avenue and it is really the atmosphere, the light in the sky, the sparkling traffic lights and the reflections on the wet pavement all combining to create a special moment that can be related to emotionally.
        I should mention it was not raining that day but I knew that is how I wanted to paint it. I studied traffic on rainy days here in McLean to know how to paint lights reflecting on wet pavement in the evening.

        Lastly, I did not take progress photos of this painting but if you go to the menu on the right and go back to 2011 ( September and October) you can see the progress on another cityscape "5th and Waverly". The painting above was created the same way starting with the same color toned panel and major forms blocked in with a mid value, neutral color.
      I hope this helps! If Blogger doesn't mess me up I will now upload a photo of that little 4x6 sketch made on site.

   

Another Pennsylvania Ave. Painting

"After the Cloud Burst, Pennsylvania Ave." 12x24 oil on panel

      I am still hooked on cityscapes and particularly enamored with Pennsylvania Avenue.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other great subjects in DC but I just love the buildings along this thoroughfare and also the gorgeous sunsets when facing in this direction or the beautiful morning light when facing the Capitol.  This one is not quite complete.  I have some little things to touch up and add (such as a forgotten lamppost) but mostly I have some repairing to do.  Yup, I did it again. This one took not one but two tumbles from the easel and I was so thankful that I painted on a panel and not canvas.  Mercifully I had just moved my palette to my other studio easel or this one would have been a mess. I'm a klutz, what can I say.  The damage is some scratching which might be problematic in the dark areas but I am not too worried.
     This one is busier than most of my city paintings but if you look closely you will see that most of the traffic is a lot of squiggles and splashes.  Oh, how I love lights on wet pavement! If I had my way the roads in my paintings would always be wet.  Well, I do have my way so expect a lot of wet pavement in the future:)
      As I was painting this one I found myself thinking of my days as an abstract artist and my transition to representational art.  I was thinking about composition and my feelings about details as in " the devil is in them". I would like to post about this when I get back in town as I am beginning to understand something about my paintings.
      Thanks for reading and I will be back soon!

September Evening, Rosslyn

"September Evening, Rosslyn", 12x9 oil on linen panel

      Small Works exhibits are on the horizon and besides my plein air paintings to choose from I like to use these shows as an opportunity to try out new approaches and ideas.  We have been having some beautiful evenings with color saturated atmosphere almost too intense to make a good painting.  I decided to attempt a painting where I pushed the color as close to what I was experiencing as I could without becoming garish. It is not as easy as you think.  I suppose for some I have already pushed it too far.  In any case I am pleased with this little painting of one of my favorite views.  I am looking across the Potomac from a boat house on the DC shore to Rosslyn Virginia on the other side.  Long time readers will recognize this scene as I have painted it several times in different seasons. I have to say that September is the month that provides the most memorable moments for me there.

      I have been asked whether or not I tone my canvases and if so, what color do I prefer.  The answer is yes, I prefer to paint on toned canvas or panels but I do paint on white when I am doing a very high key painting.  I tend not to do many of them as you probably already know.  The color I use depends on the weather, time of year or just plain whim.  When painting evening/nocturne paintings I tend to use ochre mixed with a bit of purple to dull the yellow a little.  Actually, the three colors I use in various combinations are ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and yellow ochre.  The painting above was painted on a mauve color created by a combination of those three colors.  For bright day paintings, particularly in the summer, I use just a wash of cadmium orange on the white panel.  I let some of it show through to enhance the feeling of sunlight. It is fun to experiment with underpaintings!

     "September Evening, Rosslyn" is one of four paintings I will have on exhibit at American Paintings Fine Art for the annual Small Treasures there.  I will announce dates soon and will post the pieces I will exhibit.
       ON THE HORIZON:
 "Timeless Traditions, Today's Landscapes" at Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD. October 8th through November 1st.
   American Artists Professional League 86th Grand National Exhibit, at the Salmagundi Club, NYC from
November 10th to November 21st
       More information about those will follow in future posts.

A Change of Pace

"Morning Light on the  C&O Canal, 12x16 oil on linen panel

      I mentioned in my last post that I hadn't been out painting as much as I usually am at this time of year and was spending a lot of time on cityscapes painted in my studio. Sure, I have been out with my sketchbooks but not with my full plein air gear. Last Sunday I was! I joined fellow members of The Washington Society of Landscape Painters at Great Falls Park in Maryland. In spite of the ominous forecast a large number of us showed up and we were glad we did as we were treated to a beautiful, sunny morning with a soothing breeze.
      I paint very often in Great Falls Park on the Virginia side and this was my first outing in the same park on the opposite side of the Potomac. Magnificent views of both the falls and the C&O Canal! I had a hard time deciding what to paint but the comfort of this spot won out. I was in the shade enjoying the breeze and the sound of the falls and the water rushing through the lock. Heaven! It is definitely time to get back to more plein air painting!
      The color in this photo is somewhat over saturated. For instance in the original the yellow of the path is more Naples Yellow than Cadmium which is to say more golden in hue. This is the painting as I finished it on Sunday and I will be making some minor adjustments. It is a keeper and I will be framing it for sale.

      On the easel in the studio right now is a new cityscape of Pennsylvania Avenue after an evening rain shower.  It is almost finished so it will probably be my next post. There are a lot of shows coming up this fall and I want to have plenty of paintings to choose from. The first exhibit will be in October at Black Rock Center for the Arts in Gaithersburg Maryland. I'll give more show information in a later post.

Summer in the City

"Morning Coffee at Ollie's" 12x24 oil on panel

    August is my favorite month in DC. Everyone is on vacation and the City empties out. Granted, there is an influx of tourists but most of them are not driving and looking for parking spaces. The painting pictured here was completed this afternoon and I think I might leave it alone for now. The scene is the corner of 12th and E Streets NW just a block up from Pennsylvania Ave. I had been making my way up Pennsylvania from the National Gallery stopping to sketch along the way and decided to stop and sketch Ollie's Trolley which is a longtime, popular Washington eatery. The scene is a little complicated but I thought the challenge would be fun. This photo is right out of the camera and needs some color adjustment and brightening. The yellow in the photo is too strong as are the purple tones. I'll do more photos tomorrow when the light is bright in the studio.

      I have already started my next painting which will be of Pennsylvania Ave. after an evening rain. I feel like playing with lights and reflections again. Much fun!

Still Loving Cityscapes

"Market Street Lights Philadelphia" 16x20 oil on linen panel

      I am surprised it has been so long between posts but then I am also surprised with how rapidly this summer is going by. This is one of the loveliest summers I can remember! Odd then that I am not out painting the landscape everyday. Nope, I have been focusing on cities. I have, however, spent some great days in downtown DC with sketchbooks and camera. I will be heading back with my pochade box but doing quick sketches allows me to cover more ground and decide where to head with my easel. Besides DC, I just completed a trio of paintings based on iPhone photos taken in December while driving out of Philly. My last post was about the first of these. This one is the third in the trilogy. I had trouble uploading the second one but will give it another go at the end of this post.
      The photo above is straight out of the camera but I was surprised to see my accurate image appear a little more yellow when uploading from. Picasa. In any case, the lighting is a little rosier in the original.
       I have banished my 15th Street painting as well as the 12th street one that followed. Sometimes you just need to know when it is never going to work and quit! Today. I worked on drawings and a color study for another 12th Street painting. The format is 12 x24 and is a rather complicated view. I hope I can pull it off. Whether I do or not it is still good to be stretching!
      So here goes another attempt at uploading painting # 2.  Ah! There it is :-) Blogger won't allow an enlargement or title.  The title is "Rush Hour on 21st Sreet" and it is 12x12 oil on linen panel.