Art in the Forest - the end

Well, the series of 10 workshops have come to an end. This Sunday witnessed a long lay-in, followed by a major tidy-up of my make-shift studio which had become a dumping ground of materials and masterpieces from Art in the Forest. On our last day we revisited lino-printing and created some lettering for some posters which we are making to decorate the cabin. 

I’ve really enjoyed my series of workshops – they’ve provided good company and a shared spell of regular “me time”. I took part where ever  I could, but it was only really the oil painting that got my creative juices really flowing again……so my pochade is at the ready, kitted out with a new colour palette and I shall be out this afternoon for a daub in the bank holiday sunshine………………… (!)

...it's not really the end, we'll be back for more

The beast of the forest - seen assisting Henry to light the cabin log burner
 every Sunday morning
and sliding on the shiney cabin floor when everyone had gone home

Art in the Forest 6,7 & 8

I’ve just finished a run of 3 consecutive workshops and enjoyed a little lie in this morning. The focus for these last few has been sketching with oils using a pochade box. The weather was mainly kind, although it saved it’s warmest sun for the days either side of our Sunday workshops. Last week we all showed willing, and slowly marched out in convoy to the forest track, with our creative paraphernalia, until someone said “I think it’s going to rain”, and then I heard “it is raining” followed by “no it’s not, it’s snowing!”. So we all turned round and briskly marched back to the warmth of the log cabin. But we still had some fun, mixing oil colours and learning how to “see” objects as shapes not “things”.

a little bit of sketching (in the sun)

a little demo from me (inside when it snowed)

another little demo - outside (when it was sunny)

enjoying the sunshine & the sound of the river

                     

christening some brand new pochade boxes

Blue sky

snow!

                       

mixing colours by the warmth of the log fire

                                             

and here are some of the fabulous results

Urges

After a period of inconsolable sickness, my laptop is well again. It was this time last year that I started my “diary without words”, a record of my (almost) daily pochades. The arrival of Titus brought an abrupt halt to progress, but the sale of 3 this week has reignited an urge to start again. The commission I was working on has been completed, posted and appreciated but, before I could get going on the next one, or dig out my pochade box, I had to suppress the urge to paint in order to focus on a build-up of paperwork and a heap of forward planning. That done, I am now so organised and planned-out that I have reached a state of complete inertia today, so Titus is in luck until the urge returns.

Number 47
after puppy training & before everything stopped in October
SOLD

Number 42
just before puppy collection in September
SOLD

Number 35
one of my favourites - "hello sunshine"
SOLD

Number 38
a blissful afternoon at Lamigo Bay in August
SOLD

Number 14
camping trip to Skye in July
SOLD

Number 10
trying out my new brushes in July
SOLD

What's in your pochade box

 A few weeks ago I showed you what was in my kit for painting outside – all stashed away in a little canvas bag. I thought we’d delve a bit deeper and take a look inside my Julian Thumb Box. The box takes a specific size of primed canvas board, which are unfortunately not widely available in the UK and are consequently a little pricey. So I adapted my box to take smaller 6 x 8 boards which are easier to come by. I stuck 2 strips of fuzzy tape inside the lid and then fix 4 hooky spots on the back of each canvas so it attaches to the strips  – simples!

My brushes are from Rosemary & Co – and they are fabulous. I buy the short handled synthetic Ivory ones so they fit nicely inside the box. I tried hog hair brushes from another manufacturer,but despite the satisfying swishy noise (as heard on Youtube demos!) I found them too greedy on the paint – resulting in a little too much canvas swishing & scrubbing!

I use a limited pallet of Winsor & Newton artists oil colours in Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Pale,  Alizarin Crimson and French Ultramarine. I may introduce more colours as I progress, but for now this limits my decisions, forces me to learn how to mix colours and keeps the pallet harmonious (plus I can only fit five 37ml  tubes on the box!).

I tried using a painting medium – but got in a horrible mess, so I prefer to keep the oils buttery, straight from the tube, with just a little bit of thinner for the initial sketch. The thinner I use is Gamsol, a low odour turpentine, in a dipper which clips to my pallet. The dipper is a bit too tall to fit in the box, so it goes in the bag. The only other item in my pochade box, of course, is my thumb!

 

My kit for painting outside

I follow a number of blogs of other daily or plein air painters and often come across posts about their kit and equipment. In comparison to most mine is minimal. This was an important criteria for me, lugging bags of gear across a boggy landscape and setting up an easel in cold or windy weather was not going to encourage me to keep up my daily challenge. I also love dinky things, such as the flask, which I had to buy as soon as I saw it. I started off with a dinky pochade box and bought a bag to fit it in. The box holds my paints, brushes, canvas and pallet and everything else fits in the bag. It’s light to carry and also fits in my bicycle panniers. It is quick to set up and so far (after only 20 paintings) it works for me. My pochade box holds just one canvas, so if I want to do a few paintings before returning home I take my folding clay-pigeon stool containing my kit, my lunch and a wet canvas carrier. The other thing is deciding what to wear! I’ll save images of my fashionable painting wardrobe for another post when I brave the winter weather. But when it’s dry I just sit on a plastic bag, wear an old shirt and put a tea towel on my lap. Most of the time I manage to remain fairly clean, that is unless I forget to tie up my hair – I then get paint all over my face from pushing hair out of my eyes (hence the wetwipes!). Next month I'll share my painting process and the materials I use.

The phone is for timing, the temperature and posting an in-situ photo on facebook

This is my dinky thumb box - see my thumb inside

(the first time I opened the lid I jumped out of my skin, forgetting it was my thumb!)

Learning to paint en plein air

I remember when I was learning to drive, there was so much to think about and how was I ever going to coordinate it all at once! I had a bright yellow 2CV (called Donald) in those days, with none of the luxuries found in a modern car, but great fun once I got the hang of it. Learning to paint en plein air in oils is just like learning to drive in a 2CV. I’m trying to capture a fleeting moment, whilst training my eyes to see colour, mix it and apply it before the moment passes. Having swapped my 35 year old paints for new oils, I feel I have synchromesh gears and introducing some new brushes to my kit instantly gave me powered steering. However, I have not located auto pilot - my brain is very much in analogue as I think about every step of the process. I’ve not been very far either, parking behind rocks and gorse bushes where nobody can see me. There’s a lovely little harbour below the house, with colourful fishing boats, and a steady stream of tourists (relatively speaking, this isn’t Cornwall!)  – a few too many for one with L plates on her smock, so I shall paint that scene when I have the confidence to go cabriolet!

you can see my daily paintings here

A regular date with Jullian

It’s 2 year’s since I was paid (a salary that is) and on my first day of freedom, I started a diary of little cartoons which I kept going for a year. I intended to start another dairy of some sort, but a year has flown by and Diary Phase 2 didn’t happen. So, instead of a diary I'm doing a daily oil sketch using my dinky Jullian pochade en plein air. That is a bit of a challenge by the way – every day, all weathers, outside? (All weathers might be pushing it a bit – perhaps I might resort to indoor subjects if I can’t find shelter from the rain). Consider it a proverbial red DM up the derriere and an opportunity to get to grips with oils, painting from life and colour. I’ll show you all my paintings (including the disasters) so please offer some advice or encouragement as I battle with my crazy challenge! (it’s too late to say “don’t give up the day job love ”). These are my “disasters” from this week as I experiment with different paints, and make sure I’m committed to such a loopy idea. I can only get better with these 6 x 8’s, and early signs suggest that it may even become addictive (or maybe it’s the vapours getting to me already). I struggled to maintain daily ACEO production, eventually finding the tiny format difficult to achieve both composition and detail, but I keep experimenting from time to time.

ps. MS Secret Art Show - live from 1st July.