I have been trying a few new approaches to plein
air painting to see if I can get closer to what I am trying to express. I
have been doing a lot of reading and a few painting studies to try
things out. Today, I tried a different approach to painting rocks. It
wasn't entirely successful but I can see where it is going. I believe it
will be worth pursuing so I will be trying it out for a bit.
Here is a plein air study I painting this afternoon at Arcadia Beach on the northern Oregon coast:
© 2015 R.L. Delight, "Arcadia in January", 9"x12", oil on canvas
We had a
pretty good storm last night so the waves were large and the surf rough.
I lucked out because another heavy rainstorm is expected to come in
tonight.
Isn't it
funny when one is ready to hear or understand something, you encounter
that idea or concept everywhere you turn? That has been happening a lot
for me recently. It seems like everything I have studied this week,
whether it is from a book written in 1975 or even earlier, or a YouTube
video, or blog, has given me the same message over and over again. I
keep reading, seeing, hearing, "paint with your feelings!
To give you
an example, I opened a book I own called, "How to Paint Successful
Seascapes: Techniques in Oil" by Roger W. Curtis. The very first
sentence in the very first paragraph reads:
"Painting isn't something you do with flat or bright brushes, or with certain colors, or on specially treated canvases.
It's not technique that makes a painting, or flawless draftsmanship. The
important thing is that you paint with your feelings."
Everything
art instructional related that I opened this week stated a variation of
the above statement! I get the message! This book, by the way, is one of
the best books I have found on painting seascapes, and I have several
books on seascape painting. I got it used on Amazon.
One other
thing I decided to change up a bit is the color palette I use. I have
been keeping it pretty minimal for several months now. I have been using
Permanent Red Medium and Naples Yellow Light, both from Rembrandt, Cad.
Yellow Lemon from Utrecht, Veridian from Gamblin, Green Earth from
Rembrandt, and Ultramarine Blue along with Warm Titanium White from
Gamblin. I have been pretty happy with these but I wanted to try
something a little different. I added back Alizarin Crimson Permanent
from Gamblin. I am going to switch out the Cad. Yellow Lemon for Hansa
Yellow Medium, and perhaps Hansa Yellow Light, from Gamblin. I am going
to try Asphaltum from Rembrandt just for fun.
I really
like using the Permanent Red Medium and Naples Yellow from Rembrandt. I
got these colors for the workshop I took from Kathleen Dunphy and they
work well for me. Well, we shall see how the changes work out.
I will stop
here and leave you with a couple of pictures from this afternoon. There
were a few times when I was the only person on the beach for miles. It
was lovely.
-Renee
© 2015 R.L. Delight, Arcadia Beach looking north
© 2015 R.L. Delight, Arcadia Beach looking south.
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