Art = Life at R.L. Delight Fine Art

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Wave Study #78

What a beautiful January day on the beach today. The tides were at their awkward phase for painting. Low tide was at 8:30 am and high tide was at 1:30pm. The tide, size of the waves, and the weather of course, determine what beach I go to paint on a given day. Some places, like Hug Point, are not accessible when the tide is coming in.

It was a perfect day to paint a wave study. I like to paint wave studies when the tide is coming in. I went out to my home beach here in Manzanita/Neahkahnie this morning. I love painting on the north end next to Neahkahnie Mountain for several reasons. One is that the mountain is big enough to shelter me from most winds. Another reason is that I love the way the waves bounce off of Neahkahnie's toes and make cross waves. In stormy weather those waves are huge and rather spectacular. I have been trying to capture those cross waves en plein air for quite a while. I understand the mechanics of the cross waves from having watched them for the past 4 years. I struggle with getting the paint to depict them in all their glory. I am getting closer and after getting home and taking a good look at the painting, I understand a bit more. I am hoping to get out again tomorrow and put that understanding to the test.

The light was beautiful, gauzy, opalescent, and elusive. Right after I finished packing up for the day, the sun came out and made everything sparkle. The winter sun on the northern Oregon coast is soft and somewhat rosy due to the low angle in the sky. It isn't a strong light but it can dazzle the eyes when you come around a curve in the road while driving. That low angle makes for interesting shadows too.

I am getting closer to that 100th plein air wave study. It will be interesting to see the difference between this study and the 100th one. I already know there will be quite a difference between the first and the 100th one!

Here are a few parting pictures of the day.

-Renee

Monday, January 5, 2015

Studying a Study

I work at a part time job two days a week. This is my final month and I am counting off the days! Since I did not have a lot of time to work on painting and drawing today I decided to do a study of a plein air wave study I painted over a year ago. Here is the plein air study,

I decided to use graphite pencil and gouache to make the study. I wanted to see if I push some of the light and dark nuances with gouache. Here is the study I painted today:

It isn't an exact copy of course, I mainly wanted a bit of reference material to practice with. Creating a study like this also keeps me moving forward when there isn't much time to work on drawing or painting due to whatever reason. I am still new to using gouache and am enjoying seeing what I can do with it.

Tonight I will be working on my musical part of life. My band is beginning the process of making our second CD. That is always exciting, and a lot of work. Very satisfying work I might add. The similarities between art and music are abundant. Probably why so many artists I know of are also musicians!

I might draw a similar study of a Fredric Waugh painting tomorrow. It would be interesting to try.

-Renee

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Tide Worn

I didn't have time to post this yesterday. Well, that is during a reasonable hour. Sometimes the music making part of my life adds a few late hours to the day. Today is a day of rest. Something the doctor ordered. Since I really want to paint for many years to come, I thought I should comply.

I had a lot of fun painting this one as I experimented with a few things. As a result I had a few "Ah Ha" and "Ah, now I see" moments. It is always fun to have those, specially when one has been struggling. I can't wait to get outside and try a few of the ideas en plein air too. At the moment, the weather is rather wet and the light very dark. I had a challenge trying to get a decent photo of this as I usually take the pictures on our covered front porch. It was too dark for that today.

The only item in the picture not found on the beach is the pulley the rock is resting on. The rock is a soft sediment rock found on the beach that has been shaped by trickling waterfalls into a perfectly smooth little bowl. I love the subtle colors on the lumber that washed up on the beach. The bottle was one of several found after a particularly strong storm. I kept the sandy, and seaweedy spots on them as they make for interesting effects. I added the old wooden pulley because I liked it and it seems to fit.

As promised, here is a better picture of the set up:

Tide Worn, set up

Now, I am off to catch up on my reading. -Renee

Friday, January 2, 2015

A Studio Day!

It has been a while since I had a day of working in the studio. I guess that is a good thing in that it means the weather has been pretty nice most of the time which isn't usually the norm. The clouds rolled in early this morning which trapped the cold air for a while before warming up a tiny bit. Cold in the damp cloudy air is much more intense than on a beach in the sunshine. After taking a walk to check on conditions, I decided to work in the studio.

It has been a long time since I have set up a still life and painted. I recently got re-inspired by one of my favorite artists, Terry Strickland. She is not a plein air painter or landscape artist, although she may paint in this manner at times. She paints inspiring portraits and still life. What makes her work fascinating for me is that there is a story-line that runs through her work. I have long admired her story telling abilities and the fact that she does it with paint. Her whole family is talented and I enjoy reading about their exploits. Check out some of her paintings here.

Her recent newsletter arrived in my inbox containing not only pictures of recent paintings for an upcoming show, but a bit of instruction in how she works. This combined with the damp, bone-chilling cold weather definitely prompted my decision to stay inside for a change.

I spent a bit of time playing with a still life set up. I wanted to incorporate some of the things I find on the beach in the set up. I played with a simple story to go along with it but found it a bit challenging to come up with one in the spur of the moment. I decide to settle for something that I liked so I could get to painting. Here is a picture of my still life set up, with apologies for the photo quality:

It was getting dark when I stopped to take a picture and the camera was a bit confused between the lighting in the still life station and the studio lighting. I will get a better picture tomorrow. The paper behind the set up wouldn't stay taped to the background and wanted to roll down. I liked the effect so kept it in as you will see.

I ran out of time so did not finish the painting even though it is small 5"x7". I am having fun with this and just playing with it. I have forgotten how relaxing it can be to paint without racing against light, tides, and changing weather. Don't get me wrong, I actually love being outside and prefer it to being in the studio.

Here are a couple of more pictures. I used my plein air easel to paint with to keep things easy to move around.

Well, as you can see, I got some of it blocked in but not all. I took my time mixing paint and considering values, etc., not to mention getting the drawing right. The shapes still need tweaking but it is underway. I will work on it some more tomorrow, and with any luck, given the time I have available, finish it. In the meantime, I am going to think about a story or two to tell....

-Renee

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

First, I would like to wish everyone good health, happiness, and prosperity in 2015! With a new year comes a new 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I must admit, I hadn't planned to sign up this time but Leslie Saeta's wonderful enthusiasm is really hard to resist. In case anyone is unfamiliar with the Artists Helping Artists site and podcast, you should definitely check it out here.

As I did the previous time I participated, I am going to tweak the challenge to fit my needs and goals as an artist. I am not expecting to produce 30 paintings in 30 days for this challenge. I am currently finishing up a part-time job in the month of January. That, coupled with my new determination to put my personal health and well-being as my first priority in life, means that I will not be able to paint every day this month. My goal after this month is to get a solid and regular five days a week as a working artist.

In the meantime, I have some skills I really need to work on. That means I will be making quite a few messes. Today's painting being a very good example.

I wanted to spend the first day of the new year painting in my favorite place, Short Sands beach on the northern Oregon coast. The air was cold today but the sun was out and it was warm enough on the beach to paint in long sleeves and a fleece vest. After some consideration, I decided to have another try at painting the waterfall at the north end. I have painted various studies of this falls the past year. Each study brings me closer to what I would like to accomplish. Here is a quick picture of the area. I took it after I stopped painting on the study. If you look closely there are people at the base of the falls to give a bit of perspective.

This can be a challenging time of the year to get the light and color just right. This far north the angle of the sun is pretty low and I probably don't need to mention how short the daylight hours are. The colors are beautiful but I am finding them a bit tricky to capture to my satisfaction. I will keep trying. Here is my study which is most definitely not completed. Many spots, such as the falls and some of the rock, are still just blocked in. The light shifted too much to keep going. I didn't want to start changing things or chase the light so I made myself stop. Here is the study:

I was working on getting the rock color, values, and shape and texture today. I probably tried to get too many study factors in one painting but it is really hard not to cram in as much of the beauty I see as possible. I know, I have heard that is a beginning painters mistake before. I did more than one study today. I turned my easel around and painted a rock portrait. Since the tide was still going out and the tide line was very low and distant, I wasn't as concerned about having most of my back to the sea. I painted a quick one hour study of the rock and then wiped the panel off.

This month I will be going out to paint every possible day. When the weather will not allow, I want to start making finished paintings from my studies. It has been a long time since I tried that. I am also working on my drawing skills. I will post more on that later.

Finally, I will add that when I create a finished painting that I feel is up to my standards I will put it up for sale!

It will be an exciting month and year for me. Thanks for reading this far.

-Renee

Saturday, December 13, 2014

A Tale of Two Studies

The storms have passed and the weather continues to be beautiful on the northern Oregon coast. Alas, the states to the north and south of us are not so fortunate. I am keeping family and friends in my thoughts.

Yesterday morning I went out to our beach and did another graphite and gouache wave study sketch. The waves were still quite rough from the storm and they piled on top of each other. The water churned with waves crossing and re-crossing. The sun was out and very little wind so it was a good day to be out sketching. Here is a view looking south down the beach from the foot of Neahkahnie mountain.

Here is the sketch I made:

As you can tell, I wasn't paying too much attention to composition as I was still trying to get a handle on using the gouache. I am getting used to it but still struggling with it a bit. Overall, I have to say I really like this method of sketching.

Today my mate had a job that was about a 40 minute drive down the coast in Oceanside, Oregon. I decided to grab my paint pack and go with him. I don't head south to paint very often. The beauty of this coast was out in abundance today making me think that I will have to consider getting south more often. There is so much to paint within a five minute walk or drive of my house that I seldom feel the need or desire to leave the area. Yes, I do consider myself most fortunate and blessed to live here!

There is a nice beach at Oceanside. I didn't get a picture of the village but here is my painting spot for the day:

It was quiet in the morning when I arrived but eventually more people showed up. I usually paint in areas where there are relatively few people but today I had a lot of visitors. I am not used to chatting so much. Here is a shot as I was finishing up:

I will admit that I am out of practice. It doesn't take much to get that way! It feels good to be able to go out again. I took my time deciding what to paint but I did not make a sketch before hand. I didn't know if I would only have one hour or two so I worked as fast as I could. Turns out it was closer to two hours.

Here is the final study:

This is most definitely a study. I am trying out many of the tips and techniques I was reading about while recovering from a bout with minor illness. The rock color was a bit challenging as it was different from the rock color up the coast. I am not really surprised by that.

Overall, a very satisfying couple of days.

It will be a bit challenging getting out this week as the holidays are ramping up. I am looking forward to a visit from dear friends and music making and celebrating with our bandmates.

Wishing all a joyful winter solstice and holiday season,

-Renee

The Beauty of this Place

The beauty of this place can be subtle one moment, and then completely bowl you over the next. It leaves an imprint on one's soul.

I am so fortunate and grateful to live here.

To get back into the flow of creating after the past few weeks of absence due to health issues, I am taking a Craftsy class by Edward Minoff. I have admired his work for a while now. The class is called "Oil Painting, Sand, Sea, and Sky."

The first assignment is to create a sketch with graphite and gouache. I have never used gouache before. I do like the effect so I was eager to give it a try.

Yesterday I went out and did this plein air sketch:

The gouache felt a bit clumsy. I can see that it will take a bit of practice. The weather is a bit too unstable to take my painting gear out at the moment so sketching is perfect. I can sketch in just about any weather short of the hurricane force winds and pounding rain. It is easier to use an umbrella when sketching than when painting.

I went out again today:

I love painting at the foot of Neahkahnie Mountain. Often there are cross-waves that crash into the oncoming waves which make for very interesting angles and effects. I am always trying to successfully capture those waves on canvas. I am getting better but haven't been truly satisfied yet.

I have been trying the papers I have on hand. The first sketch I used Fabriano Murano in Storm gray. The second one is Strathmore Toned Gray. I wasn't really happy with either of them. The Murano is too rough for my tastes and the Strathmore has flecks of other colors which I found distracting. I will have to do a bit of research.

As I was leaving the beach this afternoon I spotted an osprey on the beach. A few moments later, two resident bald eagles swooped in and chased off the osprey. The only camera I bring with me is on my phone so the picture isn't always the best. I will finish this post with a final picture:

-Renee