Sketching in Oils as Place-based Journaling (Zion Update 3.0 Step-by-Step)

As any plein air artist can attest, sketching outdoors is a race against time. On anything but an overcast day shadows and highlights are fleeting and ever-changing. If I am lucky I may have an hour and thirty minutes, maybe 2 hours, to capture the lighting of a particular time and place. And sometimes -- having just caught sight of a serendipitous, and oh so fleeting, visual moment -- I may have only a tenth of that... or less. 

when Karen Doherty (at Exaclair USA) first introduced me to Bloc Rhodia notebooks I couldn't think of 

a practical application for gridded paper; but now that I'm painting plein air again it's become my very 

favorite comp tool (tip: a wide rubber band will hold the folded pages open "gads-free" while painting)

To speed up the painting process I frequently begin with a sketch in pencil or pen -- focusing on rendering the key shapes, shadows and overlapping plains while making mental notes about hue/temperature/intensity options for the background, middle ground and foreground.  

by pre-toning the panel with Gamblin Yellow Ochre I am able to quickly 

establish an accurate sense of the major forms and spacial plains 

After completing the compositional study I start blocking in the shadow areas on a middle-toned panel. (And if, for any reason, the sketching process is disrupted at this point I already have a recognizable, albeit rough, visual -- and far more personal experience -- of this particular time and place.)

detailing and nuance are now added to the middle ground, water and sky

Next I begin to introduce lighter areas (while still reserving my lightest lights for the end -- when my observations are most accurate) and refine the primary shapes.

highlights are introduced into the foreground cliff tops and face

At this stage the painting is still rough -- but I have finalized the composition; finished blocking in the major color and value areas; and have more or less defined background, middle ground and foreground. 

initial detailing in the middle ground

Pacific Cove, 6"x8", Gamblin oils on Ampersand Gessobord

The final stage (the sprint to finish before the original shadow patterns fade into memory) is fine tuning, adding select detailing (some in the middle ground, but primarily in the foreground), and polishing off a few of the rough edges. (Some "roughness" can add a very desirable sense of spontaneity, vigor and vivaciousness to a sketch though. So I avoid overworking the piece by adhering to the 90-120 minute allocation.)

And, if I intend to use the sketch as a study for a larger work in the studio later (or if I just want a more complete record of place, time and experience) I will frequently make notes -- about the weather, time of day, season, and the sights, sounds and smells of the local, even what I was thinking and feeling at that particular moment -- in white Gelly Roll pen on the back of the panel.

    

The Fresh AiR Gazette

If you're like me you do your best to get as art out of your art adventures as possible. Before each voyage of discovery I spend weeks, sometimes months, establishing a daily routine of observing, sketching and painting -- of artistically living in the moment. When I'm engaged in one of my art adventures I try to experience place as much as possible, and squeeze every sketch, painting and journal entry of the unique local out of the limited time I have. (Of course, sometimes that looks, to the casual observer, like I'm holding a mug of tea staring off into space; but I guarantee the "record" switch is on.)

the layout design for page 1 of the new subscribers-only newsletter

In order to maximize my artistic experience at Zion National Park this year (and produce more artwork to share) I've decided to suspend most of my social media activities -- Facebook, Drawn to Life blog, and most email -- from early October to late November. 

I will stay in touch with my subscribers, however; sharing the latest artworks, trail adventures, journal entries, and links to exclusive preview time laps and step-by-step videos. And I'll do that via my new digital newsletter, The Zion Fresh A-i-R Gazette. Subscribers will receive a new issue of The Gazette each week while I'm on the road and in the park and, if the publication proves a success with readers, Zion will be replaced with the names of other parks as our adventures take us elsewhere in future seasons.

click on either page to view full screen

So, I hope you like the mock-up of Issue #1, and that you share it with friends and family, and (if you'd like to come along on our Zion adventure) that you subscribe. (Then just keep an eye on your inbox and I'll do the rest.)

Cheers! 

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New Corporate Partner --

As noted in the test issue of The Fresh A-i-R Gazette, Strathmore Artist Paper has joined the team as my newest sponsor. Strathmore is renowned for their outstanding line of artist papers and journals, and I'll report in detail (including step-by-step field tests and demos) on the papers I'm testing for the Zion adventure in upcoming blog articles.   

Zion Update 2.0 (Exploring Evocative Color)

As I've been prepping for my Zion adventure over the past few weeks and gradually working my way back into a plain air routing I've been exploring different techniques and color schemes. I want to capture both the vivid colors of the landscape and the evocative in my plain air sketches while in the park and that has led me to revisit the alla prima technique and post-impressionist/fauve palette of my youth.

Desert Valley (rendering exercise), 6"x8", oils on gessobord

Of course, most of us can't simply switch from one way of seeing and painting to another. So, I've begun a series of "exercise" panels to retrain hand and eye. Every other week or so, I'll share the results with you -- hopefully good results, but maybe the occasional miss too (this to share not only the problems that arise, but how I go about resolving them creatively.) And, time permitting, I'll even try to include a step-by-step demo, if you're interested.

As things stand thus far, I've decided to do my "scouting sketches" (those done while out scouting trails for interesting subject matter and vantage points, under whatever lighting I encounter) on 6"x8" or 6"x6" panels for speed and portability. Planned plein air pieces (done at sites I've previously scouted, or been told about, at a time of day that offers the most dramatic lighting) will be done on 9"x12" or 12"x12" panels. And studio pieces (done either at the Grotto House while in residence or in my studio after returning home) will be done on 12"x24" or 18"x24" cradled panels. Of course, I'm always on the lookout for an excuse to do a panoramic painting. So, if the subject presents itself, I'll likely do an elongated watercolor on location and construct a special panel or canvas when I get home.

High Mountain Spring (rendering exercise), 9"x12", oils on gessobord

My first venture back into a post-impressionist palette this week was the 6"x8" landscape entitled Desert Valley (see at top of article) -- explored bold light and the use of cool colors and a limited value range in the background, advancing to a more vivid color scheme and value range as I progressed into the foreground. 

Yesterday's exercise (High Mountain Spring) explored the same palette's effectiveness in capturing low-angle lighting on sandstone rock formations like those I'll encounter in southern Utah. (And the "snow" even offered an imaginary escape from the Texas heat.)

Canyon Wall (thumbnail comp study), 2 1/8"x 4 1/4", graphite on paper

And today I'm working on a 12"x 24" landscape entitled Canyon Wall (see thumbnail comp above.)

So, what do you think? Do you like the "new" color scheme? Or do you prefer a more naturalistic rendering? (Like I used in the Cascades.) And would you like to see more of these color studies (with maybe a step-by-step or two) in future posts?

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Never enough time when you're really having fun....

I want to maximize the amount of sketching, painting, journaling, photographing and videotaping I can do while in Utah, and en route. But, as is too often the case for all of us, time will be at a premium. So, I've decided that I will suspend publication of my blog -- beginning with my departure for Zion, and ending with my arrival home.

I will continue my weekly drawing and painting articles only until early October for those of you who are enjoying following along as I prepare for this new adventure. Beginning with the second week in October and running through the end of November -- I will be publishing an illustrated weekly newsletter (which will be delivered in a printable PDF format via email) exclusively for my Kickstarter fundraising campaign supporters (at all pledge levels) and sponsors.

So, if you'd like the latest news and images from Zion and on the road delivered weekly directly to your email inbox (along with the pledge rewards which will be delivered directly to your house) be sure and pledge... and don't forget to share the project with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/771542688/zion-np-an-artists-adventure-one-sketch-at-a-time

And as always, thanks for your support!  

Friends and Neighbors (Of The Garden Variety)

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."
                                                                                            My First Summer In The Sierra (1911)
                                                                                                           John Muir

my maturing yellow variant bell peppers

One of the fun things about sketching in the garden is that, over time, you learn not only about individual plants, and bugs, birds, and even the soil and weather; you begin to learn about how they are interconnected, and about nature's cycles.

sketch hunting amongst the fruits and veggies

During July I went to the veggie garden just after sunrise each morning (in part to avoid the triple-digit heat) and was thus treated last week to the spectacle of a dragonfly swarm in the park; the vision of sunlight sparkling off the wings of hundreds of dragonflies as they patrolled the park's open field was magical!

Since I'm growing veggies for our table (as well as for my art) I'm avoiding the use of harmful (i.e., toxic) and that, in turn, has led me to seek out natural remedies for the occasional pest problem. (Of course, I'm not averse to sharing a little of our bounty with the occasional insect if they're willing to pose for me and/or they are likely to morph into something interesting. (And sometimes the little critters are saved by my tendency to put my art ahead of their destruction.)

the retractable "horns" came as a surprise

A case in point: one morning I found a particularly large and colorful caterpillar on one of my neighbor's quite lovely parsley plant. Should I destroy the ravenous trespasser? Of course not! I carefully put it in an empty pencil box (and, in doing so, learned something quite delightful about its natural defense mechanism) and brought it home to draw. My intension was to release it somewhere near the house (and away from the community garden plots) the next morning. But, overnight, the caterpillar took action of its own -- morphing into an equally picturesque chrysalis. So, now it's residing in my kids' butterfly tent and we're checking it a couple of times a day and waiting for a Black Swallowtail butterfly to emerge.

my pest control partners (interestingly, only the females can sting)

Of course, no pesticides means that I have to maintain a vigil for an excess of pests, picking off the young caterpillars on my kale and tomatoes as they arrive in waves. But it also means that I needn't worry about poisoning my pollinators -- be they honey bees, carpenter bees, butterflies, moths, et al. And, fortuitously, nature also provides me with several amazing allies! For example, while watering the patch yesterday (and harvesting a bag full of cherry tomatoes and peas) I noticed that brown paper wasps had begun to visit my plants. At first I suspected that they might be collecting building material for nests. But more careful observation gave me a delightful surprise; they were inspecting the underside of leaves and, whenever they found one, removing caterpillars! I don't know whether the caterpillars were destined for the wasps' larders or brood chambers, but it certainly was an amazing example of how it's all "hitched to everything else in the Universe."

trying to ignore the heat ("focus, focus, focus")

I hope you have an amazing and delightful week, and that you'll join me again next week (when, weather permitting, we'll do some plein air painting.) See you then!

the heat warped the card, but pressing 
for a few days should take care of that

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Zion NP update --

I am delighted to announce my first two sponsors for this year's artist residency. As with my previous residencies in North Cascades National Park, Sakura of America and Ampersand Art Supplies have generously offered to provide material support. My heart-felt thanks goes out to the folks at both. 

If you haven't done so yet, please visit my Kickstarter campaign page, select a pledge level (and reward) to your liking, and share on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!   

       

Zion Update 1.0

Zion Canyon, 4"x8", oil sketch on Ampersand panel

When I'm preparing for a new adventure -- one that involves going somewhere I've never been before -- I begin with some research. Oh, I'm not one of those who plans out every moment of every day. I'm too big a fan of serendipity, and enjoy the magic one discovered in the totally unexpected too much to give into regimentation. But it is nice to have a starting point, a framework to hang the unexpected discoveries on.

Zion Canyon (preliminary study for the oil sketch above), 

6"x8", w/c over Sakura pen & ink

Artistically speaking, I like to polish the technical skills and studio practices (even if my "studio" is going to be primarily the Great Outdoors) well in advance of my departure. Oh, I may adopt a new medium, technique, or subject while in the field. But (for me anyway) it would be a tragic mistake to think that I'll sketch or paint everyday while away from home if I haven't already established that habit before I leave.

Sunrise, Monument Valley, 4"x8", w/c over Sakura pen & ink

So, I've been out everyday sketch hunting -- looking for new subjects, drawing, painting, experimenting with different tools and color schemes, and acclimatizing to heat and intense light. Sometimes I work up a piece as a monochromatic drawing, sometimes in color. Sometimes I work a drawing up in color. Sometimes I paint plain air. And sometimes I produce a sketch onsite and create a painting from that sketch once I've returned to the studio. Sometimes the results are less than stellar, either because I'm feeling rusty or because I've attempted something new and missed the mark. But that's OK because it's all intended as an opportunity to learn and grow. And, with practice now, I'm confident that the poor works will be fewer and farther apart by the time I begin my next adventure (not to mention that the honed observation and rendering skills will likely result in a more memorable experience.)

in addition to my regular field journals and plain air panels I'm thinking 

it might be nice to produce a large adventure journal (with maps, 

illuminations & calligraphy entries) and pen & ink portraits of 

some of the folks I meet afield 

I've been putting together a map that identifies particular points of visual interest in the park -- scenes previously sketched or painted by some of the outstanding artists who have worked in the park previously (from Thomas Moran to Franz Bischoff), and venues that are of particular interest to current visitors (such as Angels' Landing, Big Bend, The Subway, and the Emerald Pools.) But I'll also dedicate a good bit of time to just wondering and looking (for picturesque landscapes, flora and fauna) and talking with park staff and visitors.

Zion events --

Dates and times for two events during my Zion A-i-R have now been finalized: I'll be doing a presentation for the Southern Utah University art department and interested public on Thursday, Oct. 29; and on Nov. 4 I'll be a guest speaker for the annual Zion Plein Air Art Invitational lecture series. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City, UT, while the PAAI lecture series will be held at Zion Lodge.

the poster for this year's Invitational 

(original art by Michelle Condrat)

Kickstarter fundraising campaign --

My Kickstarter crowd-funding project was approved this week (on my birthday actually... a very nice present indeed) and, after reshooting the video and tweaking the pledge rewards, was launched yesterday. I invite you to take a look at my Kickstarter page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/771542688/zion-np-an-artists-adventure-one-sketch-at-a-time) and what I'm planning to accomplish during the residency, and I hope you will take a look at the rewards I'm offering for pledges. If you like what you see and hear I hope you'll pledge at a level that appeals to you AND, please, tell your friends.

Your financial support could be critical to the success of this art adventure and will be most appreciated.

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Next week -- sketching & painting updates from the garden.

      

Cultivating a Better World

I enjoy raising my own fruits and veggies almost as much as I love making art; and when I can combine both activities the experience is truly sublime.  

a diagram makes it easier to inventory the plot's current layout and to 

visualize changes and/or additions

Shortly after we moved to Benbrook, TX, in June my kids and I decided to do a little exploring of our neighborhood. (Actually, we needed a break from the tedious chore of opening boxes.) We already knew our new house was just a short walk from Timber Creek Park but had no idea that the city had built a community garden in the park just last fall.

our plot and those of our neighbors (the fence is primarily to keep the deer out)

Well, a couple of quick emails and we were the proud resident-gardeners of our own plot. And, as luck would have it, we even "inherited" a thriving veggie patch (The previous tenants had to make a work-related move earlier in the summer.) with several healthy tomato plants, dwarf kale, 3 variety of sweet peppers, chives, a pea patch -- and a splash of color provided by marigolds around the raised border.

If I'd had a culpa tea before leaving home I might had got the 

measurements right too (3" & 1")

We put in a simple (but very effective) seep irrigation system, tied up a tomato plant that thought it was ground cover, pulled out some cucumber & squash vines that had succumbed to squash bugs, put in an egg plant and some strawberries (for my daughter), planted a couple rows of "Mammoth" sunflowers (for a painting or two this autumn and bird food this winter.) We've added Blue Daze to the border for my wife, a pair of bright red Pentas to attract the bees and butterflies, and two dozen marigold seedlings to fill out the cinder block "pots."

thanks to one of our resident master gardeners I've now learned 

just how easy it is to grow marigolds from seed

So, now I'm up at the garden every morning -- watering, removing the bad bugs (no chemicals means more work; but it also means a better knowledge of our garden... and organic veggies for the table.) and doing my best to attract the pollinators and other good bugs.

the Pentas have proven very attractive to pollinators 
(which then visit my tomatoes, peppers and peas) 

When the "work" is done -- I sit back, listen to the song birds, watch the carpenter bees, butterflies, cicada wasps, and hummingbirds make their rounds... and sketch. And, before heading home, I get to harvest whatever's ripe for dinner. (Ah, life is good!)

these "straw" mushrooms pop up in clusters 

and are gone within 24 hrs.

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Next week I'll post an update my plans for the autumn residency in Zion National Park. And in upcoming weeks I'll be posting more news (and journal pages) from the gardens.

Cheers! 

Unplugged & Off The Grid

Sometimes it feels like time is speeding up. With social media, texting, tweeting, and GPS, we seem to always be on, and Life threatens to become a blur. So, from time to time, I relish pulling the plug, leaving the network, and falling off the grid. And that's just what I've done for the past 3 months: no Facebook, no internet, no cell phone, and -- yes -- no blog posts.

I've been roaming Texas backroads and byways with my wife and kids, sketching wildflowers and expansive landscapes (on paper and panel), reading a few books (all printed on paper), listening to the murmur of the cottonwood trees, and recharging my soul. It's been a delight!

the first bloom began appearing on the trees before the final frost was 

behind us, and I was there to record it

For the first time in several years winter rains were at near-normal levels and everyone was hopeful that this would mean the return of lush carpets of wildflowers.

As our depleted pond has gradually refilled the shoreline has been decorated with the wave after wave of wildflowers

Wildflower season always begins along the border and gradually works its way north. So, as soon as we heard the first reports of wildflowers in the San Antonio area, we hit the road.

I frequently find it useful to use my free hand -- to steady flowers against 
the breeze, and to convey the scale of my subject

From Fort Worth our first road trip of the season took us southwest to my favorite small highway in the state -- US 281. Route 66 was known as "Main Street USA" but most of it disappeared with the coming of the interstate system (which bypassed many smaller communities) and it only stretched from Chicago to LA. US 281 runs from the Mexican border all the way to the Canadian border and its route literally runs down Main Street in most of the small communities it passes through (not a fast way to cross the country but, oh!, such a wonderful way to discover it.)

limiting color to the subject adds focus and depth to the image

Our backroad adventures are very slow going. Anyone can call a halt by simply exclaiming, "Oh! Would you look at that?" In fact, if the average traveler's road trip is equated to a brisk walk, our is a leisurely window shopping stroll; we don't get anywhere fast, and there's lots of "oohing" and "awing". (Actually, it could be said that our road trips are less one long journey and more a chain of very short trips: each culminating in an adventure, sketch, or painting.)

     

stages of a bloom are sometimes captured through a simple sequence of images

During our stop-over in the San Antonio area we spent several days circling the city on the 1604 Loop. (Parts of the Loop have been heavily developed over the past decade, but some sections still retain a rural feel -- with only scrub cedar, prickly pear cactus, and rolling stretches of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes going on for miles.) 

I am delighted and amazed at the variety of color, texture, scent, and leaf pattern

and, of course, where there are plants there are insects (such as this fascinating parasite wasp)

On our return leg we made a brief side trip to Buda, TX, to visit the folks at Ampersand Art Supply, where we were treated to a tour of the facilities and a demonstration of how my favorite panels are manufactured. (In addition to all the different surfaces available, I found it interesting that Ampersand manufactures different lines for the U.S. and metric markets, and offers customized service for artists who require panels in non-standard sizes.)

After leaving Buda we also opted to leave IH-35 and find our way west to intercept US-281 (which meant exploring a route we'd never driven before and making lots of additional sketching stops along the way -- Slow Travel at its very best.)

over the years I've gradually lost most of my sense of smell (due, I suspect, to spending too much time with 

volatile solvents in inadequately ventilated studios), but the massive carpet of bluebonnets (only hinted at 

in the photo) we discovered in Marble Falls, TX gave off waves of intensely sweet perfume -- 

a divinely intoxicating experience

I hope spring (autumn, if you're in the southern hemisphere) has been as colorful and enjoyable for you in your neck of the woods. Thanks for letting me share with you, and I hope to see you again soon.