Plan'e Air Painting


This summer has been cool so far, but today was my first time in a while where I was outside drawing and I felt like it was time to quit because I was too hot. So it's finally hot, I continued anyway and got a nice drawing of Locol and a new shop beside it that has yet to open. I posted it. I am thankful to have made the acquaintance of a graduate of Chicago Art Institute at the Virgina Artist in Action Gallery. He's retired and lives just south of here in Nelson County. His name is David Golden Jr. and he and I talked. He was good enough to remind me of a few steps in painting that I had forgone for the sake of "getting it done and getting right to it", but they are important steps that a painter shouldn't overlook. I have been. So I made note of them and now am incorporating them into my painting routine. It's working out well. One important one is to make a preliminary sketch before committing to painting a canvas. This has been a big help for me. By doing this I am able to take a good look at what is their before I am using a brush. I can workout what lays before me much easier if I have already taken a good look at the subject. That's exactly what doing a sketch enables me to do before I am working it out in oils. Oils can be gone over or covered over but doing so when they are wet can lead to major problems which many call "making of mud" by overworking a painting. So knowing what's ahead can help forewarn me of the details and problems that I am facing.
In this drawing I am about to paint these buildings and one can see how the second floor of Locol has a lot of details that overlap one another. This can be a mess if I was trying to work it out for the first time, but because I did this drawing, I know most of the measurements between windows, I also know the style of the chairs and plant holders and how they are laying on that balcony. Now tomorrow when I begin this painting, I will be better prepared rather than just trying to work it all out as I am painting. I was doing this last year and it led to some disasters.
I am blessed to have met David Golden Jr. and I hope to see him again sometime. He's a good man and he does his work in the beauty of the countryside he lives in down south of town. I have a lot to thank him for, and I hope to have a good season painting this summer here in town.

Comments

What Has Worked;

Poolside

Wyant's Store in Whitehall,Va.

Kidd's Store, Va. : an oil

Firecycle in Kamahura: 1954 or So