Gettysburg Festival Plein air

“The battlefield” is the second plein air painting I started the week of Gettysburg Festival Art Fest as a trial to find a few locations on the battlefield and to get my bearings with the weather. Needless to say the majority of the day was completely overcast. 

There were only a few options; pack up and call it a day, complete a few preliminary sketches or give it a go.  I’m very glad I stuck with it, because I finally learned to accept the weather and work around the limitations.  I was no longer looking for the perfect view, shadows or the picturesque scene.  By the time I completed the painting I was enjoying the overcast skies and subtle fog and was even a little bummed when the sun started to come out.

I was also fortunate to meet Carl Whitehill an author for Destination Gettysburg, who took a few photos and did an amazing write up online. 

Tuesday was a great day not only for meeting Carl Whitehill and being a part of a great story, but it was also the “ah-ha” moment I was so reluctant to embrace.  My wife always told me to go out and paint regardless of the weather (unless it was going to rain).  I guess I should listen to my wife more often.

"The Battlefield"
10 x 14"
Watercolor

Plein Air at Fort Hunter

Fort Hunter Mansion and Park is a great place to paint for various reasons.  I have painted there too many times to remember but I stumbled upon this particular location by dumb luck.  I can’t imagine how many times I have walked by this area without ever noticing it.  Needless to say I’m glad I did!  Although my palette consisted of green, green and more green. 

 



"Hunter's Maze"
8.5 x 7"
Watercolor

Upcoming Event:

Gettysburg Festival Art Fest

I will be participating in Gettysburg Festival upcoming plein air event from June 11^th to June 15^th.  There will also be a plein air exhibit at the historic Gettysburg College Norris Wachob Alumni House located on Gettysburg College Campus.  

Click on link below for additional information. 

http://gettysburgfestival.org/our-events/visual-arts/

Camp Hill Plein Air 2014

Sorry I haven’t posted in a very long time.  I initially took a break to focus on family and personal matters in my life and needless to say, procrastination set in.  I will do my best to post on a more consistent basis.

Below are my recent paintings from Camp Hill Plein Air event last week.   This was the first time I participated in the event and it was a blast.  The weather was frustrating throughout the week but overall it was a great experience and I hope I can be a part of it again next year.

"Window view" was purchased by the home owner and I was very fortunate to get my photo posted on PennLive.com.

"Mount Calvary Episcopal Church"
11 x 14"
Watercolor

"Backyard View"
9 x 12"
Watercolor

"Stall house at Allen Berry"
11 x 14"
Watercolor

"Mechanicsburg Train Museum"
11 x 14"
Watercolor

"Window View"
10 x 11.5"
Watercolor

Plein air on the Susquehanna River



"Rockville Brigde on the Susquehanna"
12" x 16" Watercolor on Arches CP.

 

 A storm was coming in last Saturday and I only had about a two hour window to paint.  I was drawn to the view of the Rockville Bridge and the amazing clouds.  I’m slowly finding my favorite spots and I’m looking forward to the variation the seasons will bring.

Garvine Mill

Sunday, I had the perfect opportunity to visit another amazing mill in Fall Grove Pa.  Garvine Mill initially caught my attention online and I’m very happy I took the hour and a half drive to get there.  Unfortunately it was an overcast day, and at least 30 minutes was used photographing the area and mill.  I will definitely be making at least a sketch or a painting in the fall or winter.



"Garvine Mill"
12" x 16" Watercolor on Arches CP.

 

Plein Air

Italian Lake.

I have painted Italian Lake a few times over the years and can’t seem to get enough.  It is so beautiful that I wouldn’t mind living across the street and fortunately there are a few houses right along Italian lake.  I could only imagine waking up to that view every day…wow.  This painting is a little bit smaller than usual 7x11 but it was a little bit easier to manage and that was the goal on this one.

'Italian Lake'

7" x 11". Watercolor on Arches CP.

Boiling Springs Mill

This was the second painting last weekend.  I think I spent more time looking for yellow breeches creek and walking around taking pictures than actually painting the mill.  This is the second time I have been to this location but I was trying to find a specific bridge on yellow breeches creek.  I never did find a great view of the bridge but I had a great view right in front of me. 

'Boiling Springs Mill'

7" x 11" Watercolor on Arches CP

Laughlin Mill

I was going to paint this location last Friday but the weather didn’t allow too much painting.  Yesterday wasn’t much better, overcast and cloudy with storms coming around noon, but I figured I had nothing to lose.

Laughlin Mill is a historic mill located in Newville Pa, right outside of Carlisle.  I initially found this gem online on www.ohiobarns.com  while looking for local water mills and I’ll probably go back to this site for years to come just to see what amazing locations there are left to explore.  

I am always drawn to water and, although I don’t fully understand why, it seems to have a very relaxing and familiar quality to me.  There are a few more mills and a lot of reference photos to draw and paint. 

 


Watercolor on Arches cold press 12" x 16"

Paint and Draw Together

‘Tomatoes’

 5”x 8”. Watercolor on Arches CP.

The watercolor and graphite sketch are from “Paint and Draw Together”, an online challenge for artist of any level to participate in.         

I am about halfway done with the final painting, and was originally planning on having it completed today.  But since “Paint and Draw Together” challenge 26 is over at the end of day,  I had to post something or it didn’t feel right to complete the painting at all.  I’ll finish the final painting soon and post.

Rookie Painter



8”x 11”. Watercolor on Arches CP.



I’m glad I took a little break from drawing and painted "Rookie Painter" December challenge.   Rookie Painter is an online art challenge for all to participate and take whatever interpretation of the photo challenge. 

It’s been about three months since I’ve worked with watercolor and although that isn’t really a long time, I do feel a little rusty.   I still had fun and am fairly happy with the result.  My only struggle was with the color mixing but I guess it’s not that bad for not working in watercolor since last fall. 

Now it’s time for black & white again!  Just kidding, I’m not done with color but I still have to learn the basics so I’ll dabble a little.  I do have some deadlines coming up so I might have to make a b-line back into color and put drawing on the back burner at least for the summer.   Umm summer, so much color, warmth and the great outdoors!

Flower



"Red flower" 6.5" x 8.5" watercolor on Arches 140lb

I had a lot of fun with this flower.  The initial sketch in pencil was deeper in values, but I decided to keep the overall values relatively close.  The background colors (cool greens and blues) were somewhat muted in color but overall the contrast and strength in color were still close.
  

The reference photo did not have a lot of lights and darks, so the goal of this painting was to capture the strong reds and subtle violets.

Yellow Hibiscus

"Yellow Hibiscus" 6.5" x 8.5" watercolor on Arches 140lb paper

This is the second time I painted this flower.  The first attempt although somewhat successful did not have enough strong yellows, deep reds and the shadows were too muted to complete the first painting.  The second and final painting was complete with Watercolor Artist Andy Smith.

Andy Smith is a mentor, and great watercolor artist.  Andy has been painting professionally as a watercolor artist since 1980. I am amazed with the quality and amount of postings on his blog and the amount of art shows he attend every year.  The first time I met Andy and Linda they were more focused on helping me as a person, and artist before I became his student.  

Thank you Andy & Linda for giving me the motivation, advice and support I needed to keep going with my art.

Red Hibiscus

"Red Hibiscus" watercolor on Arches 140lb paper

This Hibiscus was rather interesting photograph for a couple of reasons.  The reds are very strong and saturated in color even the shadows weren’t too washed out or muted.  The light was also strong and appeared white in the photo. 

I am interested in strong light that washes out all local color, detail and appears pure white.  I will eventually complete a series focused on light and darks using juxtaposing and counterchange.  I don’t know if it will be in color or B&W.  

Drawing allows me to slow down to really understand the subject, values, composition and how to play with different techniques to accomplish my goals.    

Reference photo from Sandra Blair http://www.sandrablairphotography.com/.  Sandra Blair is an amazing wildlife artist, photographer and mentor. 

Sandra is currently working on a fund-raising campaign on kickstarter.com “Seeking Refuge: Four Seasons on Assateague Island”.  Her goals are to create approximately 20 paintings of the local wildlife on Assateague Island.  Please join me in supporting her and our wildlife.   

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sandrablair/seeking-refuge-four-seasons-on-assateague-island