Plein Air Hot Tips
I had some interesting feedback on my Plein Air Hot Tips post. Feedback is always appreciated and this post is my response to it.
The Importance of the Thumbnail Sketch
I was asked if it is really necessary to take the time to do a little sketch before starting to paint. Every artist is going to have to answer that question for themself but for me it is essential if I want the painting to be successful.
This sketch has 2 primary purposes. The first is to organize the elements into a good composition (a pleasing arrangement of the shapes). Dealing with nature on location requires a lot of moving things around, adding and eliminating things. It’s incredibly rare that a scene is perfectly composed. We have to take the subject that is in front of us and recreate it the way we want it to be. That’s our job as artists.
This image shows the actual scene.
This is the first sketch I did for this painting. It was pretty good but I didn’t like the angle of the largest log at the right. I wanted it to point in the other direction.
This is the second sketch I did but right away I noticed that log #2 was too high compared with tree #1. I was going to erase the sketch but I decided it wasn’t worth it and just did another tiny little sketch.
This is the tiny final sketch I did. It’s 1″ x 1 1/2″. It took about 4 minutes and it just felt right . . . so on to the painting.
The second major purpose of the sketch is to get a good value pattern (the arrangement of lights and darks). I was painting with someone recently and she did a really nice painting but at the end she asked, “Why doesn’t this painting pop!” I looked at it and the answer was obvious. There were no darks. It was all lights and mid values. It’s the darks that make a painting pop! I mention this because that is what we get from the sketch. As well as creating a composition we create a value pattern that works!
So, for me the 15 minutes spent on the sketch are an essential part of the process. Time well spent!
The Three Wash Method
This is a method that I use a lot. The three wash process involves a First wash in which I cover the entire paper with paint except for areas to be left white.
Some people asked ‘what does that first wash actually look like’? Here is the first wash for this painting.
This is the Second wash where I add all the mid values (which is most of the painting). I also started to establish the darks.
This is the Third wash where I added the jewelry: the darks and the lights (if you use opaque white) and the finishing touches.
I started using this Three Wash Method because nearly all of the master watercolourists I followed used it. It doesn’t work with every subject but it does work with most.
Conclusion
This summer has been the most enjoyable and rewarding experience I have had plein air painting. I learned so much and had a real blast – every time. A big part of that success was that I approached each painting with a plan. I mention this because for my first few years when I dabbled in painting on location it was a constant source of frustration. Every time I went out, I would look at the subject with wonderful expectations of doing a great job and then slinking away at the end because it just didn’t work out. One thing I have to note, also, is that in spite of this lack of success I never gave up. I kept trying until eventually I got it. It’s like I say a lot these days: if you keep doing something long enough you get good at it.
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