Steelville Plein Air

Steelville was a good time, and I was honored to receive three awards.  This tiny town buzzes with people all day.  It is the 'capitol of MO rafting'.  Debbie Payne and I stayed in a really nice trailer on the property of one of the sponsors and committee members.  Ellen and Jack has the trailer we stayed and and a very cool caboose!  Our friend Marcia stayed in it.  There is not a tremendous amount of social time at these events.  Everyone is busy painting or framing or cleaning out their cars….which end up looking like a studio for art supplies.  It took me a day to clean mine out and POWER wash it!

Marcia and Rusty Young.  Rusty was married to one of the painters, Mary.  He is the lead singer in POCO!  Small world.  Who would guess the lead member of the band POCO would be living in the wilds of Steelville?

The artists participating in the event.

One of the paintings I did which received an honorable mention award. 

This venue was at a private estate we all painted for a sunset competition.  The rest of the photos of this event are several pictures below.  Out of order…..  

The estate was amazing with lots of art, sculptures, and two musicians playing for us.  

One of the feasts we were invited to partake in.

I read this AFTER I set up to paint.  

I title it 'Not worth dying for".  

Waiting for judging, we met in the bar next door.

Nyle Gordon won several top awards.

Craig Thomas, who paints on hollow core doors!

Paige is an amazing person.  She has 5 kids and is adopting one from Letvainia or someplace I had never heard of.  

one of mine

One of the horses at the estate we painted at one day.  They had 4 or 5 kids, all home schooled.  

This little church was a one room school house.  They converted it to a chapel.  It was so wonderful.  

Meramac State Park

My host house took this painting as their host gift.  It was one of my favorites.  

Marty Coulter and I painted side by side one afternoon.  He had finished two previously.  

My block in.

This painting finished, won third place.  It was auctioned the last day of the event.  

These are a little out of order, but this is the private estate with the musicians.  They had this wonderful open barn, where we had the reception.

This was the 'library'.  The light was on  by the door and I figured it would be a perfect evening painting.

Debbie's painting of the cemetery where the host said 'all my relatives are'.  No need for a family tree!

This is my finished painting.  After the purchase award was given, the owners also purchased my painting and Debbie's' painting.  Lucky we picked the subjects they were hoping someone painted.

Dillard's Mill park.  After we left and were driving out I saw the rattle snake below!

I was so worried about chiggers and ticks, I didn't think about snakes until I saw this one.  It was huge.  It had about 5 rattles.  It was as thick as my wrist.  

Two of the painters entertaining after the judging.

Steelville was full of surprises.  This soda fountain was across from the gallery.

This artist's home was spectacular.  She painted and he was one of the committee.  They had a really nice potluck dinner for us the last night.

This is the Cob House.  Craig Thomas stayed in this house during the event.  Lucky dog.  They built it first and lived there 3 years until the big house was finished.  Now it is a studio!  

Cob house kitchen

Corrugated metal interior leading up stairs to the bedroom.

Up the stairs looking down.  Art everywhere.  In the house was a Chihuli glass piece.  

The Cob house.

Mary Young going in to the straw bale garage.  Thick walls.  We were on the tour of the buildings on the property.  

the main house

Main house gardens

Marcia's nocturne, which sold after she finished it the day of the sale!

About 5 of us painted the statue of St. Michael at the Catholic Church Friday evening after two events.  It was a long day.

Back up to Augusta Plein Air

It seems like a long time ago when I painted in the Augusta Plein Air event.  Several of the photos show we aredressed in gloves and winter coats.  It was Cha Cha Chilly.  A superb event that I hope to be able to attend again next year.

My first ribbon in Augusta.  It was a third place, but I was ecstatic to even place in that competition.  

Pastel artist Michelle Wells.  LOTS of color to work with.  When I see a pastellist at work, I think I want to dive in and try it again.  

Raven Perry is from CA and comes to paint in the event.  During the show, she painted on her leg with Henna.  She is a super nice woman.

And this is my art camp house!  Love the Airstream.  I had several artist come by to paint it.  She always had a good side!

Across the street we were entertained with a mama fox and a slew of babies.  She was on high alert.

Marty Coulter was painting in the 'winners' event at a winery and I got permission to watch him.  He was an illustrator in his past life, and jokes about trying to break those habits.  His work always sells well.  He is an excellent painter, and a really nice guy!

This was the group I painted with at the 'private estate' paint out.  The first 20 to sign up for the festival gets to paint at a special place.  It was fabulous.  

I selected the horse stall to paint.  Of course the horses moved all over, but I painted fast and got one in.  When this was finished, the owner purchased it!  .

Curious horses.

Joan Parker and I helped with two other artist with an afternoon of kids camp.  I taught acrylic, Joan taught oil.  We had a good time.

Joan Parker on a COLD morning.

Kathy brought us a vegan lunch.  No forks.  Joan used a plastic lid to eat!  Love her laugh.

Busy time of the year!

With three plein air events under my belt, this summer is just beginning. Augusta plein air, Stems plein air, and Steelville plein air. I have been very fortunate to place in each event, and sales have covered my expenses. I fondly refer to these events as art camp! There is such a wealth of knowledge when you work around all of these wonderful plein air painters.

I have been following a blog of an artist that I have found to be full of juicy information. He has given permission to re- post his blog information. So here is one that I found very informative.

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GABOR SVAGRIK

5 Topics Painters Struggle With

June 17, 2014

OVER COMPLICATED SUBJECT MATTER

I see many painters putting in or picking subjects that are way too complex for their skill level.  This seems to be very common.  “But it looks so cool on the photo” this comment spells disaster almost every time when you see the painting. Even I would not paint what I see in some source photos. Our knowledge grows with time and painting consistently improves our work. Therefore we must know the level we are at and not push it too far. We tend to overestimate our knowledge and this shows up clearly when viewing the final painting.

Solution:

Look for big shapes and good patterns of both light and dark. If you paint the landscape look at your source photos that have 3 to 4 large shapes in them ( sky, background, middle ground and foreground). If you do not see this pattern somewhere just skip over the photo.


NOT PATIENT ENOUGH

I know this one is not easy, but we must be patient with our fine art journey.  Its growth is slow. Today we live in such a fast-paced environment; we are attuned to wanting it all, NOW. Remember to become an artist, the path is not a sprint, but a marathon.

Solution:

Work on several pieces at once. This way you can keep rotating them, stay fresh, and eventually upon revisiting these works in progress you will find yourself correcting things you may have missed beforehand. Paint smaller pieces, from an 8x10 to 12x16 for a while. You will learn more about the process and solve problems more frequently than you would if you were always working on one large piece. Always working larger and making mistakes brings on frustration and not to mention the loss of materials and paint you will scrap if the larger piece is not salvageable.  We all know how this feels. Remember it is all about the quality not the size of the artwork.


WRONG PAINTING SURFACE

I have taught many workshops and from time to time while walking around and helping students at their easels I would find that their panels or canvases are not suitable for their paints. The paint would just slide around on it or would not adhere well.  This can be very frustrating for any medium.

Solution:

Buy canvases or adhere canvases to panels at the very least with a medium weave. Not too rough, but not smooth either. Oil primed canvases are great for experienced painters but can be a struggle for others. Acrylic Gessoed boards can be too slick as well. Canvas is my preference of choice for oil paints.   I like to use single-primed Claessens® #66 linen which has an even medium texture, tight weave and excellent strength.  Sorry, I have tailored this suggestion to my landscape painting readers. I would be glad to give suggestions for other mediums just reach out to me in the comment section.


CARRYING TO MUCH STUFF WHILE PAINTING OUTDOORS

Please do not carry the kitchen sink :) Painting is not complicated, so do not complicate your supplies either. In the long run an investment in compact equipment and supplies will save your back as well as your wallet.

Solution:

Try to bring no more than 10 brushes. Buy small 37ml size tubes of paint. Use a small thinner container your only outside for 2 to 4 hours max and always not far from your car to refill. Invest in a light tripod with carbon fiber legs) and a light ball head. Click here for more info. Weigh your backpack; it should be less than 20 lbs. If it is over twenty pounds then edit your pack down again. Minimizing is the key for a joyful outdoor painting experience.  Think “grab and go” when the moment strikes.


OVERLY COMPLICATED COLOR PALETTE

Too many colors on your palette can be confusing. You will tend to use those colors incorrectly if you don’t understand value before color.  Some painters use a wide variety of colors correctly, but remember they have also been painting full-time as a career for nearly 30 to 50 years. This knowledge and experience allows variety.

Solution:

Keep your colors to a minimum. Learn how to use them well, before adding new ones to your mix.
 

Here are the colors I use: 

Titanium  white
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean Blue
Raw Sienna
Yellow Ochre
Cad Lemon Yellow
Alizarin Crimson
Cad Red Medium
Burnt Sienna

Colors to use  if you are having problems with values. This is a wonderful palette that will allow you to mix some color but will hold you back just enough to concentrate more on values. I do this in my classes all the time. 

Ivory Black ( this will be your blue )

Burnt Sienna ( this will be your red )

Yellow Ochre ( this will be your yellow )

Titanium White