061616 Summertime at the Pool

Busy day at the pool!  Hot and sunny!  Lots of action!  This painting was done at the Olympic size pool at the Brown County State Park(Indiana) as part of the Arts in the Park project grant I received celebrating the bicentennial of the state.

I tend to set up and get to painting and things move so fast, I forget to shoot any photos of the progress of the painting.

So here is the painting in situ.  People move a lot so I am often just capturing a gesture, a movement, a head bobble.  


I absolutely love the brilliant sunlight and crystal blue sky and pool but sunburn is one of my greatest challenges!  I wear a long sleeve shirt, hat, and full shoes (tops of feet are very tender!) and often still get burned on some little nook or cranny that the sun finds. 

Here is the finished painting.  "Summertime at the Pool, June 16, 2016", plein air oil, 12" x 12", by Charlene Marsh.

Have a great summer!

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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Snowy Vista at the State Park, 021516 12x12

Grey day in the Brown County State Park with temperatures in the mid-thirties and a gorgeous vista!  I love the way the snow is so white against the trees and grey sky.  This is a highly visible spot to paint along the main road with a small parking area for the scenic overlook.  Since this is an activity as part of the Arts in the Park grant I received from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Department of Natural Resources to celebrate the bicentennial of the state of Indiana, I wanted to maximize exposure to park visitors. 

 

I was able to park my car in the small lot nearby and carry my gear to this vista.  Easy peasy!!  MUCH easier than backpacking deep into the woods to paint.

For this painting, I started with the gleaming, sparkling white of the snow in the foreground.  If you follow my blogs, you know I usually start with the darks but this time I started with the lightest, brightest white snow.  I wanted to capture that virgin white and use it to set the values of the background colors.

I say "virgin white" but I never use paint straight out of the tube.  I mixed a violet from magenta crimson and ultra and cerulean blues to get a nice crystal snow blue violet, mixing it with lots of titanium white.  I wanted the white to be fresh, like the snow. 

Here you can see my painting with the vista.  Hard to compete! 

Temps felt quite warm after working outside in the low twenties just the day before!  The paint stays workable rather than turning sticky and making "icicles" of the paint. 

And here you can see the finished painting:

"Snowy Vista in the State Park", 021516 12x12, oil on panel, by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks so much for reading!  I love to hear from you so please leave a comment.

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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Arts in the Park Grant

I am really excited to announce that I have been awarded a $3000 Arts in the Park grant by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, in celebration of Indiana's bicentennial in 2016.  Here is the summary of my proposed project:  

"The artist will backpack oil painting supplies into the forest in all four seasons to paint "en plein air" in the Brown County State Park to capture the spirit and beauty of the forest. The artist will demonstrate to and engage with the public while working to raise awareness of fine art and the natural environment. The artist plans to create four, plein air oil paintings, one in each season of the year.  The artist will use social media to promote the events and engage the public."

I plan to keep you updated with the progress of the paintings and grant project as we go along.  Stay tuned!

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Thanks so much for checking in!

Happy trails!

Charlene

P.S.  I love to hear from you so leave a comment if you like.