Snowing in the Forest 022516 12x12

I had planned to paint in the Brown County State Park as part of the Arts in the Park grant project.  We got snow the day before and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to capture the snow in the park in some areas I have scouted out. 

So I loaded my supplies in the van and headed out.  Much to my surprise, as I turned south off Lanam Ridge and headed downhill, the snow all disappeared!  Not a bit left anywhere!  I drove all the way over to the park hoping to find snow in the hollers but, alas, nothing!  Seems Lanam Ridge was the dividing line between snow and no snow!  So I turned around and headed back to paint in Yellowwood State Forest which did not disappoint.

Not a lot of snow on the ground but some and it continued snowing most of the afternoon.  Not the big fluffy stuff but the small, hard, snow pellets fell steadily and necessitated the use of the umbrella to keep the snow from gumming up my paint palette.  The scarf hanging on the tree branch during set up was wrapped around my face as I continued to paint!   Standing to paint for long periods can be bone chilling even when the temperatures hover in the mid-thirties.  Compared to the days when temps were closer to 20, this was downright balmy!

I started with the darks of the creek banks and then moved to the more delicate colors of winter.  The pale salmon colored beech leaves, the receding hills and trees in the distance, and the blue green shale of the creek are all rendered with a sensitive eye and hand.The creek itself is a mix of cerulean blue, cadmium yellow, and cadmium red light and cadmium red medium with titanium white.  

I work back and forth between the foreground and background, popping in the falling snow that was building up on some tree branches creating delicate tendrils snaking through the trees.  Here is the finished painting:

"Snowing, February 25, 2016", oil on panel, 12" x 12", by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!  

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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Falling Snow on Valentine's Day 021416 12x12

Bitter cold, 21 degrees("real feel" even lower), with snow falling when I headed out to the forest to paint.  I took my umbrella to try to keep the snow off of my palette and panel.  I failed.  Snow still fell on my palette and the frozen crystals mixed with the paint giving the finished painting a certain authentic quality that could not be created in the studio.  Snow on the painting surface creates a very unique crystal effect that cannot be duplicated.

Kendra and I getting set up, again standing in the creek.  The snow is coming down quite heavily at times.

The water in the creek is the darkest dark in the whole scene so I start with that.  I use Ultramarine Blue with some Cadmium Red medium with a bit of yellow to make a dark, rusty green for the creek bed.

You can see from the pictures that I was in tight quarters with the creek bank directly behind where I was standing making it impossible to step back. Snow piles up on my umbrella.

 Here's how the painting looks under the umbrella near the end of the session.

And here, below, is the finished painting.  The colors are very delicate and hard to really capture in a photograph.  The paint surface and thick, crystallized paint is hard if not impossible, to see in a photo.  A photo is a pale shadow of the actual painting!  I guess that is why I am so passionate about REAL artwork!

"Falling Snow on Valentine's Day", 021416 12x12, oil on panel, by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!  I love to hear from YOU so please leave a comment.

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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Snow Starting to Melt Deep in the Forest Code #012416 12x12

"Snow Starting to Melt Deep in the Forest, January 24, 2016", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. Charlene Marsh.

I hiked back a good mile in the forest to paint this scene.  The temps were not as bitter as recent days - low to mid 30s - and the sun was out.  I painted this between 3-6 p.m.  Still some sun on the hill tops but shadows growing on the creek bed.

I really don't remember the light on the trees being this golden.  For once, a photo(by me) that looks good!  I like the sunny sky reflected on the creek in the photo below.  The picture is a little deceptive because it makes it look like my easel is set up right next to the creek when I am actually set up high on a bank overlooking the creek.

Here's a shot further back that shows it a little better.

Because the sun was going down behind the hill at my back, I tried to paint in the lights on the hill top first before it all went into shadow but I don't think it worked very well.  I usually start with the darks and move to the lights.  Hard for me to get the light key right starting with the lights.  So I moved to the darks.

You can see how the light has changed dramatically in this photo, below.  The sun has fallen behind the hills and everything is now in shadow.

Here is the final painting.  

"Snow Starting to Melt Deep in the Forest, January 24, 2016", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. Charlene Marsh.

Frame Suppliers for the Artist and Collector

Frames are the bugaboo for an artist.  The challenge is selecting a frame that best complements a painting while satisfying a wide variety of tastes and decorator ideas of the collector while balancing the budget.  And finding suppliers that actually have frames in stock!  So many are back ordered for six months or more.  That is an unacceptable wait time either for the collector or the exhibiting artist.  

Here's a list of frame suppliers to suit a wide variety of needs.  Many serve both the wholesale and retail markets.  Wholesale only are listed towards the end. I'll continue to add to this list as I learn of new suppliers.

1. ArtfulPictureFrames.com  This company serves both wholesale and retail customers.  Good quality frames at good prices.
2. ArtFrames.com  Serves artists and collectors.  Carries a beautiful Tuscany linen frame with a touch of gold I am in love with.  Popped this painting sample in it to see how it looked.  The proportions aren't right but I get an idea of how it would look with this painting.  I'm salivating.  Yum.
   
   
3. DickBlick.com   Affordable frames and art supplies.  For artists and collectors.
4. www.FrankenFrames.com  "Affordable, classy frames".  For the artist and collector.
5. www.CanvasPlace.com  Shadow box and floater frames.  For the artist and collector.
6. www.KingOfFrame.com  Quality plein air frames for the collector and artist.   
7. www.MetroFrame.com  Floater frames for paintings.  For the artist and collector. 
8. JerrysArtarama.com   Wholesale and retail art supplies and frames.  Free shipping if you meet  minimum order requirements.
9. ASWexpress.com   This is a wholesale club with a membership fee and is best for artists who buy a quantity of frames and art supplies.  The catch is that the shipping fees can eat up any discount.  The same people own ASW and Jerry's (which often offers free shipping) so I usually compare the deals at both sites before placing an order.
10. www.JFM.net  Wholesale only.  Very good quality.  Check to see what they have in stock.
11. www.FloridaFrames.com  Frames for the wholesale market.  Lots of plein air styles to choose from.
12. www.OmegaMoulding.com  Wholesale only. Very high quality, beautiful frames.  Frame moulding lengths or chopped and joined.  Regional delivery with their own vans - great for large frames that tend to get damaged with commercial shippers.  Based in Chicago and New York.
13. www.CashMoulding.com Wholesale only.  Large selection of moulding (chopped and joined, if needed) from many suppliers.  Regional delivery with their own vehicles - great for large frames that tend to get damaged with commercial shippers.  They are based in Birmingham, AL.  
14.  http://www.laframe.com/  Just discovered this supplier and I still need to check them out but they have some different styles I haven't seen but have been looking for.
15.  www.AspenMoulding.com This company, based in Indianapolis, caters to art galleries, frame shops, artists, photographers, interior designers, decorators, and art consultants.  You must have a tax ID number to purchase from them.
16. www.San Diego Frame Company.com   This is a wholesale company of ready made and custom frames based in California. They own the factory across the border in Mexico and can custom make whatever you want.  They make the mouldings and can finish the frames to your specifications.  High quality.

Please let me know if you have a supplier with good, quality frames that I can add to this list.

Thanks for tuning in! 

Charlene

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Wet Panel Carrier Boxes

Someone recently asked:

"This is very amazing, how you create "en plein air".  I have a question, though.  Since you use oils, how do you transport your beautiful work back home without smudging, smearing, or downright destroying it?  Looking forward to your answer."

Great question!  I have special carrying boxes made by Raymar that have slots to slide the wet panels into for safe return home.  They come in all sizes and I have most, if not all, of them. The boxes are made with a water repellent foam core type board with air cells and are very sturdy and lightweight.

Each box can carry several panels but the weight will add up.  I only carry what I want to use on that painting expedition.  Many artists use the boxes while traveling and fill them up.  

A well used Raymar box.

I also just bought a new kind of carrier, ezPak, from ArtWorkEssentials.com, that is a thin wood frame with a 1/4" thick dividing rabbet.  Two wet paintings, face to face, can be carried.

ezPak wet panel carrier

I also made an 18" x 24" carrier myself from foam core because no one makes a box that big.

18" x 24", Artist made box.

18" x 24", Artist made box, open, with a panel inside.  Kelty backpack in the background.

Many of the boxes and frame carriers can accommodate more than one size. 
For example, a 12" x 16" box, being 12" wide, can also carry 12" x 12" or  9" x 12" panel.  Raymar came out with a 9" x 12" box that is smaller since it is a popular plein air painting size and reduces the bulk and weight of using a 12" x 16" box. 

The smaller panels and carrying boxes will fit inside my Kelty backpack while the bigger ones I carry by the strap slung over my neck and shoulders. 

Some pochades also come with slots on the backside for carrying wet panels but I prefer a separate box for the panels.  The slots can be limiting and add extra weight to the pochade.

I'd love to hear if anyone has experience with a different kind of carrier.  I know there are some other brands out there  that are more suited to specific needs like getting your paintings home when traveling by plane.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and many blessings in 2016!  

Charlene

P.S.  Please be sure to sign up for my email newsletter that I send out about once a week with info privy only to my subscribers.  The sign up form is on my website, CharleneMarsh.com.  Thanks so much!

Hollyhocks, Echinacea, Lilies, Daisies, and Queen Anne's Lace Code #121515 S 12x12

Let's end the year with a lovely flower painting! 

I first make a panel by cutting the hardboard into the size I want then sealing the panel with GAC 100.  I apply two coats of gesso to the front and back sides of the panel.  Then I tint the panel with a napthol crimson red acrylic paint.   Using alizarin crimson and cerulean oil paints thinned with cold pressed linseed oil, I sketch the initial drawing on the panel staying very loose with the drawing.  This preliminary sketch is used to place where I want the flowers and pool and birdbath to go and the basic structure of the painting.

I start with the darkest darks of the background trees and the foreground space.  I also pop in the pure reds and pinks of the flowers.

I have a rubber tipped implement -- looks kinda like an eraser tip -- to loosely add branches and tendrils.  I also put in the birdbath.  I work back and forth between the foreground and background as well as all over the entire surface at the same time.

Flowers are added and then pushed back or painted over and even painted out, in an ongoing "back and forth" play throughout the entire surface.

The finished painting, "Hollyhocks, Echinacea, Lilies, Daisies, and Queen Anne's Lace" next to a gold fish pool.  Oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. 2015. Code #121515 S 12x1.  SOLD.

I want to wish you a Happy New Year and many blessings in 2016!  I appreciate you very much!  You are the reason I continue to paint and create beautiful artwork to enrich our living spaces and lives!  Thank you for your interest and support over the years!  I plan to make 2016 the best year ever with more fabulous paintings!

Please be sure to sign up for my email newsletter in the upper right box so you can get a once a week email with new paintings in progress and also when they become available as well as upcoming shows, news, specials, info about classes and workshops, tools and gear, and fun insights into the life of an artist.  Thanks!

Cheers,

Charlene

Dad in Brown County

Loren Marsh on the front porch of his cabin in Brown County, Indiana, 1946-48.

Blog updated 12-22-15.

At a family gathering this past weekend, my sister gave me a packet of photos that had been stashed in our uncle's barn.  At first she tried to tell me this picture with our Dad was from the Philippines during WW II but I knew right away from the log cabin, the trees and the hills in the background that it was from my home, Brown County!  I was very excited to find this photo of my Dad, Loren Charles Marsh, sitting on the front porch of his Brown County cabin where he lived while attending law school one county over in Bloomington, Indiana.  Despite the numbers "44" written on the back, the photo must have been taken sometime between 1946 and 1948.

I got this email from my brother with updated and corrected information:

Hi Charlene,

1.  Dad tried to join the Navy after Pearl Harbor, but was rejected due to eye sight.  He graduated from University of Chicago in June, 1942 and was drafted into the Army after that.  He was not considered I-A.   I think he was I-B because of his vision.

2. He taught radar, which was secret and highly classified, in Norfolk, Virginia his first two years.  He told me that the army forgot about his classification sometime in 1943 or 1944 and shipped him to New Guinea and then the Philippines.   He said when they were at sea, they had to be very quiet and keep all the lights out.  Dad said he should have stopped smoking and used the cigarettes to start a laundry. He said he could have made a lot of money.  <<Side note:  Mom wouldn't marry a smoker so Dad quit before they got married.>>

3.  Dad did have appendicitis in the army.   I think it was around 1944.  I'm pretty sure he was not sent home.

4.  He also told me he got one combat star as he was on an island that had action on the other side.  I think I have it and some of his other WWII stuff.  In a soldier's parents' homes, a blue star was displayed for active duty and a gold star for a son killed in action.

5.  There were 16,000,000 men from the US in WWII and 250,000 were killed, which is around 1400 per week or 5600 per month.   Obviously, this was not advertised widely.   Grandma and Grandpa were very worried about Dad being killed in the war.

6.  He also told me that generally the Marines would go in first and the Army followed.  If the Army saw action, that meant the Marines were losing.

7.  He returned in January,1946.  He said he returned to the "world" by sailing under the Golden Gate bridge in SF.   He said the first thing he drank was milk and it was great.   Of course he had a beer after that.   He said it took months to get everyone out of the army.  After he landed in CA, he took a train home to Indiana.

8.  After he returned, he signed up for the GI bill, was admitted to IU Law School and went 2 1/2 years, graduating in 1948.  After graduation he returned to Muncie, met Mom, got married, started a law practice, and had us.

8.  As you may know, I have videos of Grandpa discussing WWI and Dad discussing WWII.  I need to get them edited, maybe with John Marsh's help.

9.  Dad died in 2007 and is buried at Butler, a military cemetery in Springfield, IL, dating back to the Civil War.

P.S.  Dad's favorite poet was JW Riley and artist TC Steele.

James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916)

Theodore Clement Steele (September 11, 1847 – July 24, 1926)

Love, Keith

Dad would speak fondly of his time in the Brown County Art Colony where he enjoyed hob nobbing with the artists and seemed to be particularly fond of Jack (Georges) LaChance.  He also knew Marie Goth, V.J. Cariani, and C. Curry Bohm, among others.  I am very proud to continue the legacy of Brown County artists that my Dad always spoke so highly of and was thrilled to be a part of in the hay day of the 1940's.  As far as I know, this is the only picture of him in Brown County during this time period.  I do not know who took the picture.

Loren Marsh in either New Guinea or the Philippines during World War II.

Sometimes I wonder if Dad retreated to Brown County to decompress after the war.  Commuting to Bloomington every day could not have been easy back then given the bad roads and distance and winter weather.

My Dad was a gentle, kind, friendly, sensitive soul so it doesn't surprise me to see all the photos of him socializing with the indigenous peoples and even holding their babies.  Growing up, whenever I would hear people disparage and joke about cut throat lawyers, I was always a bit mystified because my Dad, a lawyer, was such a good guy with more integrity in his pinky finger than most people have in their whole body! And it wasn't just a naive, starry eyed daughter's opinion.  Many folks have come to me in later years to tell me what a great guy my Dad was and all the wonderful things he did to help them.

If anyone has any additional information or corrections please contact me.  I plan to update this blog as I get new information.  

Please be sure to sign up for my email list (top right of this blog) or at www.CharleneMarsh.com to get updated info about shows, new paintings, exclusive offers when new paintings are available, work in progress, and fun stories like this one. 

Thanks for reading!  Happy Trails and Merry Christmas! 

Charlene

Flowers Galore!

This painting is done in the studio.  I started with several sketches to figure out how I wanted to set it up.  Plein air paintings I have done over the years were used for inspiration.  Here's one page from my sketchbook.

I sketched out the painting on the panel with a brush dipped in linseed oil and a magenta cerulean blue mix and started blocking in the colors.

 I start with the darks first and then block in the bright flowers.

  Continuing to lay in the values and colors.

I work over the entire surface of the panel at the same time. 

 I block in the sky last.  Lightening a dark is much easier than trying to make a light value (with white) dark.  In fact, it is impossible!  Now the fun really begins! 

I go back into the painting adding the details of the flowers and leaves and flowing water.  Again, I work over the entire surface at the same time.  Since I work wet into wet, I have to work as fast as possible and stay with it over several days until it is done. 

 Finished painting.  "Flowers Galore", 24" x 36", oil on panel.  #110615 24x36

Thanks for tuning in!  Happy trails!

Plein Air Painting in the Woods, "Waiting For Teddie"

This blog shows how I create a painting "en plein air" out in the forest.  Kendra and I are heading out on the trail to a spot a good mile back on the ridge with a gorgeous view.

The pochade and tripod are set up and ready to go.  I lay out my palette back in the studio before heading out on the trail.  I try to put out as much paint as I think I will need. I start with a panel that has been tinted with a Naphthol Crimson Red.

I lay out the initial sketch using a small brush dipped in Cold Pressed Linseed oil and picking up a mix of transparent magenta and cerulean blue. 

Next, using the palette knives, I lay in blocks of color and values.

The painting progresses. I usually block in the sky near the end of the painting.

I know this photo is hideous and I only include it to show that I was finishing the painting at dusk, as it was getting quite dark.  Before I started packing up, a coyote very nearby started to howl and scream and it was most unnerving!  I was sure glad I had Kendra with me.  She started to bark at the coyote and it must have moved away because I didn't hear it again.  I walked home a mile in the dark using my headlight flashlight to light the trail.

The finished painting is an oil on panel, 12" x 24".  I named it "Waiting for Teddie" because this is a place on the trail we would stop and wait for my old dog, Teddie, during the last two years of his life, to give him a chance to catch up with us before moving on.  He moved slower and slower towards the end of his life but he always wanted to go with us out into the woods.  I still often stop here and sometimes I think I see him in the distance catching up with us on the trail.