Monroe Lake Paynetown Beach Painting Demo, 080517 12x12 #2

This is the second painting I did as part of my Arts in the Parks painting demonstration project at Monroe Lake Paynetown beach on August 5, 2017, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.  The second painting ran over the time slot but I wanted to finish the painting so kept working.  You can read about the first painting HERE.

I started with an initial sketch using a brush dipped in cold pressed linseed oil and the magenta pigment which is a transparent color.

Then I blocked in the dark line of trees.  I mixed the sandy color using Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light and Medium and Titanium White.  I also mixed a violet, the complementary color of yellow, using Primary Red-Magenta and Cerulean Blue, and used the violet to tone down the sand color and add shadows.

 

Then I added the sky and water.  Once the ground was painted in, I dashed in the tents and people on the beach.

You can see the rich glow on the parchment paper palette.  Most paper palettes are made with a waxy paper that just doesn't work for me.  Scrapping the palette with my palette knives eventually leads to bits of wax coming off into the paint.  UGH!

The final painting:

"Monroe Lake Paynetown Beach, August 5, 2017", plein air oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. 2017, by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks so much for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 
 





"This activity is made possible with support by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources OR Name of appropriate State Historic Site."

Monroe Lake Paynetown Painting Demonstration, 080517 12x16 #1

This painting demo at Monroe Lake Paynetown beach six miles from Bloomington, Indiana was sponsored and funded by the Indiana Arts Commission and held in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in partnership with the property as part of the "Arts in the Parks" program.  

I arrived at the Paynetown beach around 11:30 a.m. and scoped out the area and decided where to set up for my demo.  The best vantage point was up at the Nature and Activity Center overlooking the beach with the trees on the opposite side.  The location would also be a high traffic area for maximum exposure and, as an added bonus, there were some benches nearby for visitors to sit on.  However, several visitors who came just for the demo brought their own folding chairs. 

I set up some of the plein air gear like my backpack, wet panel carriers, and tubes of paint on a table for visitors to study.  I also had a couple of cards so visitors could see some finished paintings.

I got set up and started the first painting, a 12" x 16", promptly at 1:00 p.m. starting with the initial sketch using a brush dipped in oil and a bit of pigment.  Then I started painting in the dark values before blocking in the sandy beach, lake, and sky.

 

After the basics were blocked in, I started popping in the tents and people that populated the beach and frolicked in the water.

Some of the visitors who came out for the demo.

The painting with the scene in the background.

Dr. Tony Lubarsky and me at the end of the demo.  

Tony sent me this photo and the action shot of me painting(above) with the following note:  

"Twenty years ago you were my first oil instructor. I was the only one using palette knife because you said we can use anything we wanted. I loved palette knife painting. But then you watched me for a while and said: Tony, no body paints straight from the tube! I was mixing right on the canvas."  

Ha!  When I got his note, I remembered that conversation.  I'm real big on mixing beautiful colors using complementary color systems so I was no doubt cringing with all the "tube colors"  going straight on the canvas.  

"Monroe Lake Paynetown Beach, August 5, 2017", plein air oil painting on panel, 12" x 16", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

Stay tuned for the second painting I did as part of the demo.

Thanks for following along.

Happy Trails.

Cheers,

Charlene 

"This activity is made possible with support by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources OR Name of appropriate State Historic Site."



 

Geneva Art Fair 2017

I've done the Geneva Art Fair in Geneva, Illinois, in Chicagoland, held July 22-23, several times and returned again in 2017.  This is a lovely show in a beautiful village along the Fox River, west of Chicago, that only allows original artworks to be exhibited and sold -- no reproductions permitted.  This juried show is very high quality with many exhibitors coming from all over the country to participate.  One lady near me came from Toronto, Canada.  The steady crowd is sophisticated and interested in fine art.

The show is put on by the Chamber of Commerce and promoter, Erin Melloy, oversees the event.  She does a great job!  Everyone has a roomy booth space with a walkway on each side large enough to hang artwork on the outer walls. 

I had painted some new small paintings that I display on mini easels on a pedestal in the booth that were very popular with young and old alike.  I also had the new "homeless shelter dog portraits" which were very popular as well with many people wanting their own pet's portrait painted. 

The weather was wonderful all weekend until the very last hour on Sunday.   While it was hot (hey, it is, after all, July!) the rain that threatened held off for most of the weekend.  But at 4 p.m. Sunday, black storm clouds roiled in and let loose a deluge of rain.  The rain came so hard and so fast, that I was quickly ankle deep in water in my booth.  I ended up kicking off my nice sandals and just going barefoot.  I'm surprised I didn't see any fish swimming around my feet!

The wind was so strong that part of the display for a landscaping company in the intersection blew over.  Packing up "wet" means getting everything out on Monday to wash and dry.  And I mean everything.  I even unpacked tubs of gear to make sure everything was dried out.  Luckily, the paintings came through unscathed.

Thanks for tuning in.

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Starve Hollow Beach Demo vs1, 071517 12x16

This is the first of two painting demos at the Starve Hollow State Recreation Area on July 15, 2017 as part of the Arts in the Parks project grant I received from the Indiana Arts Commission in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources. I made the delightful drive south, down State Road 135, a windy, hilly, wooded route, that demanded a speed limit of 45 mph.  From my house just west of Nashville about five miles, to the Starve Hollow SRA, the drive took about one hour. 

I arrived at the park around 11:30 a.m. and scoped out the park and beach.  I had been hiking in the park about twenty years ago and remember some beautiful vistas along the trails although the property manager informed me later that no vistas are being maintained along the trails at this time.  However, Skyline Drive has some great vistas.  I didn't remember the beach and was pleasantly surprised to see the huge, sweeping sandy beach maybe 1/4 mile long.  The day started off cool, in the sixties, but warmed up nicely as the day progressed.

 

The beach was spacious to say the least and I loved the shade trees that bordered it.  A large swim area was roped off and marked with buoys.  At the deep end, the water was a about four feet deep, still shallow enough to touch the ground.

I commandeered a picnic table to stash my gear and set up my easel and pochade in a shady spot with a great view.  I started blocking in the dark greens of the distant shoreline first.

 Then I added the sky using the same colors reflected in the water as well.

A gentleman, his girlfriend, and her son were enjoying the beach with their two fur friends, a chihuahua and a pit bull puppy.

I mixed up a sand color using Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red and a touch of violet mixed from the blues and reds to block in the beach.  I started adding in the people on the beach with quick gestural movements.  I use palettes knives 99% of the time but used some brushes to capture the gestures of some the fast moving people.

A vacationing family who was camping in the park over the weekend, stopped to check out the painting.  Most visitors were from Seymour, Columbus, and Indianapolis.

This young lady was delighted to see herself in the painting, digging in the sand.

Here's a picture of the painting and the beach when I finished it up.  Because the beach is so big, it looks like there aren't that many people in attendance but that is a deceiving perception.  There were lots of people coming and going!  Here's the finished painting:

"Starve Hollow SRA Beach", plein air oil painting on panel, 12" x 16", by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks following along!

Happy Trails.

Cheers,

Charlene 
"This activity is made possible with support by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources OR Name of appropriate State Historic Site."

 

070117 12x16 Happy 4th of July! Fireworks in Nashville

 "July 1, 2017, Fireworks", plein air oil on panel, 12" x 16", Code #070117 12x16, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

This painting was done "en plein air" during the fireworks display in my hometown of Nashville, Indiana. They stage the show at the football field of the local high school and I set up at the nearby fairgrounds with a few thousand other people.

I started the painting at dusk before the show started and continued into the dark using a small headlight occasionally to illuminate the progress and mix colors. 

You can see from this photo how dark it got!  But what a spectacular opportunity to paint! 

Being a tourist town, they have a big budget for the fireworks and they went on for nearly an hour with a huge, spectacular finale. The crowd roared and cheered at the conclusion.

 "July 1, 2017, Fireworks", plein air oil on panel, 12" x 16", Code #070117 12x16, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

Happy Fourth of July!  May God bless America!

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 

041717 16x12 Spring Plein Air in the Forest

This blog and the next are spring, plein air paintings that were on my camera phone when the phone SIM card locked up.  The phone company had to send me a new one and one thing led to another and I didn't get it reactivated until one month later.  So, these next two paintings were both done in early spring in April.

The day was overcast and gray with spring bursting forth.  The day was warm but got chilly towards night fall. I select this spot int eh forest to paint.  you can see my path heading off deeper into the woods.  My dog is settling in.

My palette is pre-loaded with paint so I can just get the pochade set up and get started with a quick sketch of the scene.

 I blocked in the dark edges of the creek using a mix of Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue.

In early spring, the colors tend to be the bright spring green and soft violets that mix together to make soft ethereal hues.

I take off my glasses to paint on location.  Being nearsighted means the distant details are blurred out letting me focus on the big picture and not get stuck on picky details.

 Once the entire surface is blocked in, I can start to adjust values and add details.

Here's my set up right next to the creek.  I did this painting between 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  I often lik eto paint in the late afternoon when the sun is not so high and glaring.

"April 17, 2017, Spring in the Forest", oil on panel, plein air, 16" x 12", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Lilly, 051817 S 12x12

UPDATE:  Lilly has been ADOPTED!

Lilly, a cattle dog/pit bull mix, is another painting in my Homeless Shelter Dogs series featuring dogs up for adoption at the local Brown County Humane Society.  Everyone recognizes Lilly by her "one ear up" that makes her absolutely adorable and unique!

Lilly's features are particularly delicate with lots of light golds and pinks.  So the darks were minimal from the get-go.  Just a little black around her eyes, nose, mouth, and ear shadow.   

I mixed a wide variety of values of golds and pinks and oranges for her fur.  I took these photos while working at night so the color is a bit wonky.

I mixed up various shades and values of violet, the complementary color to yellow and gold for shadow areas.  Yellow and violet work well together to mix a wide range of hues and values that include the ethereal gray neutrals that lean either to gold or purple.  I used white with a touch of the violets for her white muzzle.

I mixed up more violets for the background color to contrast and pop against the predominant golds of her fur.  At times, I may turn the panel on it's side or upside down to be able to more easily manipulate the paint the way I want it to go.  I was able to paint the negative space next to her left side by turning the panel sideways to slide the palette knife along the edge of her face.

Her eyes are very wistful and I had to get them just right to capture her expression.  Final details like her whiskers and muzzle fur are added last.  Here is the finished painting:

"Lilly, cattle dog/pit bull mix", homeless shelter dog, oil, 12" x 12", Code #051817S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh. Lilly has been ADOPTED!

Thanks for reading about the homeless shelter dogs.  Please contact the Brown County Humane Society if you would like to adopt any of the dogs featured in my paintings or visit your local shelter to find that special new member for your family.  

Luckily, I just learned that several dogs featured in my paintings have been adopted so I will keep the blogs updated as I receive new information.   

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene