My last post was written on the wings of my excitement about my week of plein air fun. Today I’ll relive the fun by sharing my tips and treasures of making it easy.  

I’m privileged to own a little old Yamaha wave runner that has become a great floating studio. I love being on the water, in the water, by the water so plein air and water-based paint just seemed to make sense. 

 A few weeks before this camping trip, I searched Hobby Lobby for ideas on how to construct a small, inexpensive, convenient pochade box.  In the wood craft department I found a little $4 chest with handle and latches--perfect for a 5” X 7” board or panel and enough space to store small tubes of paint.   

Then I went to Lowe’s and purchased a sheet of clear acrylic and had it cut to fit just inside the box. I glued gray pallette paper on the back side to make a reusable palette. My husband glued wood pieces on the inside corners of the box for the acrylic to rest on and carved out two small half circles on the edges of the palette so I can lift it out the box.  We couldn’t find a small hinge to hold the lid up at suitable angles so my ingenious dear crafted one himself. 

The paints go inside, the acrylic palette fits over the paints. My thinking man cut a piece of very thin plastic (from a cutting board sheet) to protect the panel or canvas from the wet paint.   (oops! not pictured, but it fits nicely between the top & bottom of the box.)

I use sticky tac (used to hang posters on walls) to attach my panel to the top of the box. It can be used over and over again.  

I found a large zip-lock bag to hold the pochade, some paper towels, and a small pouch of brushes. All goes into a simple nylon bag with straps to hang over the wave runner handle bars. I take a cup for water, extra panels, a waterproof camera, a cheap attachable umbrella ($4 at Ollie’s), some sun screen, a good hat and I’m set to go!

I also carry a gray scene finder and a clear acrylic strip about the size of a ruler. 

I use the strip of acrylic (left over from the piece that was cut to fit inside the box) as a value/color guide.  When I’m trying to determine color and value of the scene, I place a dab of my paint on the strip, hold it up to compare the paint with nature, and then hold it over my painting to see if the color fits my painting.  Value checking the scene this way works great unless I’m facing strong light, but the method is always helpful to check my paint color with my painting. 

For this venture, I used Golden Open acrylics. The sample-set tubes were the perfect size for the little box and working with acrylics  meant I needed no solvent.  I also loved the blending time of the Open series. I carry a tiny spray bottle of water to periodically spritz my palette to keep colors wet, but even if they dried, they were easy to rewet and continue blending.  Painting with Golden Open was a bit different from oils---they seemed like a cross between watercolor and oils--but I adapted easily to the change.

On my next such water venture, I may try water soluble oils since I love oil paint but find solvents a problem on a jet ski studio.   I’ll let you know how that works. Any suggestions on brands you like?

I’m reading several books at the same time right now, two of which are stretching my not-so-nimble math brain, but they are a great read in relation to art, theology, and my appreciation and understanding of the absolute standard of beauty. 

"Treasure Hunters"

oil, 16 X 20

One is Scott Olsen’s The Golden Section.   I’ve just begun this book, so I’ll probably blog on it in more detail as I read more, but here’s what it has triggered in my brain.   Consider “phi” or “the divine ratio.”  Olsen says that one question philosophers ask is “Is there a way in which parts can retain a meaningful relationship to the whole?” 

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word (logos).”   Olson says, “Ratio (logos) is the relation of one number to another. . .”  Then he points out the myriads of ways the “divine proportion” appears in nature-- geometric proportion, in plants, in creatures, in man, in music, in architecture, in painting.   I’m digging into those chapters now.

If the concept of the “divine proportion” is the key to a “harmonic resonance” in the visible world, then I say “Wow.”   Earlier I mentioned Arthur Wesley Dow’s  Composition: Understanding Line, Notan, and Color.   He defined beauty “as consisting of elements of difference harmonized by elements of unity. “  I’m thinking that the Logos is the key to this harmony of unity and diversity. 

Summer, summer! The fastest season of the year. I just made a trip to beautiful Tennessee for business and fun.  I took my paints along, of course, in the pursuit to keep my painting-a-day goal alive. I didn’t get one every day, but did squeeze in some time to paint some” beauty on the backgrounds” and in my son’s yard.   I would love to make painting those out-of-the-way gems a project in the future. 

Because of a traffic jam we stumbled upon a great hotel in Vonore and learned about an out-of-the-way state park, home of Fort Loudon and a little Indian village outside the fort.

Then we took another detour off of I-40 to an old Sapphire Gem mine, still using the original building! My husband panned for gems and I tried painting one.  He did get some gray sapphires and I got to paint the little mine structure and talk to interesting people. 

Last week I watched a Mike Rooney video with one little tip on mixing vibrate color that simplified the plein air process--whoa, fun!  I tried to grab the afternoon’s last light to give his scheme a try. Here’s the result:

Then I went into the studio that evening and played with paint on a still life to test his theory a little more.  I set up some simple fruit, avoided exact complements and came up with this:

It's not that his color mixing is new, but rather that it is easy to organize my mixing process by his little rule.   I then tried another yard exercise. Much more light, a lot less mud.

To keep colors vibrant, avoid exact complements, add analogous complements, going warm or cool for the desired effect.  Now I could say, "I knew that!"  I knew complements create grays and analogous keep colors brighter." But  "find the complement, move one or more steps to right or left"  just simplified my thinking. I'm all for simple.

 I seem to be doing a lot of summer adjustments to my schedule and my attitude.  Yesterday I listened to a podcast that talked about the difference between revolution and reformation. Revolution seems more exciting, inspiring. Throw off the old, on with the new!  But reformation means a slow, purposeful commitment to the cause, a daily application of principle, a willingness to do the daily discipline necessary for success. Reforming change may seem slow in coming, but the fruit is more certain, the reward more lasting. 

I want to have an art reformation, to discipline myself to do the daily duties required of a good artist.  I do not want a revolution--no storming the castle to cast down the  tyrant of  the traditional. I like the foundational principles that produced a Durer, a Rembrandt, a Caravaggio, a Sargent.  But I want to reform bad habits, weaknesses,  ignorance and develop discipline, strength, knowledge. 

Taking a plein air workshop was a great beginning. Doing a painting a day, preferably plein air would be a reforming change.  While I have a new summer schedule, I’m going to give it a try. I’ll keep you posted.  Little plein airs will be for sale, so let me know if you see something that interests you.

Here’s the fruit of my after-workshop enthusiasm--little 6 X 8 studies in the yard, all done this week--reformation right where I am!

This has been a great week. I’ve become a plein air addict since I attended Scott Boyle’s  workshop. 

I’ve been  trying at every opportunity to get out on my own, but this workshop was the boost I needed to get serious about a real learning opportunity.  We were all a little crazy, waging war against wind, rain, insects, heat  and the general frustration of trying to capture natural light with the limitations of pigment, but it was glorious! God’s creation is a non-stop inspiration and a hard taskmaster for one who wants to really understand beauty---but the rewards are great. 

This blog is going to be rather philosophical. I am reading a good book, Jason Harms’ THE AFFECTIONS OF THE HEART IN ART.  It has me thinking about when I enjoy my art the most.  Do I get the most pleasure when I learn a new skill that I’ve pursued? When I stumble on a creative success? When I’ve won an award?  Or when, as tonight, I receive a heart-felt thanks for an art gift that was done simply for the privilege of doing it and sharing it?  

I think it is the later, but ultimately that pleasure comes from something deeper--from knowing God to be “the end of all the pleasures He has made.” Art is one manifestation of His gift of pleasure. The more I know and understand Him, the greater my sense of pleasure in art or  in any other pleasure will be. 

I’m rethinking all the reasons I paint. I’m thinking I need to remove some unhealthy clutter in my art brain and stay focused on pleasing God and enjoying Him in my art. To do that, I must know and understand Him more.