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Sunday is the best day of the week. Things seem to move a bit slower… I spent my Sunday morning painting on the grounds of the St. Paul Seminary right along the Mississippi River.
The weather has been perfect; not too warm,blue skies, and sunshine! That sunlight and trees created an amazing dappled pattern across the grass.. I was fascinated by the number of different greens I saw in the shadows as the lawn rolled down to the river.
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I love staying close to home. I think there is something fascinating that happens when you take the time to really observe the area around your home. I painted this little plein air piece of a flowering tree I discovered in the neighbors yard. With all of those small petals being hit by the later morning sun, there was asoftness to the pink tree that contrasted wonderfully against all of the other trees and plants around it.
What a beautiful day for plein air painting in Minnesota! At 74 degrees a nice gentle breeze I don’t think you could ask for anything more. Armed with this sunny disposition, I grabbed my pochade box and headed out side to paint. I got in about 6 hours of painting time, and walked away with 3 little paintings.
The image above the clump of birch trees from the neighbors front lawn. I painting the same group of trees a few weeks ago. What I love about revisiting a subject, especially at this time of year, is taking the time to see how things have changed. In what seems like no time at all, a ring of hostas has circled the birch trees. The leaves on the trees themselves have come out, adding a wonderfully intense green note against the blues of the spruce tree behind them.
The landscape painting above was painted in a park just over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. One of the great things about the neighborhood that we live in now, is the closeness to the Mississippi River. I thing there is something really great about being able to see a scene like this, and know that I’m about 2 miles away from a major downtown area.
We had some very unusual weather the morning that I created this little painting. It started off raining, then the sun came out. Then rain and sun, both at the same time. It finally looked like things were going to clear up, or at least stop raining. I made my move. With pochade box in hand, I made my way down to the river. I came across this spot, and set up my paints. About an hour, I heard what I thought was a loud truck, or a train. It turns out, it was thunder. I didn’t realize that until I got smacked in the face with the first of many huge drops of rain. I quickly tucked my painting into it’s carrier, and made my way for the car.
Looking back on it, I figure that getting rained on while painting just ups my credibility as a plein air painter.
Birch Clump
8×6″ original oil on linen panel
$150.00
I kept my landscape painting close to home tonight. I took my pochade box out to the backyard. The neighbors have a great clump of birch trees. Perfect for one last plein air painting though I had to paint fast to capture the evening light before it changed as the sun went down.
After finishing up with the birch trees outside, I brought my painting in. Walking through the living room, I couldn’t help but notice a similarity to a small watercolor painted by my grandmother.
To start the above painting, I pulled out a less than successful oil plein air study I did in 2007. The nice thing about using an older, not-so- stellar paint study, is that I’ve found myself less inclined to stay very true to the plein air study, and more willing to make changes for the good of the painting.
This work in progress piece is pastel on a Gatorboard panel that I made my self. I started by an orange toned board, and then painted on Golden Fine Pumice gel in an irregular pattern.
The image above is the result of a three day studio landscape painting class that I took at The Atelier in Minneapolis. It was taught by landscape artist and plein air enthusiast, Brian Stewart. This painting began life as a plein air study that I did of the wonderful tree across the alley from our new St. Paul home.
I do love a good workshop. I think it’s so fascinating to see another artist’s working process. How do they start? What stages does a painting go through? Do they treat all subject matter the same? Brian was an excellent teacher, and with a very small class, it really gave us an opportunity to ask a lot of questions and get some answers.
The weather was great this morning in St. Paul, so I spent part of this St. Patrick’s day outside painting.
This is a plein air sketch that I did for part of an upcoming painting. The rest of the project will be posted as it comes together.
We just moved into a new house in a fantastic neighborhood. Every morning, when I eat breakfast, I have a great view of this tree across the alley from us. I think this tree and its crossing branches has such a wonderful shape. I really want to try and complete a painting of it before the leaves come out for the spring.
The above image is a plein air preparatory drawing for an upcoming painting. I used a simple pencil and a white pastel pencil to sketch it out in my spiral bound, grey Sennelier pad.
Still more longing for spring… Here in Minnesota, we have had a few days with above normal temperatures. Then, things dipped back down into the single digits.
This little painting was done a hand made pastel panel. I started with a piece of Masonite. I prepped it with 2 layers of acrylic gesso. Then, I painted the surface the bright orange liquid acrylics. That’s what you see in the lower right hand corner of the painting. Finally, I painted on a layer of Golden Acrylic fine pumice gel. You need to thin it with a bit of water to expose the pumice particles. If it’s done with a bristle brush, it gives a wonderful, random, surface to paint into.
JeffreySmithArt 