Plein Air at Night

View from Muskrat Park 8x10 pastel available $25.00

What an amazing night!  First, the Plein Air Painters of the Chesapeake Bay met for dinner at Sam's in St. Michaels, Md. We had the best time talking art.  This group is so great and is really helping me gain some footing in my journey as an artist.  Let me just say that Sam's really has the best gyros ever!  So with full bellies and a plan to paint a night scene, we headed down to Muskrat Park.  This was my first visit here, and I was a little worried from the name that we might have muskrats running around our feet, but the locals said there hasn't been a muskrat there in years so I felt safe ( I've never seen a muskrat, and I'll have to do a little research on them later).

Once at the park our little group of 5 women walked the area to find the scene we wanted to paint, set up our gear and got to work.  After about 40 minutes I had to bring out the head lamp - great tool if you're going to paint at night.  We had to work fast and everyone finished in just over an hour.  Kate actually had time to paint 2!  Thank you Diane, Kate, Elaine and Judy for a great night of painting! I can't wait for next Tuesday!

Spring is here!

Spring! 5x7 pastel available $15.00

This is my first plein air painting for 2017.  I'm still very new to the whole plein air experience, and what an experience this past Saturday was!  My son and I headed to Adkins Arboretum - a great place for hiking and getting ideas for landscaping.  They use only native plants and will have plant sales throughout the year of just native plants and classes on how to use them in your yards.  Well, because I'm still new to plein air painting, I decided we should head far into the woods so I wouldn't be on display so much with the other Arboretum visitors.  We hiked about 30 minutes into the woods and came across this blooming branch over the stream.  There just happened to be a bench right here at this scene, but there were two ladies sitting and talking - I didn't want to set up in front of them so we hiked down the trail a little ways, sat on some fallen trees and waited for them to leave.  And waited, and waited, and waited. Finally!  We had the bench and the view to ourselves. I packed as light as I could, so I planned on doing the painting on my lap.  I found a good place to sit on a little hill and set my supplies out all around me. Then, my first bite.  And then another and another - bugs were flying in my eyes, my hair, down my shirt.  I don't know what kind of bugs these were, but they did NOT want me there!  But I was determined to complete this painting.  I'd paint a stroke, and swat bugs and paint a stroke and swat bugs.  It was terrible!  I finally decided to pack it up when I notice blood spots coming through my shirt.  I was left with a chest full of bites!  I had no idea painting could be so dangerous! Seriously though, the lesson learned - always carry insect repellent!  I know I will not forget it again.

Tonight my plein air group is heading to St. Michaels to do a nocturnal painting.  We're going to meet for dinner before hand, and then set up when the sun sets.  This will be quite a challenge - We will be wearing head lamps to be able to see what we're doing.  I'm sure it will look quite funny to on lookers - a whole group of people wearing head lamps.  I'll post all about it tomorrow. 

My Weekly Sky Painting

Pathway to the Storm available $150.00 Sold

I was watching You Tube videos this weekend of Les Darlow.  He's a fantastic painter of stormy skies, and I was inspired to give it a try.  I honestly could sit and watch him paint his skies all day and never get bored.  He's quite amazing.  This painting was done on a large piece of Canson Mi Teintes Touch pastel paper.  What I discovered was that I need to go shopping for some more pastels.  There were colors that I needed and just didn't have so I had to make due and try to mix the colors I needed right on the paper.

Tune in tomorrow for my report on my plein air experience from yesterday.  All I can say is that it's never a dull moment in the life of Wendy Johnston.  I need a day of recouping before I recount the day's events.  

Eagle on the Bay

Cattails and Lunch 12x9 pastel available $40.00

Sometimes paintings come easily, and sometimes they will frustrate you until you're left with handfuls of hair.  I'll let you guess which category this one fell into.  I started with a plan that I thought was a great plan, I had chosen my colors before I started, I blocked in all the large areas, I did a wash for the water, blocked in the eagle  - then came the grasses.  Oh the grasses!  Nothing I did seemed to work - they just kept competing with everything else.  I lost count as to how many times I brushed them off and would start again.  Finally I decided to NOT follow the reference photo and "make up" my own.  There weren't any cattails in the reference photo, but I believe they were just what I was needing to complete this painting.

This was actually a class assignment that we had to do during class time - the assignment was to complete a painting that used a wash, line and blending.  I thought I chose a good reference photo because I could use a wash for the water, line for the grasses and blending for the log and the eagle. In the end, I think I'm pretty pleased with the final result.

Today, Zach (my son) and I are heading to Adkins Arboretum to do some plein air painting.  The Plein Air Painters of the Chesapeake Bay group that I'm a member of, visited this location on Tuesday, and I was not able to go with them.  So today we will head over there and hopefully complete something so I can be on track with the rest of the group.  If you live in the area and would like to join this group let me know.  They're a great bunch of people and always welcome newcomers and they have scheduled an end of the season show at one of our local art galleries. 

Emerald Morning

Emerald Morning pastel 16x12 available $75.00

Although I haven't posted since Monday, that doesn't mean I haven't been hard at work painting.  I make it a priority to paint every day - how else will you improve?  I look forward to my painting sessions everyday.

This is Tuesday's painting; Emerald Morning.  I came across this photo on the Wet Canvas web site which is filled with reference photos, and I was captivated by it.  It gave me the feeling of what it might be like to take a walk in Ireland.  I primed a canvas panel first with pastel acrylic primer in elephant gray.  The primer is made by Art Spectrum.   It had a very different feel to it while painting, and I think that when I prime again I will do 2 coats of primer.  But I will say, it is definitely more cost effective than the already sanded papers and boards.  I still prefer the sanded papers, but when funds are tight this is a great alternative.

Marshy Hope

Sunny Spot on the Marshy Hope available $40.00

One of my favorite summer past times is kayaking, and living where I do, I'm surrounded by awesome places to do just that.  This painting is from a photo I took while kayaking down the Marshy Hope river in Federalsburg, Md.  I crept up on these turtles sunning themselves on this large branch that was stuck in the mud and shot the picture just seconds before they jumped in the water.  The water was probably a foot deep in this spot, because I can remember looking at all the grasses and tiny fish along the bottom.

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday - it was sunny out ( a little bit of a chill), but a great day to explore and take photos.  So my son and I set out driving to various spots with the intention of photography bridges for future paintings.  I think I took way more photos of ducks, seagulls and shells than I did the bridges, but they all will make great paintings non the less. So stay tuned - I'd love to share them with you.

Just a note, for the interesting movement in the water, I used one of those erasers that you put on the end of a pencil when the pencil's eraser is used up and squiggled it down while the underpainting was still wet.  It really worked well.

Interesting Tree

Crying Out 12x9 pastel available $40.00

Sometimes in nature you can find the most interesting subjects.  Take this tree for instance, the moment I saw it, I knew it had to be painted.  This lone, dead tree just looked like it was screaming up to heaven.  It was actually quite spooky in person although it was surrounded by the most beautiful grasses and gorgeous fall color.  This scene was photographed at Terrapin Beach Park, not far from my home.  I'm hoping it's still standing so I can do another painting of this tree in spring and possibly summer. 

Color in the Woods

Last Hope 5x7 pastel Available $25.00

Late fall.  The time of year when "nature" begins to die.  I can vividly remember this day - taking our daily walk, my son and I, and discussing how bare and empty everything looked all around us. All the trees had lost their leaves, the once vibrant colors were now gray and filled with a quiet sadness. Then, out of nowhere in the midst of all the dull, muted grays, was this pop of salmon color.  How beautiful it looked, and among all those interesting shadows - it had to be painted!

Good news came today - - the Plein Air Painters of the Chesapeake Bay are resuming their outdoor painting schedule next week.  I can't wait to experience all the wonderful locations they have in store for us.  They're also looking to recruit some new members, so if you live in the area and would like to join us, we'd love to have you.

Just the values

Dreamscape 9x12 Pastel. Available $35.00        SOLD

Another fun pastel class today!  Today was all about values (no details).  We were all given the same photograph and had to choose colors based on values, not what was actually in the photograph.  Then we were to blend to our hearts content - or until our fingers were rubbed raw- which ever came first.  This was quite a challenge for me to leave out all the details.  We were instructed to blend it so it had a sort of dreamy quality about it.  This was a fun challenge and I think I will do some more to try out different color schemes.  I used 9 pastels for this one.

The instructor also gave us a tid bit of useful information when entering juried art shows.  If you are accepted into a juried show and can display multiple paintings, all the paintings should be similar in subject matter.  For example he said don't send in a landscape painting then bring paintings of  foil wrapped hershey kisses to hang in the show - that's a no no.  Bring all landscape paintings painted in the same style.  Save the hershey kiss paintings for your blog :]  This is valuable information for a newby like myself.

Just a note: the instructor also told me that the colors I chose reminded him of Kevin Fitzgerald's work. Of course I looked him up as soon as I got home from class - beautiful work, and what a surprise to find that he also lives here on the Eastern Shore.  If you have a chance check out his work.

Drifting Love ~ Etsy store now open for business

 Drifting Love 12x9 Pastel available $75

 

                                               

For those of you that know me well, know that I'm am virtually unteachable when it comes to technology.  I want to learn, but my brain just explodes in overload. In fact, a simple task like picking a new cell phone will cause the same anxiety in me as having to take a calculus class.  It was nice when I had my Girl Scouts close by to "teach" me things - more so, do them for me, but now I'm on my own and I certainly have a long long road ahead of me learning all things techno.  I've spent all week setting up an Etsy store with hopes to sell my paintings, but I have really struggled with linking the store to the blog.  I've semi-linked the painting above.  I will keep working to make the link work like I think it's supposed to, but for now it will have to do.  If anyone out there has advice for this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Now on to the "fun" stuff....  The painting above "Drifting Love" was painted from a recent visit to Terrapin Park.  I just happened to glance over while walking the beach, and just loved how the shadow and the driftwood together made a heart.  I'm thinking of painting a large version of this scene.  If you ever have the chance to visit this park, I highly recommend it.  It's a small park, but chock full of photo ops - wetlands, wooded trails, a marsh trail and a beautiful beach walk with a clear view of the Bay Bridge.

Oh! and before I forget, Happy National Pie (Pi) day.  The grocery store was advertising National Pie day today because the date is 3-14 (get it?) Well all their pies were marked down to $3.14.  Of course I just had to get one.  Can't let a good "national" day go to waste.  Yum. 

Loch Raven Reservoir - pastel experiment

Loch Raven Reservoir 5x7 Pastel SOLD

Today I decided to try something new - well new to me....  I started painting the rock cliff as usual, but it just wasn't looking "rocky" enough for me, so I thickly applied acrylic paint in spots I wanted more texture, waited for it to dry, then painted pastel primer over top.  That gave me the extra texture I was looking for.  I have lots of plans in the near future using this technique.

This picture was taken at Loch Raven Reservoir in Maryland.  My husband and I visited this place when we first started dating.  Ahh the memories!  We should really go back and see if we can still make it up this cliff 20 years later.  Any bets?

Pastel Mark Making

My second homework assignment for this particular pastel class is now complete.  Well..... until I get my critique on Wednesday.  The assignment was to paint the entire painting using only lines.  What a challenge!  No blending of any kind and no touching the surface with anything but the pastels.  Plus only using thin straight lines.  I have to confess I walked away from this one quite often.  Boy your arm gets so tired so fast. Most of the class chose the same photo reference - I can't wait to see how everyone's paintings turned out. 

Time for Butterflies

Monarch 14x11 Pastel

I'm getting excited because it's almost time for the monarchs so I thought I'd do a painting in their honor.  From spring to fall I search for monarch eggs on milkweed plants and bring them indoors.  After they've hatched, I care for them through all their stages until it's time to release them.  The numbers of the monarchs have drastically declined over the years, and I just try to offer a little help - keeping them from the predators and giving them a chance to grow in numbers.  There is something really special in watching a butterfly grow from egg to butterfly.  Keep checking the blog throughout this season because there will be more paintings of monarchs to come and also some ways that you too could help the monarchs.

This painting was done on canvas board that I primed myself with gesso specifically for pastels.

Lessons learned in class today

Sometimes life just gets in the way of you being able to accomplish your goals, and it gets frustrating, but you can't give up.  Back in the saddle again so they say.  Well, I didn't get the painting finished that I had started yesterday, and that's a little upsetting when I made a goal to do a painting a day, but hopefully I will be able to call it complete sometime this evening.

So instead I thought I'd share some lessons I learned in today's pastel class.  This is the painting I did last Wednesday for homework that was critiqued today.

I was happy with this one, but absolutely LOVE it after I put in place all the pointers I received today.
Here is the updated version.

So first  Nick Serratore (the instructor) suggested I use broader strokes on the yellow and mint colored trees - of course I couldn't remember what colors in my box I had used, so I had to improvise with similar colors.  Next,  I needed some more hints to sunlight to bring out the shadows more so I used the same color as the yellow tree and added a bit to the cherry tree and the grass area.  Then I was reminded to always add colors that in the sky and the main subject to the ground area so that it creates continuity.  This, I already knew to do, but sometimes you need to be reminded.  I put more pinks into the grass area. 

I was pretty pleased that I didn't need to do a major overhaul. Today's homework is going to be a major challenge for me.  We are to use only lines - no blending and no touching the paper with anything but the pastel.  I, for one, am a heavy blender so this will be a struggle, very monotonous with all the lines - but I'm excited to have learned about yet another technique so I will share the finished product soon.

Painting reflections

Heading for Shore 9x12 Pastel

Whew! This painting was amazingly fun to do, but at the same time a huge challenge.  Everything in and around the water is actually reflections.  The shore is still a ways off for these hurrying little geese.  I thought I'd share my reference photo so you could get an idea of how challenging this was.  I really do love this picture - it's always drawn my attention.

Here's the reference photo:

I cut down on the water movement around the geese because I didn't want them to get lost in all the commotion. 

I really should call it a night, but I've chosen tomorrow's painting subject and I'm really excited for this one - something very close to my heart. So I may go ahead and get it drawn out, but you'll have to check back tomorrow ~ I don't want to ruin the surprise.

From Land to Bay

Butterflies at the Biltmore 9x12 Pastel

I had something entirely different planned for the painting above, but in the end, a butterfly garden called out to me. This is one of the many gardens found around the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC.  Love it there! Ashville, I mean.  The views are simply spectacular!


Since I'm behind a day or two posting, I decided to post another painting that I completed about a month ago- a little before I had the blog up and running.

Just Waiting 9x12 Pastel SOLD

This is from a photo I took at Terrapin Park - minus the blue heron.  I first did the painting on Strathmore pastel paper and really hated it! I really struggled to get the pastel to adhere to the paper.  So I found out that Strathmore is not my favorite of choices for pastel paper, but they had really intriging colors that I wanted to try -- live and learn.  I decided to give it another go, but felt it really needed something more. Voila! A blue heron.  I found the heron picture on the Wet Canvas website and  placed him dead center.  After all, they are such a majestic bird and they deserve to be front and center.  They are very common here on the Shore. I've even had them wading in the stream of my backyard.

I still have an itch to paint some more so I think I will get back to it and hopefully post a third painting before the nights end. 

Homework Re-Do

New Beginning 9x12 Pastel

The more I looked at yesterday's  homework, the more I disliked it.  My daughter gave me a helpful critique - all critiques are good critiques no matter how hurtful they may be to hear - they challenge us to be a better artist, so I welcome all critiques. After looking at I realized that I actually did exactly what the instructor had taught us, but it was his style not mine, so I reworked the tree using my own style. I am much happier with the results.  I also added some fallen leaves and some more of that wonderful deep blue in the background. We'll see what pointers the instructor has for me on Wed, otherwise I'm calling this one done.

Pastel Class Homework

New Beginning 9x12 Pastel

Today was the start of yet another pastel class - Luminosity in the Landscape with Nick Serratore.  What a great class! We learned an underpainting technique and tools found around the house to use to achieve different looks. Like a rubber spatula to create lines and textures.  He is such a great instructor!  So much fun!  For homework, Nick gave each of us the same photo and asked us to paint it and bring it next week to class.  Here is my painting.  I can't wait to see what everyone else's looks like. 


Here's a picture of Nick beginning his instruction:

You can check out his website to see his latest works at serratoreart.com 
I promise you will be impressed!