July 2010
Speed Painting, Part 1
Back in 2008, my friend Marc Taro took a speed plein air painting workshop from Xiangyuan Jie. I really like what Marc did that week, but unfortunately, Jie hasn't done another workshop of the sort. I also haven't set aside time to practice in that manner, as I usually set out to get in more finished work when I'm in the field.
However, I've had a few outings lately where speed painting was the only way I could get any painting in. Still not quite as limited a timeframe as Jie's workshop (I think they worked on 5
minute paintings), but quick nonetheless. In fact, I seemed to have just enough time to mix different colors and get them on the canvas. I did spent about half the time on the cows, as I wanted to practice cow painting for my Farm to Canvas series.
Why did I have a limited window? Well, this painting was done in Gerton, NC during a weekend getaway June 20th with Kate to celebrate our one year anniversary. Gerton is just outside Asheville, in th
e heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had a great time. Asheville is a fantastic place, and we hiked at Chimney Rock State Park, dined at great restaurants, and visited some very excellent art galleries.
I found time to sneak away while Kate napped to do this sketch. It was at a farm just down the road from our cabin. I'm not sure if this farm is organic or if these cows are exclusively grass-fed. However, Asheville is very much into local produce and meats, and is an excellent place for Farm to Table lovers.
Submitted by donthacker on Sun, 2010-07-11 14:58
I'm On A Boat
For the second time, I painted on a boat. Last week, Kate and I took our summer vacation in Steamboat Springs, CO. We met her parents up there and one day rented a pontoon boat. We rented it at the Steamboat Lake State Park, which is a great deal and Kate had to make the reservation well in advance of our trip. I sat at the helm and painted away while Kate's dad Bill maneuvered the boat so that I somewhat kept the view. Kate and her mom Judy grilled brats and we all enjoyed a day in the sun at 70 degrees.
That is, until the storm clouds came up. At that point, I finished up quickly and we headed back to shore about 45 minutes before our rental time was up. The weather in Colorado this time of year is mostly perfect. Around 70 degrees during the day, zero humidity, and cool nights. The only problem is that you have to dodge storms most every afternoon. More on this later.
Submitted by donthacker on Wed, 2010-07-14 23:35
Speed Painting, Part 2
Well, the last two paintings I attempted were two more forays into speed painting. The first, which is shown here, was done in about twenty minutes. We were at the Rocky Mountain National Park on the Ute Trail. The view was sublime and the spot I was at was over 12,000 feet above sea level. I think it was my first
painting above the tree line.
The temperature was cool but very nice. The mountains reminded you of a scene from The Sound of Music. I talked to a couple of park rangers about my work. Kate and her folks were going to hike the
Ute Trail, so I had a good couple of wonderful painting hours in front of me. Except for those dark clouds off in the distance. They had me a bit concerned.
The clouds came up quickly. I adjusted my painting speed accordingly. I furiously mixed paints and slung them across the canvas. I saw Kate and her parents coming back on the trail after just being away about ten minutes. My brush was flying across the canvas and as soon as Kate got to where I was set up, I started packing up.
About the time I got the last few items into my pack, a crack of thunder struck. Then it started to rain. Kate and I ran down the trail. Before we got to the car, it began to hail. Alas, the perfect painting session was cut a bit short by Mama Nature. They aren't common, but this was another day that I was very irritated at Ma Nature's mood swings.
The next outing didn't produce a painting, at least not yet. I may work on it later, not sure. The last day, Kate and I returned to the Rabbit Ears Pass Trail where we had hiked earlier in the week. There was a particular spot that had an incredible vista.
Kate painted with me this time, and I was very happy that she was starting to paint with me. We both got set up, and I was excited because there was not a storm cloud to be seen. Perfect sunny day, great light, lots of beautiful wildflowers, perfect temperature and we had the whole afternoon.
Then a couple of mosquitos bit us. We had sprayed ourselves with repellant before we came out, but these two suckers found the spots that weren't sprayed. Then about the time I had a few strokes on the canvas, eight billion mosquitos attacked us. Not the huge Texas or Georgia mosquitos, but little bitty S.O.B.s.
At first I was going to fight through it, but then they started biting through my clothes. Kate packed up and walked around to shake some of them off. I then threw in the towel and packed up. As I was packing, tens of them were on my face. It was as if they were saying "Get the hell out of here! We hate plein air painting!"
We ran back to the car and decided just to go hiking (if you were moving, the pests didn't seem to attack you). I was slightly disappointed, but the vacation was so great it really didn't bother me. I was very pissed off at the mosquito nation. And made a note of yet another outdoor painting device I need - a bee keeper's suit.
Submitted by donthacker on Sun, 2010-07-18 09:18
Fowler Farms
Yesterday I went back to the farm that supports Farm Burger and Farm 255. I got to meet John and Holly Ivy, who own and live on the farm. They were super hospitable and I got to learn a lot about the place I've been painting lately.
The farm itself is Fowler Farms (become a fan of theirs on Facebook), and it has been in continuous operation since 1818. It was built by Holly's family from the beginning, and their children are the ninth generation to grow up there. The very spot I painted from last time is the highest point in Clarke County, Georgia. The settlers found the high ground and built a full farming community in the early 1800's. You feel so much more in tune with a landscape when you learn about the rich history around it.
There were a few ominous looking clouds on the horizon. If you read my last blog post, you'll see why that concerned me. I didn't want to be three for three on having my painting session cut short. The rain moved around me though. It moved over and about, so I got in a good couple of hours.
Due to the potential bad weather, I did stick close to the barns, and unfortunately the Fowler cows didn't oblige me. However, I did bring two models with me - our bluetick Illy and our new little terrier mutt Clyde! While I was painting, they were keeping cool in a shade by the fence. Toward the end, the clouds were much darker and I could tell Illy was paying them close attention. So I put them in at the end, and had the feeling of one of those old pastoral paintings that included dogs.
It was a great day, and the dogs loved it (both playing at the farm and being immortalized in art). Many thanks to the Ivys for letting us hang out in their pasture again.
Submitted by donthacker on Sun, 2010-07-18 09:40
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