Northern Creek

Yesterday I was asked about my sketch supplies, so today I am posting my most compact watercolor kit.  This 42 color Superior Water Colour palette folds neatly in a strip when not fanned out. A single water brush pen fits in it's built in holder.  I've chosen a TWSBI Diamond fountain pen loaded with Robert Oster's Thunderstorm ink to compliment the warm winter colors of grass and greening water.  I can't believe this creek is showing so much green in January!  For this very reason, it caught my eye, so I painted it.  I use this palette when I want all my supplies in a pocket.  I can make them work, though the colors can vary. Not the strong pigment I'm used to with my Watercolor Confections, they still serve me well in the field for a quick sketch.  There is a blot pad built in, but I use a paper towel instead. The biggest benefit is the 42 colors in such a compact set. I can paint anywhere with that and a pen in my pocket. Painting number 2944 in 2944 days. 

Art Tip - Freezing the Palette

Palette in the Freezer?

As a daily painter, I am constantly reaching for my oils to paint.  It is a real time saver to me to simply pull them out of the freezer!  Using an old metal china painting palette, which has a lid, I load the glass or plexiglass surface with my oil paints.  After each use, I put the lid on, slip it into a ziplock freezer bag, and pop it into my freezer.  I have a top shelf in my freezer that is reserved for all my palettes.  I keep them in freezer bags to help prevent oxidation, and to protect the food from any cross contamination that could occur.  I have many different palettes for each pochade box, fitting the internal shapes of those boxes.  I even have a couple of Altoid tins for those small thumb box pochades!  

When I pull the palette out the next time, within a few minutes, the paints are pliable enough to use.  Over time, a skin will form over a worm of paint from natural oxidation.  Often times, I will just punch through with my paintbrush, scraping out the paint underneath.  If the worm starts to get too hard for use, I will scrape it off with a razor and start anew.  

Biggest benefit of keeping a palette in the freezer?  I am always ready to paint at a second’s notice.  Once I land at my plein air location for the day - I can start painting immediately.  No squeezing out paint before the process starts.  When every minute counts, this little timesaver really helps.  In case you are continuing a painting started the day before, your paints are just like you left them, no premixing needed to match yesterday’s colors.  Another benefit?  Little clean up!  I simply put the lid on and place it in the bag.  It gets tossed in the freezer as soon as I get home.  If it will be hours to and from my location, I keep it in an insulated lunch carrier with an ice pack.  It just keeps my paints fresher for longer.  

Rainclouds over the Water

What a rainy, moody day for painting!  This painting is one of two I painted for demos this afternoon in "cloud painting", class.  It is helpful to start with an acrylic underpainting in the approximate color of the sky.  When this is completely dry, a dry brushing technique  in oils is used to achieve the airy cloud strokes.  The ground plane is not the focus, but is only there to bring the eye back to the sky.  Who knew those one inch bristle brushes could be so useful? Painting number 1894 in 1894 days.

Painting from the Pasture

Painting From the Pasture
Acrylic on masonite, 5x7

As the final assignment in a figure class this month, I have painted myself!  The photo reference in from the civil war reenactment we had in the pasture, where I invited the MVIS artists to capture the event in paint.  One of the women from the camp loaned me her dress, and voila - I became a period painter!  The hat is one I paint in, and the apron was one I had tucked away from who knows where!  Using my limited palette of acrylics, I blocked in the values and colors that shape the scene.  Next, I tweak those masses using loose, impressionistic strokes.....although I may have tightened up a bit on my palette and brushes.  They are prized possessions that make my life a joy - so, I guess they’re allowed the extra attention!  Twice, I have forgotten to pack my make-up and curling iron on out of town plein air trips, but I always have my art supplies with me!!  This is painting number 1183 in 1183 days.

block in

Nutcracker Artist

Nutcracker Artist
Acrylic on masonite, 5x5
sold

Yes - this is actually an artist nutcracker!!  I wish this beauty was in my own collection!  This is another wonderful nutcracker shared with me by Candy Kultgen - and I knew I had to paint him as soon as I saw him!  The palette, paintbrush, and easel are fabulous - and that wild hair and mustache!! He has definitely been painting en plein air!  I love the way it flows with reckless abandon!  He is certainly a free spirit - and so fun to capture with acrylics!  As an artist, I must say that no self respecting artist would lay colors out in this order on their palette - it should run yellow, green, blue, violet, the red. Silly nutcracker!  This is painting number 1085 in 1085 days.