Dear Subscriber,

How are you? I hope you're well and enjoying the summer!

This summer Tuesday mornings have been for short paint trips. I'm learning to use the time for gathering information and ideas to be possibly used in studio paintings.

I love being outdoors in the summer and the color and light out there are so different from what a photo captures. I don’t always know whether or not I’ll use a particular outdoor study for a studio painting later on, but it’s good to have them for reference.

I leave the house early in the morning, to a place I’ve decided on the day before.

I went in search of rocks a couple of weeks ago. I had a specific ridge in mind, but when I got there, this other little outcrop really caught my eye.

I always want to get the feel of a place in the small study. The difference between a camera and a study is hard to beat.

I’m learning to slow down and give some thought to why I'm drawn to a particular thing, before I just dive in and start painting. What exactly am I after?

It helps me stay on track when I get caught up in the painting and looking at every little thing out there! It's so easy to get distracted, when you're just painting along.

A couple of little sketches and value studies help me to see what and how I will accomplish that. The three little sketches above took only a few minutes, but you can see how different they are from each other.

They give me a very general idea of the pattern of light and dark. I really have to discipline myself to do this step. As you might remember, it hasn't been how I worked in the past.

The one I chose to use is the one with only sky behind the hillside, with the rocks showing an edge of sun glinting off them and the ground showing sunlight bouncing back on the rocks.

Now it's time for the actual color study. I have the easel placed so that the panel and palette are shaded.

I had decided to use Gouache (pronounced "gwash") for my study this day. After a few lines for placement, comes the paint. I begin with large shapes and work to smaller shapes.

I don’t aim for details unless its a really important one. I aim for the feel of the day. The feel of the sunlight on everything, or the mysterious shadows in the shady side of a rock or under a tree.

This is the little study I managed that day. I felt pretty satisfied with it. Very simple and I liked the feel of it. Later I decided do a larger version.

I kept the same proportion with the larger painting as the study had. The study was 4x6 and the larger studio painting is 12x16. Even though I did the study in Gouache, in the studio I used oil and canvas. I added more details and a cloud looming up over the hillside.

Sunlight on the Hillside 12x16 oil on canvas

I absolutely love the open spaces and bright sunshine of the West!

Sunlight on the Hillside is currently being considered for the Nicolaysen Art Museum's Gatsby Gala event taking place on September 9. I'll know later in the week, whether or not it will be in the show and sale. I hope it is!

Do you find the process from field to studio interesting?

Till next time, I hope you're having a great summer,

Ginny