Inspiration - better late than never.

I've had so many wonderful encounters on my artistic journey.  One of my first inspirations was my wife's grandfather - Ed LaSalle (nee Lassell).  I remember my first trip to Ed's house when I was dating Julie.  We walked into the living room and I was immediately struck by the paintings which were hung with care throughout the living room and music room.

The first painting I saw was a large fall scene of Tumbledown Mountain.  I can't find a photograph of that painting at the moment.

The painting below was hanging behind the living room couch.  This lighting isn't the best, but it was a large western (3' x 5')  Unfinished, but still very beautiful.  Ed was an illustrator in the 1930's - 1940's and painted landscapes on location well into his 80's.  More on that for another time.

I asked Julie about the paintings.  Never expecting to hear it so casually mentioned that her grandfather,and her grandmother were responsible for the art which filled the house.  The painting below was on the wall near the scene of Tumbledown.  This painting was by Ed's brother, Charles LaSalle (Lassell) - one of the country's leading illustrators in the 20's through the 50's.  

                                                 

The family of artists also included Ed's cousin, Aiden Lassell Ripley, and Ed's son Aiden LaSalle.
I decided to do a research project on the family of artists as a Christmas Present for Julie and the people I met on that journey and the art they shared with me enriched my life more than I could ever imagine.  Subjects for other posts later.

Below is an example of a painting by Aiden Lassell Ripley.  Aiden was a national award winning artist who became the president of the Guild of  Boston Artists from 1959-1969.

Years after Ed passed away, I was able to purchase one of his paintings as a Christmas present for my wife.  Having that painting hanging at the foot of our bed truly inspired me to try painting.      

Approaching Abstraction?

One of the experiences I enjoy about painting on location is how strong an impression spending time observing nature leaves on me.  I've written before about how what I observe can outpace what I'm able to achieve at the moment.  This is especially true in unfamiliar locations.

What I've learned over time, is that there are two main things that I just need to let happen.  Time - Time to interpret what I've seen, time to continue to develop my painting skills.

On location, there is a time pressure.  Conditions change.  The light changes dramatically in as little as half an hour.  A change in light equals a change in colors.    I choose to view these potential constraints as a benefit.  It forces me to simplify the scenes.  To emphasize what is essential, to subordinate what is not.  If I were to compare this to writing, I'd say that painting on location is to studio paitning, what writing poetry or a short story is to writing a novel.

I've written before about a spot off Bear Notch Road.  We've had a number of family visits and picnics on this spot.  Our dog even went for her first swim here (impressive for a Shih-Tzu).  Not sure a cold mountain stream was the best choice for that.

On Julie and my first trip to this spot I produced the following three sketches.  The first is the view looking up stream.

The next sketch was a view just under the bridge looking upriver.  The light was fading and almost choked out by the thick forest.  The dark greenish/blue was the color of the reflections in the water.  A few treetops were hit by the fading the light, most of the trees were in dark shade.

I was walking to take a last look at the mountains when I happened to look down at the water and I noticed the beautiful reflections in the water.  Beautiful but fleeting.  The slightest breeze made the reflections flutter and disappear.  The result of that was a very quick unpacking on my paints and this very quick sketch.  The bottom left is a quick indication of the shore and then the reflection of the mountain.  The rest are the very briefest indications of beach in the river and the locations of visible shorelines.

To most, this simple sketch means little to nothing.  A semi-abstract doodle.  Speaking of abstract art.  I was quite surprised to learn that one of my inspirations, the late Robert George Harris, experimented and explored with abstract art for years after he retired from a very successful carreer in illustration.  He spoke of how this time absolutely informed his second career in portraiture.    I don't pretend to understand abstract art.   My earliest paintings tended to approach the abstract, which is not something I desired to explore; however, over time I have developed a tendancy to approach studio work with an initially abstract or semi-abstract design.

Julie and I had a neighbor years ago in Westbrook.  She saw me painting outdoors and we both discovered our mutual interest in and our very different approaches to painting.  I enjoyed our conversations about what inspired us to paint what we painted.  Our approaches and choice of subject matter could not have been more different, but that didn't matter.  They were a young couple and moved away a short time later. They made sure to stop by before they left and they gave me a gift of two art books that I still have in my collection, Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta.

This sketch takes me directly back to the time and place more than two decades ago.  This will be the basis of a more finished painting eventually.  

Here are a couple of sketches done years later in studio using these on location sketches and memories as reference.  More on these in later posts.

Fishing the rapids

This painting is a rare one for me - totally a studio painting.  It has been inspired by many trips along brooks in the Maine woods, including one very close to home in Lisbon Falls.

From time to time, I'll block in the bulk of a painting in one session and then I'll let it sit for awhile. Sometimes out of sight, sometimes on the easel for further consideration while I move on to other subjects.

The original pass at the painting prevented me from going into the painting.  Today's pass at the painting works better in that regard.  There was also something else troubling me but I couldn't quite pick it out at the time.  Then it hit me.  A rookie mistake.

A common error in painting, for me at least when I started, was to think that the sky is always blue and that water is blue, trees were always green et cetera.  In on location painting, the colors are right in front of you.  In some cases there is no blue in the brook- it depends on the sky and surrounding vegetation.  At other times, its easy to fall into the trap of painting what you think a scene should look like rather than truly observing what is in front of you.

I did a review of the many on location paitings I've done of river scenes or scenes involving water and sure enough - I had my answers.

I also came to the realization during this painting of the need to really upgrade my studio lighting.  It is amazing how different paintings look in different light.  I overcompensated for bright light during my first run and as a result the painting came out more muted than I'd intended.  I really enjoyed painting the broken reflections in the water.

I changed some colors and a compositional element as well in this version of the painting to help lead the eye into the painting.  The blue below would look different in reality, but this was a dark area of the painting that needed some spark.

I'll let this painting sit awhile before I determine whether it needs more work or if its complete,

Long Island Sunset (Maine)

Long Island Maine, Sunset

My wife, then girlfriend, introduced me to Long Island Maine.  It's a small, but beautiful island, formally part of Portland, ME but it has since seceeded and become its own town.  We went out by mailboat and then walked to the other side of the island to a beautiful beach facing the open Atlantic. I found the water there to be very bracing compared to the beaches on the mainland.

There's a lot more history to explore on this island - it was a gathering and refueling point for convoys in World War II but that is a story for another time.

At the far end of the beach beyond the sand dunes and rocks is a beautiful house that has always captured my attention.

This was a very early drawing (charcoal pencil)

Years later, while chaperoning an 8th grade class trip to Long Island I completed the following two sketches for future reference, using the later as reference for the sunset watercolor.

The two sketches below were done on another trip.  It was a very windy day, as evidenced by the the beach sand stuck into the watercolor.

These sketches were all filed away for years.  At the time these were painted I didn't really have any deveoped working method.

Now, from time to time I'll revist sketches when conditions don't allow for painting on location. Below is an example of some small compositional sketches and notes and a quick color study that had an emphasis on the sky as I was quite interested to see what effect different perspectives would have on the mood of the painting.

There are many more subjects to pursue on long island, and this subject is far from complete.  The sketches are now back in storage (incubation).  I'm looking forward to taking more painting trips to the island in the near future.

I'd really like to set up on the beach for a good storm.....

After the Storm, Lisbon Falls

After the Storm, Lisbon Falls

Acrylic 12" x 16"

This acrylic was painted the same day I completed an on location sketch - while the composition and colors were fresh in my mind.  This was from a winter or two ago.  Big storm coming in, up to another two feet of snow.  Am looking forward to seeing the results of the storm (but not to shoveling out).

I was struck by the color of the ice and the trees all being weighed down by snow and ice.  The scene changed quite quickly once the sun worked its way through the clouds melting the ice and snow.

Another thing that I enjoy about painting on location is that I observe things that I wouldn't know to make up or to include in a purely studio based painting.  For instance, in the painting the lines of snow (cracks in the ice) help compositionaly, but it also indicates how hard the wind had been blowing (snow off the ice) and also that the ice freezes in different locations at different times.

  

Night in Windham

Night in Windham

Acrylic 12" x 16"

This is my first attempt at an on location painting at night.  I learned a lot - the usual mixture of things to do and things not to do next time.  I'm sure I broke pretty much every "rule" about painting night scenes - but I had a blast.  Overall the picture came out too dark.  

I'll definately use this painting as the basis of numerous other subjects - combining elements that were present in the scene or others that I've witnessed in other settings.  I'll do some thumbnail sketches to try different compositions and then perhaps some tonal sketches before developing ideas further.  This type of studio work after doing on location paintings I've grown to enjoy very much.  

Some examples include - a barn with a snow covered roof catching the light of the moon;  The acutal barn is a quanset hut, but I would change that to an old barn (many different styles to choose from);

A scene with the moon rising above the trees, providing dramatic back lighting as I observed throughout the earlier evening.  By the time I painted this, the moon was high in the sky and obscured by clouds.

Other possible iterations could include animals in the moonlight or , as can often be seen at this time of year, skiers or snowmobiles in the far field.

This painting was also done on a canvas I primed with gesso and then a coat of burnt sienna.  It made it easy to quickly cover the canvas - but it also may have contributed to the overall darkness of the painting.  I'll experiment on future paintings with the effects of undercoating color on the overall painting.

Below is a photo of my paintbox with the pallette looking a bit abstract.

Tumbledown, Fall

Tumbledown Mountain, Weld Maine

Fall is unquestioningly my favorite time of year.  This is an on location watercolor sketch completed years ago.  This was completed in one setting.  At the time I was very interested in capturing the brilliant fall colors, in particular the color showing through the trees between me and the mountain.   

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, sometimes when painting on location I find it easy to get lost in the subject in front of me.  Particularly in earlier years.  I would, and perhaps I will, rearrange the elements in this painting differently to strengthen the composition while maintaining the integrity or the sense of the place.

If you’ve never tried painting on location, please do.  It is challenging and such a joy.  I was incredibly fortunate to be introduced to drawing and painting outdoors when I was introduced to art. I’ve never known anything else. 

One of the gifts of painting on location, and there are many, is the strength of the memory of the location.  Rarely do we spend hours observing and interpreting the world around us.  It’s been more than a decade since I painted this picture.  I can remember the temperature, the sound of the wind through the tall grass, the warm feel of the sun on my face and the chill of the fall air that the wind carried even into this sheltered location.  There are also things that you may observe in nature that aren’t readily captured by photographs.  It may even be something you see on the way to the location that you decide to add to the finished picture – An interesting tree, old barn, or a tree that stubbornly refuses to lose its leaves when all around have long since surrendered to the coming of winter.

Speaking of winter.  I so enjoyed observing the muted colors during today's Nor Easter and will use the observations to attempt my first painting of a snow storm in action.  More later.

Stockbridge River Sketch

Stockbridge River – Acyrlic on Canvas 12” x 16”

I set up on a small bridge near tumbledown mountain years ago to complete this on location sketch in early spring years ago.  Some of my on location paintings are quite complete – others are very rough.  It depends on a number of factors from time, subject, weather conditions, and my reason for painting the particular subject.  If I’m experimenting with a new medium, new technique, et cetera, I’m not very concerned about producing a “finished” painting.  Though unfinished, this painting is one of my favorites because of the memories of the day with my father in law.

The spring runoff from the mountain was roaring on this particular day, and being on the bridge in the shade of the valley and trees was very  cold.  I hardly noticed how cold I was until I did the trees in the closest forground.  The broken paint strokes were as much a physical response as a stylistic one.  I’d planned to complete the birches with black spots throughout but by then I was too cold.

I find in expansive settings, particularly in the mountains, it can be difficult to choose which subject to paint.  They sky and lighting on the mountains wasn’t particularly interesting on this day, rather hazy, so I decided to focus on this subject.  I think that this subject would also be interesting in bright daylight and shadows creating patterns of light on the river, trees, and rocks.  This sketch will remain unfinished but will serve as a refernce

One lesson I learned on this trip was to pay close attention to your surroundings.  My father in law and I drove in as far as the snow let us, and then we hiked the rest of the way to this location.  Neither of us had really considered how much the tote road would soften as the snow melted throughout the day.  We made it out fine, but there were a few times where we thought we would be spending the night.  I try to make it a point to bring extra clothing, blankets, etc when I'm painting somewhere off the beaten trail.

A Work in Progress

Mechanicsberg Penn - on location

I've come to learn that every painting, successful or not, has helped me continue forward in my journey to capture my impressions of the landscape.  Occasaionally I'll have a reason to revisit past efforts - in this case in preparation for entering a juried plein air exhibition in Southern Maine.

This sketch was started and completed on location during a family trip to Pennsylvania years ago. I took some time to explore a nearby park and was captivated by this river.

There are a number of things I would change about this painting, but at the time I was most interested in studying the effects of the water with the limited time I had.  What would I change?

A number of elements of the composition (the tree in the center of the river in the center of the painting) as well as the solid trees in the background.  Although this is as the composition was, it doesn't make the best composition for a painting.   

Next I did some compositional sketches - ranging from simple line drawings to more detailed sketches.

                                

This was a quick tonal sketch - not at all concerned about detail, but begining to address the composition and values.

I then did a quick color study and also experimented with natural sponges for applying paint as I had in the on location study.

I then set the sketches aside in a portfolio - which I will most likely turn into finished paintings.  I've got a number of "collections" like this of different subjects that I've set aside for a rainy day.

Each painting also adds a little more knowlege about what does and does not work in producing a desired effect.  Its amazing what you will remember about a location when you spend a few hours painting and observing.  I now don't get concerned if I cannot capture an effect accurately at the time (my observations are often ahead of my ability to capture them in paint) because I can revisit those subjects when I have further developed my skills.

On location sketches also help me develop a "bank" of resources to refer to in future studio work (rivers, clouds, et cetera).

I'd love to hear any tips others may have for working on location.