Painting At The River With The Painters Club

After work on Thursday night, I painted with some artist friends from the Sykesville artist club. Wiley is the head personality of the club, and he organized the paint out at the river outside of historic Sykesville.

It was a hot day, so to go down into the shade of the river trees was welcome. Since I got there around 6 PM, I knew I had only about an hour and a half or maybe two hours before the light got so dark that I wouldn't be able to paint effectively. I could spend an hour just deciding on what to paint, so I made a quick choice and basically painted the first interesting scene I saw, the turn in the river where dead trees and branches piled up.

I sketched it quickly and broadly in charcoal and began to scrumble the first layers of paint. I started with the blue sky area; I added more sky than was actually visible since I thought it would have made the picture more interesting. Then I put down the first thin layers of greens with a wide brush. I used the same wide brush to put down the tans and browns of the rocks and the muddy darkness of the water. After a bit, I decided to go against my normal inclination and mix black into the darker areas. I kept on adding layers and details to the picture and began to move through my inventory of brushes to smaller and smaller until I was using a liner brush for the finer details. My last step was to work with a lot of white to the colors and, in some places, to use only white for accent.

It was getting dark, and I was beginning to feel that I was just reworking some details over and over, so I knew it was time to call it done. The other artist was packing up and beginning to go too. It was a wonderful time painting, and I feel pretty good about the picture.

River By Sykesville, Painting on location, Plein Aire by Adron.

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(c) Adron

My Plen Air Painting Of The Bike Path Between Hesperus and Elliots Oak Rd. Columbia MD

It was the first nice day in months. So I packed up my easel, brushes, and paints and did the only reasonable thing there was to do- paint outdoors.

I walked down one of the bike paths near my house and set up at a favorite place where two bike paths intersect.  I looked one way and assessed the scene then another and another.  Once I settled on the scene I wanted to do I set up my portable painting kit with easel and paint box and once I put the canvas on it I saw a problem- the sun was shining right on the canvas.  This is bad since my eyes will not see the colors clearly when they are on the bright sunlit canvas.  My experience in the past is that when you bring such a project indoors the colors that looked bright outside looks dull indoors.  So I turned the easel about 40 degrees and settled on a second choice, a view of a bridge with paths leading up a hill behind.

The time of year is the first week of spring and the trees are leafless and the undergrowth is nonexistent; in a few weeks, it will be a completely different scene.

I did a quick sketch using as few lines as possible to set up my layout.  Next, I scrumbled in the underpainting with a large brush and strokes of paint that were just short of attacking the canvas.  I painted the bridge in and then as I worked over the background I painted it over in part and then repainted it again.  I used watery acrylic paint for the earlier stages of underpainting.

After being satisfied with the underpainting, I began to add detail using a smaller brush to develop the middle ground and foreground.

The trees were introduced last.  I kept switching brushes from fan to flat to liner brush as I built up the different thicknesses and various wispiness of the bare trees.

I brought my attention back to the bridge and repainted it, I developed some of the detail of the area around the bridge.

The last hour was spent on adding details and touches here and there.  The painting was completed in about five hours.

I had a lot of fun painting it and talking to the many people who were on the path.

Bike Path Between Hesperus and Ellots Oak Rd. Columbia MD

It is painted in acrylic on stretched canvas, the size is 16 x 20.

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(c) Adron

Adventures in Painting While Standing On The Sidewalk

Earlier this I stopped at Howard County Community College to paint a scene of the campus.  I don't want to get in trouble, so I do not set up an easel; I just stand out of the way and hold my watercolors, brushes, picture, and everything in my hands while I paint.  If there is a problem I could easily move out of the way or leave.

I found a nice spot to with a view of one of the buildings, the Hickory Ridge Building, it has engaging angles, dramatic lines and bold dark windows.

I chose an interesting angle that showed a lovely tree, road, and garden; and established myself next to a railing about 35 yards from the front door and across the street.

I had my watercolor paper taped to a cardboard place mat and I was able to hold it in in one hand and sketch with the other.  The sketching took over an hour, it is best to take the time and get as much detail and accuracy as possible. This used up all my the time for that day.

The next day was cloudy. This would be a good time to print the picture since the light was not too bright; if you paint outdoors in bright light the colors look dull when you bring it inside later on.

I used painters tape to secure my bowl of water to the place-mat that was my hand held easel.  I held the place-mat, brushes, and paint in one hand and work with the other.

The cloud cover was good for a while but they passed by leaving me in the bright sunlight, and I was wishing for a hat to keep the light out of my eyes.  Fighting thoughts of giving up I moved a few feet into the shadow of the parking garage and kept on working.

Now there was a little progress on the picture. The beginnings are always easy with the basic flat sides of the buildings, large areas of asphalt, and blue sky.  I was struggling with the greens and shapes of the garden when I felt a raindrop.  The clouds had come back and I didn't notice the beginnings of a downpour.  It was frustrating that after only twenty minutes I was now trying to pack up before my work washes away.  As I removed  my water bowl it spilled on the picture. "Oh Well," I thought. "I'll just fix it later." After fumbling to get everything into my bag I dashed to the parking garage.

Five minutes later the rain stopped and the sun shown again.  I sauntered out and set up again and started to work on more of the details and the tree. After about an hour the setting sun made me pack up.

I think the picture is about half finished. I hope to get back to the same location and work on it some more.  If I can't get there in the next day or two I will use some photos I took to finish it.

Unfinished Painting HCC Hickory Ridge Building

(c) Adron

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Adron

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