Rhode Island Workshop in the Rear View Mirror

This was the second morning of the workshop with kathy weber, and it cleared up nicely. Not a bad place to spend a day at work, eh? Portsmouth R.I. is a great place and is very close to Newport and Bristol, and all have really beautiful waterfronts.

i'm in Orleans Mass. (cape cod) painting now and the opening of my show at Rowley Gallery is Saturday night and i'll do a demo on Sunday 1-3. come by and see me if youre in the neighborhood.

Tuscany

Here's a shot of our first class painting plein air in Tuscany a few weeks ago. what a beautiful landscape. and the light, wow! thanks for the pic, chris!

Today was the first day of the Rhode Island workshop. we talked about the importance of values in the painting process. without understanding values you can never fully understand color.

its sort of the "which came first? the chicken or the egg" argument about color and value. if you mix the right color you WILL have the right value because to have the right color you HAVE to have the right value.

next we covered drawing and its importance. if you struggle with drawing you'll always struggle with painting. your shapes have to be correct no matter how proficient you may be in the area's of mixing color, or brushwork, etc. The painting will always look amateurish if the drawing looks amateur. i'm sure youve heard me say all this before. its my mantra when i'm in teaching mode. i want to make better painters and giving folks the truth is better than trying to decieve them into thinking they'll be better painters just by taking a three day workshop. you can learn stuff but if you dont practice what you learned, it wont produce long lasting results.

the students who paint the miles and miles of canvas it takes to get better, will get better. Lots better!

The Honeyspot

Left the eastern shore yesterday headed to my next gig in rhode island. rode and rode and rode after leaving at six from the maryland workshop. next thing i know i'm in conneticut and its 12:30 am and i'm wrecked. so i start looking for a motel to get a few winks for the drive to r.i. In conneticut there arent alot of billboards so you dont really know where any motels are until its too late and youve passed it. forget about turning around! so you ride 10 more miles, until you pass another one. DARN IT!

finally get to one and it's $100 for the night. i cant bring myself to spend that much for five hours of sleep, so i left there and headed down the road again, in search of cheaper digs.

the sign said The Honeyspot. what was i thinking?! i had a bad feeling when i opened the door and it smelled like a homeless shelter. a mix of sweat, Pinesol, and Curry rice. but i was tired and the price was right. $60. until i got to my room and found out they made the lobby smell good! slept on my first plastic covered pillow. had to wrap a towel around it to keep from krinkling all night. the floor was so dirty i kept my shoes on until i got on the bed. and i slept in my clothes.

and you thought i was living the life of O'Reilly traipzing around painting and teaching. This road warrior stuff isnt for the faint of heart. but i did end up on naragansett bay today painting the harbor from a cliff overlooking deep blue water with white sailboats spotted everywhere below.

so maybe i do live the life of O'Reilly after all.

Moral of this story is dont stay at places with names like The Dewdrop Inn, Bates Motel or The Honeyspot. ewwwwww!

Berlin/Ocean City Maryland Workshop

The class lines up to paint the sound view on day two. It was chilly and windy early on but not one complaint was heard. I love this crews passion for learning!

Betty's working on "chunking in" the big shapes in the right value and temperature.

This was day two of a three day workshop i'm teaching. Yesterday it rained hard all day allowing us to stay in the classroom yesterday where i could stress the importance of drawing, values, and simplifying when painting outside. its much harder to teach this when folks who arent used to painting outside are forced to deal with "all that stuff out there". all the while, they're having to process new ways of thinking and painting that i'm teaching them! it can be overwhelming coming at them, all at once on day one.

leaving here saturday for points north in Rhode Island and
Cape Cod. Wow... i'm heading into colder climes. hmmmm. i'm not used to wearing jeans and sweatshirts.

Already dreaming of wintering in the Keys with palms, warm water, and temps in the 80's. Wont be long now!

Autumn Beachscape-9x12-SOLD

One from the other morning out on the beach. it was a nice clear day with temps in the 70's. the crowds are gone and its great painting weather.

Heading to Berlin Md. tomorrow for the workshop starting Wednesday. if you'd like to sign up for it, email me.

Another Twilite Scene-SOLD

Twilite Reflections at Marina Cafe-8x8

Really do enjoy the twilite paintings. theyre very difficult in that the light is changing very rapidly. Instantaneous color and value choices and sure handed application are essential to getting it before it goes dark on you.

Upcoming events:

Ocean City (Berlin) Maryland 3 day plein air workshop Wednesday thru Friday this week.

Portsmouth Rhode Island 3 day plein air workshop. Co-teaching with Kathy Weber a fantastic painter from Providence.

My one man show of interiors, chefs, and gallery goers at Elizabeth Rowley Gallery in Orleans, Mass. on Cape Cod. the receptions on Oct. 30th.

Editing the scene

The Barbara Joe-6x8

SOLD

I think the key to plein air painting is to be very selective about what you "allow to be included". You really have to think about each shape "deserving to be there". there's so much stuff out there and it doesnt help to improve the painting necessarily.

there were several areas of junk around the boat and a few extra shapes in the midground i left out when i was out there painting. then when i got it home i painted out a few more and ended up with a sweet little painting of a boat in its environment.

have to remember i'm a painter and not a photographer. the difference between a short story writer and a newspaper journalist. one weaves a tale for you. the other gives you the unpoetic blow-by-blow.

Tuscan Fields-6x8-SOLD

here's one from the italy trip. very atmospheric and luscious color harmonies.

Back from Italian Gig

Just returned from my trip teaching in Tuscany, Italy.

What a trip! The food, the beautiful landscape, and what a great workshop.

Dont know if you've traveled abroad lately but it is quite the ordeal. Then planes getting in late make you late for your connecting flight and next thing you know youre whole itinerary is shot. Oh well.....i got to see Arezzo, and Toronto (for the night) and i wasnt even supposed to.

But once i was there i found the light in tuscany to be beautiful and the atmospheric effect of the distant mountains made them the most beautiful medium blue. the fall light on the cedars, fields, and villas made you want to paint every minute. Tho the weather was somewhat uncooperative when we first got there , it cleared up nicely and made me want to paint even more once the sun did finally make its appearance.

Now to the food. All of it was fantastic. the brusciotta (like salami) the ravioli, tuscan soup, and wild boar to name a few!

I found the people very nice and tho i couldnt speak with them, they at least made an effort to understand my pantomine gesturing as i tried to communicate with them.

i'll post the paintings i did over there in a few days. was blessed to sell everything i painted to workshop participants and their spouses as mementos of their trip to one of the most beautiful places around.

Heading to Ocean City Maryland to teach in the next couple of weeks and then on to a joint workshop with Kathy Weber in Providence, Rhode Island. Then off to the Cape for my one man show of interior and chef paintings at the Elizabeth Rowley Gallery in Orleans.

Last Post For A Few Weeks

Quick Sketch 9/23- $40- 6x8

first to email me saying they want it gets it. just remember i wont even see the email till i get back from italy in a few weeks. i'll ship then too.

here i did a value sketch of the night painting below it. here's how i do em....

first step-just get the major shapes down as one of three values (in monochromatic paint) . decide is the shape a light, medium or dark value. paint it very simply and FAST. dont worry about edges, paint thickness, nothing. be very quick and intuitive. dont think it to death.

Value Sketch-$25-6x8

contact me if you want it

step two- now go in and paint each shape what it really should be compared to what it is now. example- look at the trees and its reflection. in step one i did em the same didnt i? now i "broke em out" the reflection is a tad lighter. put lighter paint around the moon in the sky. that sort of thing. if you look real close you'll see that the water is just a little darker than the sky. but on the first step i did em together.

here's the one i did outside last night. i really like it. the more i do outside the more confident i feel. get out there the next time we have a full moon and give it a go!

Silvery Shoreline- 6x8

$100

SOLD

this will be my last post (and probably email too) until i get back from my italian workshop. i've got a great group joining me for my five day class painting the italian landscape. gonna get a fan put into my laptop while i'm gone so i'm not even taking it with me. i'll post when i get back. bye y'all!

In Loving Memory- Kurt Murray-1988-2010

As most of you who read this blog know, if i'm not painting i'm surfing or kiteboarding. i think it brings a vitality to my beach-oriented stuff, so for that reason i want to share this. i struggled with whether i should put it on the blog or not, but i want to, so here it is.

The surf community of my little beach town of Surf City NC is mourning the loss of our Kurt Murray who died in a surfing accident this past Sunday in the waves of Hurricane Igor. Kurt was 21 years old and was a guy who loved the ocean, surfing and kiteboarding every chance he got. He was loved by everybody who met him. i ask for your thoughts and prayers for his family.

Kurt, you'll will be missed in the lineup and kiteboard sessions.

pray you have endless glassy waves or steady 20 mph winds for eternity

RIP man!

Moon Beams- 6x8

SOLD

Getting ready to leave to teach in Italy so this (maybe one more) will be my last post for several weeks. i wont have much internet access so i probably wont be emailing either. all shipping of sold paintings will happen when i get back. also i'll blog and post pics of paintings that i do in Tuscany as soon as i get back too.

#100921-6x8-$75

sorry for the bit of glare. dark paint is hard to photograph

contact me if you want to purchase this one

this is the front of a popular seafood restaurant on the morehead city waterfront. done under a street light across the street. night painting is such a trip! everything you think you know goes right out the window. you have to just paint from the gut, observing very closely, mix as close as you can and get what you can down as close as you can out there. it took about twenty minutes in the studio to fix somethings that were impossible to get right out there. i like the light on this one.

The Sun Slipped Away-8x10

This is the port in Morehead City at twilite. pretty sure this is going to Vision Gallery in Atlantic Beach, just across the causeway from here.

These twilite paintings really test you. between the misquitos and the light changing color every ten minutes. i looked down on my legs and they were almost black with those blood sucking insects from the bowels of hell. my leg literally looked like one of those commercials where the guy sticks his arm in a clear case full of misquitos and theyre all over him. wouldnt you know....i shipped my gear with the OFF bug spray in it over to italy for my upcoming workshop there next week, and had to tuff it out.

then the sky is blue, then orange then pink, then dusty rose and finally very dark. the whole time the objects out in the landscape cant make up their mind what color they want to be either LOL

can see i'll be doing alot of these twilite paintings from about 80% memory after i get the major color notes down.

#100917-6x8 SOLD

 SOLD

A scene from my last trip to Charleston. Love to hear the history of the city as the horse drawn carriages meander past me while i'm painting!

Keeping Colorful Shadows

#100914-6x8
SOLD

The key to colorful paintings is colorful shadows. dont see them as these very bland, dark shapes even tho' they may look that way (compared to the other shapes). pump up the hue, and intensity a bit from what you see and you'll get nice colorful, interesting shadows and paintings.

Study #100908-8x8-SOLD

SOLD

thought i'd show you the scene and how i blocked it in a la Cape School.

The grass is the darkest and coolest light shape and therefor a reddish orange. the house in shadow is the lightest shadow shape and gets underpainted a medium blue-purple. the sky is coolish so i did it in the right value of magenta (pink actually). the shadow under the cottage is the darkest and coolest and i painted it dark purple.

after this is put on thin using lots of Liquin, i go back over all these shapes with a color that more closely represents the actual thing youre looking at. work on the shapes that are the most out of whack first. on the last pass you fix the edges, values, hues, and saturation.

alot of students ask me "how do you know when to stop?".

thats easy! you stop the minute youre not making big improvements to the painting that please you.

Study #100903-5x5-SOLD

a small study for a larger painting i'm working on. seeing if i like the composition and color harmonies.

#100903-5x5
SOLD

Is It Soup Yet?- 6x8

SOLD

Hurricane Earl just skirted us here on the southern coast of NC and tho the outer banks caught more of his fury, he missed them too. so its back to painting!

and i can breathe a sigh of relief! its freaky having all but two of my galleries in the line of the storm (since theyre almost all right on the coast). Even my gallery on Cape Cod which is supposed to get Earl in a day or two! keep your head down and stay safe Liz! BTW, shipped all the paintings to you today.

Demo-Last Stage

Complimentary Light- 8x10

$800 framed

available soon at the Rowley Gallery, Orleans, Mass.

Last stage of the painting is to throw reflected light around into nearby shapes and concentrate on edge treatment. leave hard edges in some areas (especially around the the important areas) and soften up the periphery edges. then take out your liner and make very thin detail shapes. this last stage is all about nuances. delicate, well placed strokes of color. try not to mess up all the hard work you did in the previous stages. easier said than done!

Just a reminder-- Upcoming Workshops

Ocean City, Maryland and Rhode Island in October. if you'd like to sign up there are a few spots left.

the upcoming Tuscany Italy workshop i'm holding late this month has two spots left. let me know if youre interested in painting in sunny Tuscany and we'll get you signed up.

Underpainting Demo

for todays post i thought i'd show you several stages of my painting process

Stage one- lay in cool colors for anything thats not getting light from the window. approximate the values

Stage two- now you go in and try to get the colors and values closer to the real thing, maintaining the clarity of color you had in stage one.

Stage three- start cleaning up the drawing while honing in on the actual value, hue and saturation of the shape youre working on. in the areas that are shaping up nicely you can start to add a little more detail. detail is nothing more than smaller shapes within larger shapes. you'll see that actual color of reality doesnt matter that much at this point as long as the value and temperature (cool for shadow shapes, and warm for light shapes) are right.

this painting is about 75-85% finished. i'll post the finished pc. in a day or two, depending on hurricane Earl who's screaming towards the NC coast, so my schedule this week is up in the air. its supposed to come right at us and hopefully turn at the last minute, but who knows. i may have to run inland for a day or two in case the power goes out, the roads all get flooded, and the stores all close.

Pouring the Bubbly-6x8-$400 framed

available soon at Rowley Gallery

i think this is the last 6x8 i'll be painting thats headed to cape cod , and ive got one more 8x10 interior to do. ive enjoyed the studio time but i'm missing painting outside a little. the temps arent quite as high as theyve been the last couple of weeks so it makes me want to get outside again.

on this one i underpainted it in a more traditional style by underpainting with the viridian of the walls and its complement alizarin crimson, and white. i toned the panel in a burnt orange and drew the shapes with an orange oil pastel. then after underpainting i used the very detailed underpainting plan and added the right colors to each shape, staying very true to each value i had in the underpainting.

Well...on a totally unrelated note.... the waves came in today. hooray. and tasty ones at that.