Workshop, the Day After

Newport Pier, 8 x 10

NFS

Since we missed painting on the Balboa Peninsula on Friday, a workshop classmate and new friend, Valari, and I used a bit of our inspiration from the workshop to make our own trek to the spot. Neither of us painted the Crab Cooker, but the pier instead, which was across the street.

More Workshop. . .

Debra Huse (timed plein air study), 10 x 8

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The morning the tsunami news broke here in the U.S., all sorts of odd things started happening. Most importantly, we had to change our meeting location twice. We were scheduled to meet Friday morning at the Crab Cooker on Balboa Peninsula to paint some architecture. Because there was a tsunami warning all along the West Coast (only a foot and a half for southern California, but that was enough to prod us to higher ground), we decided to go to the southern end of Corona del Mar State Park. When we got there, there were so many people out to watch the Japan tsunami hit our very own beaches, that we had to move yet again. Thus, we ended up at Mason Park in Irvine. The above picture is of painter and gallery owner Debra Huse, who hosted Randall's workshop.

Workshop (continued)

Corona Del Mar, Study 2, 8 x 10

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Another study from our day at Corona del Mar. Nothing fancy, but as Jill Carver says, the stuff I learned probably won't end up on the canvas for another six months. I guess I'll have to wait. . . .

Workshop Work

Corona Del Mar State Beach, 8 x 10

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Last week I had the pleasure of attending a workshop in Newport Beach, California with Randall Sexton and a dozen or so other acolytes. Randall gave a demo each day and, among many other things, emphasized the importance of squinting down to help, not only identify value relationships, but to help with the overall composition through the abstract patterns made by the large dark masses. He also stressed the benefit of painting in "large puzzle pieces" to cover the canvas, without necessarily mapping in a line under-painting first. This can help keep the painting loose. The study above and the three following are all fairly quick plein air attempts at using these methods, without later going back to "fix" imperfections.

Tank Town

Tank Town, 6 x 8

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These colorfully painted water tanks sit just outside Dripping Springs, Texas, west of Austin. I noticed it a couple years ago along U.S. 290 while returning from San Antonio. When I pulled over to take a picture, I was amused by the sign over the elevated tank, which proudly proclaims, "Tank Town."

Stately Arrival

Stately Arrival, 6 x 8

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I painted this study today, simultaneously with another that I will post tomorrow. In an effort to loosen up and focus more clearly on the shapes and values, I painted each upside down, until the last stage of adding a few defining touches. I've done this exercise a couple of times now, and I find it a lot of fun. I took the reference photo for this one on a trip last summer to Ohio. This is the new main bridge into downtown Malvern, about twenty miles east of Canton.

Last Light

Last Light, 20 x 24 oil on canvas
available

This is a larger version of a plein air study I posted back in December, depicting Lake Travis at dusk.  I will be showing it and other recent work in April, along with that of Julie Davis and our friend and mentor Laurel Daniel at the Davis Gallery here in Austin. I'm excited to be exhibiting with these two and very appreciative to Laurel for inviting us to hang our work with hers at her spring show.

Continental Club

Continental Club, 20 x 16
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The Continental Club has been around since the late fifties and is one of the most beloved of Austin's music venues. I like to think it will never disappear.

South Congress

South Congress, 12 x 12

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This picture was painted from a reference photo I took while painting in south Austin a couple months ago  (click here to see my November 16 post from last year, "Jo's"). This view looks north from in front of the Continental Club. The state capitol is about a mile and a half farther in this direction, across the Colorado River.

Summer Plans

Summer Plans, 8 x 10

available

I caught these boys last year in Ohio during a break in their summer activities. They were more than happy to strike a pose for me.

Dulcinea Chapel

Dulcinea Chapel, 8 x 10

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Hello, again. I was glad to finally get out again with my Plein Air Austin friends today. The weather was beautiful, albeit a bit on the cool side for some (in the fifties early on). Dulcinea Chapel is an open air chapel in Driftwood, Texas, southwest of Austin. It sits atop a ridge that offers scenic views of the Hill Country to the west. The best part about painting here is that it's only a couple miles to the Salt Lick, a famous barbecue restaurant in this part of the world. Lunch was great, as usual.

Corner Station

Corner Station, 24 x 30

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Sorry for the long delay in posting the final step in this project, but here it is.  Hope you like it.

Getting There

Well, I hoped to be finished with this by now, but it turns out tonight was the first chance I've had to paint since 2010. I hope to get it done in one more session, though there are quite a few things left to do. Mostly, final color in the directional signs, completion of the pumps and final, loose indications in the background and what will be a bench sitting to the right of the window.

Corner Station — Stage 2

Not a ton of progress yesterday, though I began building up some detail in the signs, pumps and the ground plane at left. Still some straightening to go, along with continued building up of color and values. Happy New Year, everybody.

Corner Station (lg) — In Progress

 Round Rock Gas Station (24 x 30) — Step 1

Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope you're all still enjoying family and friends for a few more days. My blog posts have been few and far between the last several weeks, but now that I've completed my short move (a short move is still a move, trust me) and made it through Christmas shopping, I will be back to posting on a more regular basis. 

Because I've been away so much of late, and because my latest project is a large piece and will take more time than the usual 6x8 or 8x10, I've decided to post it in stages. That way, at least people will know I'm not twiddling my thumbs. 

The picture above is the beginning of a larger studio version of a rough field study I did back in October in Round Rock's new Chalk Walk Art and Music Festival (see field study below). Referring to the field study for color notes and photographic reference to fine tune the composition, today started out by blocking in the main color. I was very happy with how quickly it went, considering the size of the canvas. I used Kevin McPherson's "best average color" method, which can be a huge time saver, because you start right in with the more or less correct color and value for the main color areas and get it down with a big brush. Because of the beauty of the oil painting process, there is no real need to start with a line rendering (I did, however, mark the half-way points along all four edges and the center of the support). The slow drying oil paint, instead allows you to push the shape edges around until you're happy with their location. Another time- and paint-saving element of the block in process that I find especially important on larger paintings is adhering to the well-worn maxim "fat over lean." Thinning the paint and using a big brush makes this stage go so much faster. Now that I've mapped out the composition, in the next stage I'll go in with thicker paint to start adding nuanced color and values and make the edges read as they should. I hope to post again in a day or so.

Afternoon Haze

Afternoon Haze, 8x10

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One of the many barns on the outskirts of Malvern, Ohio, this one sits just south of U.S. Highway 30 as it heads east from town. U.S. 30 in this part of the country is known as the Lincoln Highway, and follows the route that for two hundred years has been perhaps the country's most heavily traveled land route for immigrant settlers heading west from New York and Philadelphia. The first of my Ohio ancestors arrived there from Germany in 1825.

Last Light

Last Light, 6x8

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The plan this day was to paint a beautiful Texas sunset over Lake Travis. We had a fabulous spot at the property of our wonderful and generous Plein Air Austin co-member, Lynn. Since I happened to arrive a few minutes late, however, and with every moment so precious, I decided to take the easy way out and paint the pretty, indirect light coming off the water facing north. 

It turned out to be no bargain. The subtle light and color shifts (which, like the actual sunset, were still constantly changing) were more than enough to demand all the focus I had. The exercise was valuable, however, and certainly one that bears repeating and continuing to learn to see and render such subtle, yet powerful differences.

Holiday Sale!

25% OFF ALL AVAILABLE ART, 
NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 31

Friends, now through December 31 is the time to purchase any of my art that you may be interested in. Visit my etsy.com store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/stephenparkerart, add the items you like to your shopping cart, and enter code DEC2010 during checkout for your 25% discount.

Please note that to help ensure arrival by Christmas, items should be purchased using PayPal, and done so by December 15. Items purchased by check will be shipped immediately upon the funds clearing the issuer's bank and, thus, those items are not likely to arrive before Christmas.

Don't forget — enter code DEC2010 for your 25% discount.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Stephen

In The Barn II

In The Barn II, 6x8

available

Saturday evening, after a couple hours of painting, Plein Air Austin had our end-of-year party at Westlake Beach and Marina.  The weather was perfect and lots of family and friends showed up for the catered picnic. The scene above is not actually of Westlake Beach, but of the adjacent marina, the name of which I didn't notice. I was attracted by the clear skies and the bright, late afternoon light on the boats.

Gruene River Grille

Gruene River Grille, 10x8

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Today's post is from last Saturday's PAA paintout in Gruene, Texas, just north of New Braunfels. Once again I had to finish the piece almost a week later. I was fighting a slight fever during the outing and, contrary to the plan, being outdoors only made things worse. Happily, unfettered access to plenty of Thanksgiving food the last few days has returned things to normal.