Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Thirty Minutes to Paint
Quick draw events are fun, frightening, sometimes furiously fast and often rewarding! Many are an hour or two in length which is not a lot of time to execute a painting but easier compared to the 30 minute events. In a 30 minute event there is no time to ponder. You need to have pondered and made choices in the preparation stage! You need a limited palette and a distinct plan of action when the horn blows to begin your work.
So goes the story of the popular quick draw at the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale sponsored by the WaterWorks Art Museum held every May as part of the world famous Bucking Horse Sale that brings thousands of spectators to the town of Miles City. Only a few (25 or less) artists participate in the Riverside Park QD at the culmination of the annual parade. The QD is sandwiched in between the parade and the Grand Entry of the sale and horse races and once the 30 minute draw is complete, the artists have 10 minutes to get their piece framed and the live auction of art begins. It’s fast and furious and the crowd is filled with art collectors and spectators. The QD is strategically timed to be certain those spectators can get to all the BHS activities and maximize the crowd attendance for the auction that is a benefit to the WaterWorks Museum and Art Center.
This year I lived on the dangerous side…I decided to paint a larger than normal piece, 26×12 vertical pastel. (Most works are less than 16 inches square.) I prepped my paper by gluing it to a foam core board for stability, then selected a very limited palette of pastel sticks. I planned a painting of buffalo from a photo I shot on my way to MT via Yellowstone Park. The day before the event, the preparatory chores were done. (I could have saved a little stress by doing this 3-4 days earlier!). I did numerous pencil sketches arranging my composition, as the photo was a horizontal format and I was painting it as a vertical. In my sketchbook I made lines of quadrants and adjusted the subject to best fit the format of the proposed painting. I “roughed-in” focal points and large shapes to make what I believed to be a good composition. I put all my supplies – selected pastels, 91% alcohol, sponge brush, Workable fixative, wet wipes, paper towels, gloves and framing equipment in my backpack. I had a plan and felt I could make it happen, but knew I would have no time to spare. Before the event started I found a place to paint…in the park’s gazebo where there was some protection from some gusty winds (not helpful when painting is a tall piece!) and a place to sit if one wanted to before and during the event. And I was able to tone my painting with one color – a mix of dry pigment and alcohol before the QD began. Doing an underpainting like this assists one in pastel application by speeding up the process.
The QD begins with the sound of an air horn…now it’s time for autopilot. Your colors are laid out and you instinctively apply them, not second guessing your choice. Large masses are painted carefully noting that the values are where you want them. When someone says “you have 15 minutes left, you want to be at least half way thru your painting.) I am, but there is no option to make changes. I stick to my plan. Once the landscape is satisfactory to my eye, I draw in and paint the buffalo. As I put the final touches in the most distant animal, the horn blows signifying the end of the QD. Hands go up (no more pastel to the paper), I am satisfied, pleased to have finished what I had planned and the framing begins. I had hoped to get my piece in the auction so it would be auctioned somewhere in the middle, but I needed all the time allotted to get the framing accomplished, so the painting was in the last spot on the auction docket. Not my favorite spot to be, but as it turned out the auction was a surprise. One know there is not always a predictable outcome to auctions and this one was not an exception. Early pieces were sold from $200-500. Then one sold for about $800 and another for $1700. I saw a couple of pieces of work of popular artists sell for less than I have seen before. Now I begin to have some anxiety. It’s now the time for my piece to go. I hold the painting up and the auction starts. Bids start immediately and I hand the work to one of the guys on the platform to show. Bids continue to be raised and my anxiety lessens. The auctioneer worked his way to $1500 +. I am relieved and happy to have completed a sought after piece of art and for sharing the sale with the museum.
So, when the opportunity arises to compete in a quick draw, do it. The key is preparation and planning. Then execute the painting in a confident manner, not second guessing palette and composition. If you are an art collector and someone who appreciates the arts and the process…know what happens for these works to come to be!
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Pastel Dust
Do you wonder what drives an artist? What's the motivation to keep painting? For me it is about the color and the diversity of the landscape and wanting to share those images you see with others. And why paint en plein air? I think it is painting "true." Nothing is in your way of what you see. There is no excuse to what you put on that board or paper. It is right in front of you...it's your interpretation!
I had the opportunity to be part of a plein air event in Walla Walla a week ago. It was a 5 day paint out organized by a tiny 90-year-old watercolorist, Margaret Walters. About 20 artists came together for the event, painting it partly or in total. I think this was the third year of the event and there were several painters who had been on all tours. The event ended with an art sale that benefited the Carnegie Picture Lab. It was certainly a stress-free, enjoyable schedule and people to paint with. Each day a new venue...one favorite was going to this beautiful farm/vineyard at the base of Cottonwood Canyon. It is a favorite of mine and to be able to drive up through the farm to a high point and paint it from a different vantage point was great. Another day of endless opportunity was painting at the Robison Ranch north of town. I found a secluded spot where I painted two pieces. The only thing that drove me out of the field was the heat creeping up to 104! These two venues, for me was what painting plein air is all about....you could stand in one spot and paint in any direction...the dilemma is...what do you paint!
A note about the Picture Lab...it is an art education program for area students. It is a nonprofit that depends on funds from outside sources. Commissions on sales of the plein air paintings benefited the Picture Lab. Happily 4 of my 6 paintings sold for this great cause.
What's on the schedule...
July 11th I will be painting in the Art of the Beartooths, the fund raiser and painting event and sale to support the Carbon county Art Guild in Red Lodge, MT. We will be painting a quick finish during the day that will be auctioned that evening.
Pendleton Art and Frame, Pendleton, OR is showing the bronzes of Rip Caswell and my plein air landscapes July 9- September 1. The opening reception is Thursday the 9th, 5-7:30
Off to the beautiful area around Hood river, OR for the Columbia Gorge Invitational Plein Air event. About 30 artists have been invited to paint August 3-7 in the area with a reception Friday the 7th, 6-8 pm.
I feel very blessed to be able to "work" at my art and take part in these events. So with that said, go out there and take a shot of drawing or painting "en plein air!!"
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Pastel dust...
The new year brings on renewed energy and promises of commitments and resolutions. I am determined to get a painting a day done at least for January. I do believe daily paintings makes one work stronger...solutions to problems happen and stronger paintings result. I like to challenge artists to do the 100 daily paintings. Pick a simple composition and paint it daily..a hundred different ways...look back over my old posts and see how it evolves. You will be surprised.
A handy tool for us that utilize iPads and such are the art apps. Some are amazing and great fun creating art digitally!
So happy new year and paint on!
A handy tool for us that utilize iPads and such are the art apps. Some are amazing and great fun creating art digitally!
So happy new year and paint on!
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