Always stay close to your easel.

During PAE we were invited out to a lovely private property to paint for the kick off of Plein Air Easton.

I chose this spot along the rivers edge. As usual I charcoaled in my initial design before beginning to lay in my color.

I remember taking the golf cart to buzz back to my car to retrieve some more bug spray. Upon my return I was surprised but then again not, to see that there was a new little critter added to my water.

Hate to say it again, but never a dull moment and you really need to keep an eye on these artist types.

Photo provided by Ted Mueller

I decided to paint it out, it kind of threw the balance off of the main design.

What a Difference a Day Makes.

While snooping around St. Michaels during the Plein Air Easton Event I came across this scene a few mornings in a row. I kept trying to fit my big easel into the small structure to get a good scene but kept walking away not finding a big enough space to work in or the right view. I liked the elements just couldn't quite get the right feel I could use or work with.
However like the title says, "What a difference a day makes"came to life on my final morning there while eye balling it one more time. Someone had moved the chair into the doorway and enabled me to stay outside out of everyone's way and stay in the shade, which is huge in Easton!
Plus the scene was more than workable now.  Not sure who moved it but thank you!

                                   This is a shot of the scene when it was not working for me.

          Here is my set up outside of the little Crab Shack looking into and through the 2 door ways.

Here is the actual 18" x 24" painting entitled "A Waterman's Life" awarded Artist Choice Award.
Notice how the chair is on the other side of the shack than it was in the first top photo. I ended up setting up right next to the post shown again in the top photo.

Winning the Artist's Choice Award for this piece was indeed very exciting however with that huge honor you will also receive a little back lip as well.

I received this email after the show from a fellow PAE artist :

Guys -- I'm really struggling with my Empty Chair focal point... I've done a few thumbnails, but nothing seems to be coming together for me. I know Ken has this down, but I'm feeling really inadequate; what am I doing wrong?? My compositional skills have been on the blink...

Remember that comment I made a post or two ago about never a dull moment, that seems to happen anytime you get that many different, talented yet PRANKSTER type artists together in one place?

Plein Air Easton 2013

As expected it was HOT!

Yes I know it is almost the close of August already and I really should have written this earlier while it was fresh in my mind, back in July would have been nice.
I figured I already missed a post I was going to do about jurying the Durand Plein Air Event back in June but now a lot of what I wanted to chat about has gotten a little mixed in my head.

Easton was as always a wonderful event, most likely the best in the country. It is always HOT and I even got knocked on my butt for a day and a half due to some form of heat exhaustion. First time in 8 years, but then again I guess I am getting older.

The folks in Easton, the artists, the collectors, and the volunteers are always a great group. Lots of good energy there for sure. Plus never a dull moment, that seems to happen anytime you get that many different, talented yet prankster type artists together in one place.

Thanks as always to Margaret and Dick for their wonderful hospitality as well as to my roomie for the week - Mr. Greg LaRock, great dude!!

Don Demers the awards judge was as expected, witty, clever, well versed, and actually did a good job of judging. Hard to get everyone to ever agree about judging at any event but this is as stated earlier one of the big ones, so hats off to Don.

I was delighted to walk away with the Artist Choice Award as well as a 3rd Place for the Quick Draw.
I believe PAE sold over $330,000 worth of art over the weekend, pretty impressive. Jessica and Al definitely deserve a lot of credit for all of their work and effort they put into this event every year!

Below are some pix from the week.

Eric is always in need of a little help, and yes Hai Ou is already ready to show him the way.

Painting along side Greg LaRock in Oxford

                                                             Artist Choice Award

Quick Draw Winners

Jessica kept telling me I had to drop my Applebee's to see a photo of me in the entryway. Too funny!

Sketching with the boys

Getting ready to head off to Easton and figured the boys and I are getting a little rusty, so we went out to my favorite little town here and fought the bugs but managed to get a little sketching done. Quaint little town for this area.

The Russians!

The Lazare Gallery is just outside of Richmond and is most definitely worth the trip out.
Amazing place with an amazing collection.
John the owner is a sweetheart of a guy and is very knowledgeable.

Thanks to Carol and Doris who were kind enough to escort me there with some of that wonderful southern hospitality! Even took me out to lunch!! Love you gals!

I have been a huge fan of Russian Impressionism for many years now and this was a good shot in the arm before heading off to participate in Easels in Fredreick. Billy O even asked if I wanted to drop by DC on the way and take in the Portrait Gallery and as much I would have usually jumped at the chance, I kindly declined. That too is a great area and I have been there numerous times but I was very much interested in keeping this stuff alive in my head.

Carol walked away a very happy woman, good choice Carol!

Inspiration at the VMA in Richmond

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time in front of this John Sargent painting while I was in Richmond during the plein air event. I was literally there for 4 hours, most of the 4 hours was spent in front of this painting. Pretty amazing piece to say the least.

The guards were very patient with me and I thank them for that. I was told every time I stepped in to observe, the guys in the control room looking from above, would alert the guards via ear buds who would then cruise by and check on me again always keeping a close eye, very kind but probably very happy when I left.  Thanks for the photo Stewart White.

The "Sketchers"painting along with a beautiful Pissaro and a John White Alexander "Potrait Study in Pink" where definitely worth the visit. 

Any guesses? Very cool, my son loved this one. . .

Great collection if you happen to be in the area.

Chuck Close of course.

Twilight

I just got back from a couple of paint outs in Richmond VA and Frederick MD.
On the last one towards the end of the event I finally tackled a scene I saw since the first day there, or shall I say I tried to tackle it. In any case, for my whole artistic career I have been fascinated by light especially that of early morning and late evening, dawn and dusk, or twilight. Whatever you refer to it as it is truly the most challenging to understand and to pull off.

Happy to copy and paste this twice weekly letter by Robert Genn:

What happens at Magic Hour?

June 21, 2013

Dear Ken,

Recently, Donna Lafferty of Austin, Texas wrote, "Could you talk some more about the use of Magic Hour light? What happens to the spectrum at this time?"

Thanks, Donna. We can learn a lot about the hour before sunset by looking at the work of the Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla. Mainly a figurative painter, Sorolla (1863-1923) made it his business to paint in the late afternoon. From his point of view we see long dark shadows (often on high-key beaches) loaded with warm and sometimes reflected light. FYI, we've put a selection of Sorolla's paintings, with my brief commentary on each, at the top of the current clickback.

Painters, according to Sorolla, need to think of themselves as truthful cameras. They need to develop the ability to see colours as they actually are, without the problems of previous understanding or careless rendition. He advocated sitting quietly out of doors while looking carefully at various elements in the surroundings--and mentally translating their colours into pigment. Sorolla, as well as Sargent, Monet and other great colourists, reported there to be nothing magic about it. Nailing the right pigment is an acquired skill.

As the sun sets, the spectrum moves more and more toward warm. Surprisingly, cools such as greens and blues pick up a strong vividness that seems at first glance to defy logic. This vividness is due to the surround of warm "mother colour," and even though cools may have warm in them, they are made more electrifying by the contrast. At Magic Hour, painters can also see and use the possibilities of full-strength reds, oranges and yellows. The old art instructor's maxim "If you see colour, emphasize it," still applies. Interestingly, as noted in many of Sorolla's works, almost pure whites can take on unabashed dazzle, particularly when their edges are softened.

"Swatch-painting" on location in late light is an effective exercise. What I call "relationship swatches" can be absolute dynamite. This is where you paint two or more colours occurring before you in nature. For example, in late afternoon light, paint a rose with a green leaf beside it, and then paint the cast shadow of the rose on the leaf. You don't need to get the rose or the leaf or the cast shadow right, you just need to get the hues right. This seemingly simple exercise can make grown men cry.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Nothing is truer than truth. All the mistakes committed by great artists are due to their having separated themselves from truth, believing that their imagination is stronger. Nothing is stronger than nature. With nature in front of us we can do everything well." (Joaquin Sorolla)

Esoterica: Sorolla's magic-hour work often has subtle conditions that make the work alluring: Wet bodies in late light. Cast shadows that change temperature and hue when passing over wet and dry areas of sand. Delicious "contraluz," where subjects are painted against razzle-dazzle. Lively full-strength colour in reflections and shadows. An education can be found on Sorolla's sunny Spanish beaches.

Below is the piece I was referring to.
Really tough to get an accurate image of it as well. 

"Twilight" 12 x 16 Oil on Linen Panel - SOLD