On the Kona coast of Hawaii every Friday year round a fantastic hard core group of talented artists meet on location to paint mostly the coast ocean beaches. These artists are Aloha welcoming and will generously give any asked for assistance. After painting for about three hours the group gathers to share their work. Some eat lunch. Some continue to paint.
It has been about 8 years since my first painting time with the Plein Air Group. Richard the organizer greets me by welcoming me back home. And it does feel like home. I watch the artistic development of the artists on Face Book usually posting the Friday's paintings by Monday with updates on small changes they make in their paintings. On line and in person the experience informs my painting.
Maybe influenced by Hawaii but I did this 11"x14" canvas board treated with lightly tinted Plaster of Paris in gesso to make it absorbent to watercolor. Also used acrylic white ink and some Heavy body cadmium substitute Yellow Deep.
I am feeling defensive of the comment that this is a technique, when a good painting friend who works in a traditional process of drawing her subject on the surface, making a value sketch and then painting in area by area her subject. Yes every process involves a technique of one sort or another to get the paint from pallet to painting surface. My process is a journey with only a rough idea of where I am headed and open to change to have a conversation with what the paint is doing.
1 comment:
I just want to add that even in the traditional process of painting watercolors, the feelings of the artist on any particular day emerges. The well thought out plan may not extend to finishing the piece and then the journey begins until the painting is resolved. In the end the choice is to continue with the well layer out plan and devise a way to force the original intent or take another path. This is my observation of watching others work.
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