Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. I know that some of you may have loved the last two weeks of hedonistic premixing—but this week, we will finally lose it (and lose it with a vengeance we will!) In fact, this week, our palette dwindles down to just four paints. Eeeeek!
For this week, Challenge 7, we turn to an old and quite common conceptual hierarchy of color to explore how the restriction will impact our general “navigation” of color as well as our overall painting strategy.
Challenge 7: Primary Prowess with Secondary Subjects, tasks us with creating a representation of three “traditionally secondary” subjects (subjects with a colloquial green, orange, and purple local) with only four paints on our palette—namely the “traditional primaries” (a categorical red yellow, and blue (plus white!)).
I use the term “traditional” above to refer to the three colors that rose to prominence during the 17th century as the foundational colors from which all others can arise (red, yellow, and blue.) “Modern color theory” addresses the issues with this simple concept. And–If you want to dive into the rabbit hole of how the concept of traditional “primary colors” are problematic, you can read David Briggs’ Dimensions of Color site below as well as the robust Handprint site created by Bruce MacEvoy.
In reading these articles (and others like them) that aim to tackle the problems with using traditional primaries in color mixing strategies—I would argue that the most important point is often overlooked, if not outright ignored. And that point is this:
“Primary colors are not a structural identity—they are a functional one.”
What this means is that the label “primary” describes how a specific colorant is used in a mixing strategy—it is not describing some context-independent aspect of the physical properties of a colorant (a position that some adopt in their arguments.) Therefore, you can dub any colors as “primary” if they serve to function as an effective foundation for one’s color mixing.
For example, let’s say you created a successful representation using one yellow and one green paint as well as the colors generated from their mixing. Yellow and green can be said to be your primaries here. It does not mean that these primaries could mix every possible perceived color in color space. BUT, they did serve as the foundational colors for all of the colors that you used in your work.
So, we are going to use the traditional primaries (giving us a decent gamut) but you must decide WHICH red, yellow, and blue is going to give you the greatest advantage in your efforts. Again, we will be adding white to the mix—but you will be mixing your own darks and, if needed, a chromatic black. Keep this in mind when filling your categorical color roles. Think of the hues, chromas and values that you will be able to deploy.
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. While I’m sure that some are still reeling from the severe color restriction last week—you can rest easy as this week brings back your beloved “pre-mixing.” That’s right, people, Operation Plein Air has two parts—one week WITH premixing and one WITHOUT! So enjoy it while you can!
For this week, Challenge 8, we look to one of the most popular activities for representational painters: The Plein Air painting. Although artists have long painted out of doors to create preparatory landscape sketches or studies, before the nineteenth century finished pictures would not have been made in this way. The plein air approach was pioneered by John Constable in Britain c.1813, but from about 1860 it became fundamental to Impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1870s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes). Previously, painters made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil, a much more laborious and messy process.
If interested, you can learn much more about the history of En Plein Air painting here:
As with our previous challenges, we have some parameters to address: 1. The subject must be a landscape. If possible, try and get yourself outside and engage in the traditional En Plein Air approach. However, if this is not possible, you may paint from a photograph or your computer screen. 2. 30-minute time limit. 3. Pre-mixing is allowed!!! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
If you haven’t gone out on location to paint before, there are some wonderful resources online to make sure you are properly prepared for the exercise. Here’s a link to Barry John Raybould’s Virtual Art Academy’s Tips for the activity. He has some great checklists included to make sure you have everything you need!
Here’s 16 Plein Air Painting Techniques and Tips from from his Virtual Art Academy:
Travel light. The most important thing is to travel light so that you can more easily get to places and be comfortable. Remove everything you don’t really need from your pack and keep only the essentials.
Simplify your palette. A really basic plein air painting technique when you are first starting out is to use a smaller number of colors. A limited palette or warm/cool primary palette is a good choice. See my palette color advisor tool.
Don’t carry paint tubes. The only paint tube I bring with me on painting trips is white. I pre-prepare my palette with generous amounts of paint before I leave my studio, loading up my palette with enough paint for the day. This has two benefits. It saves a tremendous amount of weight from carrying heavy pigments that you will never use. And secondly, it lets you concentrate more on your painting, rather than having to keep stopping to squeeze out tubes of paint.
Use a wet panel carrier or drying box to carry your wet panels. You can buy or make simple systems for carrying wet panels so your paintings do not get damaged. There are two basic types: the frame type with a rabbet. And the slotted box designs. Some Pochade Boxes can also have places to store paintings.
Wear neutral colors. Sunlight reflecting off your clothes onto your canvas can affect your perception of color. For this reason it is best to wear neutral colored clothing.
Wear neutral colored sunglasses while painting. Many people say do not wear sunglasses at all while painting. This is because it can affect your color perception. However, prolonged exposure to excessive sunlight UV radiation can damage your eyes over the long term. So you may want to take that into account. However the sunglasses will affect both your view of the scene, and your perception of the colors on your palette to the same degree. So they effects will cancel out. However tinted sunglasses might take out one hue from the spectrum so you can’t see that hue. It is better therefore, if you are wearing sunglasses to use neutral colored lenses.
Wear a hat. This protects your eyes, and stops glare that prevents you seeing colors accurately.
Don’t hold your palette in your hands. It is best to use a palette support such as an easel butler or leder easel to support your palette. This keep your hands free to change brushes or use a rag.
Use fresh colors. Working with partly dried pigment makes painting more difficult in a situation in which speed is important because of the changing light . Color that isn’t fresh also does not adhere very well to the canvas. I use a special technique for preventing my oil paints from drying out.
Use notan sketches. Do a few notan sketches to ensure your composition is going to work in advance before you waste a few hours on a composition that can never work. You will often find that a scene looks good when you first see it, but when you start to paint it, you run into problems. Notan sketches are great for selecting the best scene, or part of a scene that will give you the best composition.
Use an imprimatura on your canvas. To keep your paintings fresh here is a useful plein air painting technique: put a brushstroke down and leave it. If you don’t have an imprimatura on your canvas you will have small spots of distracting white canvas showing between your brushstrokes. An imprimatura also helps you judge values outdoors more easily.
Keep your medium clean. Working with dirty medium can contaminate your colors.
Prepare for wind by using a sturdy plein air easel or pochade box. If you do not have a sturdy plein air easel or pochade box/tripod combination, the whole setup can blow over in the wind.
Use lightweight painting supports. I use gatorboard panels from New Traditions Art Panels for paintings measuring from 8×10 inches to 24×30 inches. I use Claessens oil-primed linen, style 12 or 13, for smaller works and style 15 for larger works. Gatorboard does not warp like wood panels in humid environments.
Use an umbrella. Use a good umbrella to shade your artwork and your palette, and preferably you too. I recommend Artwork Essentials for a good plein air umbrella to attach to your plein air easel or tripod. However if you are working near a car, it is best to use a much larger umbrella that mounts on a device you fix to the ground. I use an earthworm umbrella stand. This has a spiral screw that you screw into the earth. If you don’t have an umbrella your perception of temperature is thrown off and the color often does not look good when you bring your painting home. Also you tend to paint far too dark if you are working in direct sun.
Plan the changes in light. The direction from which the light is coming from affects the shape of cast shadows in your composition, and which planes are in the shade and which are in the light. So as the sun moves the shapes you designed as part of your composition could completely change and ruin your initial design concept. Also even if you are comfortably in the shade now, you could end up being roasted in the open sun in an hour or so and find yourself too uncomfortable to paint. So before you start to paint, a good plein air painting technique is to see which direction the sun is moving, and estimate how long you have before your composition changes drastically. You can then decide to either move or paint the part that will change first. Once you have committed to a certain light condition, if the light changes, either stick to your original idea, or stop for today and come back tomorrow to the same place and at the same time.
Additionally, here’s a link to some of Mr. Raybould’s work which includes some wonderfully simplified landscape works.:
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. I know this past week was definitely a rough one, and this coming week’s premixing restriction will make it a little bit rougher. Just like our first two sessions, Challenges #8 & #9 are nearly identical (with the addition of a premixing restriction in the latter.) Hopefully, you can take what you gleaned from last week’s Landscape effort and apply it to this week’s session.
For me, I made an amateur blunder in that my composition involved an unnecessary enlargement of the focal subject. It was a move that definitely gave me a rough time with resolution and simplification. It’s an issue that I’ll be sure to be mindful of for this coming week.
So to be clear: We will be tackling the Plein Air Landscape again for this week with only one parameter changing: Premixing!
Parameters for Operation Plein Air II: 1. The subject must be a landscape. If possible, try and get yourself outside and engage in the traditional En Plein Air approach. However, if this is not possible, you may paint from a photograph or your computer screen. 2. 30-minute time limit. 3. Premixing is NOT allowed!!! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
For those venturing outdoors for some authentic Plein Air work, keep in mind that last week’s notes have many tips that you might find useful!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. Also—a BIG congratulations to everyone that has made it this far as we officially meet the full series “halfway point” this Thursday! WooHoo!!! Challenge #10 (Skull Candy) brings with it not only some cool subject matter but also a 15-minute time limit bonus to celebrate reaching Challenge #10. That’s right-we get a 45-minute time limit this week!!! So as always, choose your subject carefully with the following parameters in mind:
Parameters for Challenge #10, Skull Candy: 1. The subject must be bone. Even though the Challenge is titled "Skull Candy,’ you do not have to use a skull, as any bone subject will suffice. In addition, if you do not have access to something made of bone for your reference, just as with Operation Plein Air I & II, you may paint from a photograph or your computer screen. 2. 45-minute time limit!!! 3. Premixing is NOT allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
Skulls have been used as art and decoration for centuries. As far back as 7200 B.C., evidence suggests that skulls were displayed in homes in the Middle East, yet since that time period predates writing, there is no way of knowing the symbolism behind the displays. As recently as 300 A.D., skulls of defeated warriors were displayed as trophies by Aztecs. At about the same time, Mexicans began using skulls as symbols to celebrate the Day of the Dead. By the 1300s, Europeans were decorating chalices and churches with skulls and bones. However, it wasn’t until the 1920s that American artists began experimenting with skulls in art. There are many sites and articles online to learn more about the use of skulls in visual art. Here are a few resources:
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. We are now officially past the halfway point. That’s right–this week, we hit Challenge #11. This week’s challenge, (Casting Call!),
has us reaching back to an educational practice that may have us reaching back to practices that may have begun as early as mid-5th century Greece: Cast Drawing.
In the mid-third millennium B.C., the Egyptians first pioneered the casting method by plastering the heads of mummies for portraits of the deceased. The Greeks, followed by the Romans, adopted the plaster techniques as a means of reproducing copies of famous Greek marble and bronze statues. The first known location of a plaster cast collection was Imperial Rome. The collapse of the Roman Empire ended the popularity of collecting art in the Mediterranean World. In addition, many argue that the rise of Christianity largely influenced the destruction of sculptures and plaster casts in order to conceal references to previously held pagan beliefs.
A tremendous rediscovery of antiquities occurred in 15th-century Renaissance Europe. In fact, one of the earliest references to casts as a tool for training artists is found in Leonardo da Vinci’s A Treatise on Painting. However, it is believed that Francesco Squarcione, a 15th Italian painter, is said to have been the first artist who collected plaster casts in order to train his apprentices. In the years to come, art schools would continue to make use of plaster casts from recently unearthed antiquities because they felt the works of the ancients were incomparable. The effects of the sculptural rebirth reverberated throughout Europe in the art academies and universities.
If interested, a more comprehensive history of plaster casts from George Mason University can be found here:
Parameters for Challenge #11, Casting Call!: 1. The subject must be any statue or cast of your choice. As before, if you do not have access to an actual statue or cast, you may paint from a photograph or your computer screen. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. Premixing is NOT allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
You can browse some beautiful casts in the Caproni Collection here:
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. We are on the “back 10,” and we slide into Challenge 12 this week with Vibrant Vessels. This week will bring two big challenges that brush jockeys like us tend to face now and again: ellipses and symmetry. But wait—these taxing aspects are balanced with TWO, yes, TWO special surprises—another 15-minute extension!!! AND Premixing is allowed!!! That’s right—you can sit back and take it easy with a 45-minute window and a ton of premixing at your disposal. Masterpieces are expected. LOL!
Some concepts for this week:
The term symmetry can cover a number of concepts which involve relationships between components of a whole. Specifically, here, we will use symmetry to describe a correspondence between “opposite” halves of a shape or form on either side of an axis or set of axes. The axis of symmetry is a line that divides an object into two equal halves, thereby creating a mirror-like reflection of either side of the object. The term asymmetry simply describes a lack of symmetry.
In the realm of mathematics, an ellipse is a closed, symmetric curve which can be formed by intersecting a cone with a plane that is not parallel* or perpendicular to the cone’s base. The sum of the distances of any point on an ellipse from two fixed points (called the foci) remains constant no matter where the point is on the curve. *A circle can be considered a special case of an ellipse, in which the two foci coincide. (Although, in some contexts, this latter statement is debated in regards to the ontology of an ellipse.)
In the context of visual art, an ellipse is often defined simply as a “circle in perspective” or a “foreshortened circle” as barring the influence of optical distortion, it is an approximation of a commonly encountered shape that falls upon the retina when a circle is observed at an oblique angle relative to the viewer.
For many visual artists, the ellipse remains one of the most challenging shapes to draw or paint successfully. This deceptively simple, symmetrical oval has infuriated countless artists and continues to taunt us all with its smug elusiveness. Ok, that might be a bit much—but if you have tried to draw one of these closed symmetric curves, then you understand the frustration that would lead one to arrive at such a “passionate” description.
Parameters for Challenge #12, Vibrant Vessels: 1. The composition must contain one or more colorful vessels. 2. 45-minute time limit! 3. Premixing is allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. Well, boys and girls (and whatever else), we lose all of the fun luxuries we enjoyed last week. That’s correct—Challenge #13, Dynamic Drapery, carries with it the loss of that extra 15 minutes and the possibility of premixing. (I know, I know, Booooo!) But hey, we really want to challenge ourselves, right?
So let’s be clear with those parameters for this week:
Parameters for Challenge #13 Dynamic Drapery: 1. Your composition must include some type of drapery. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. No pre-mixing allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
The Seven Folds are 1 Pipe or Cord, 2 Zigzag, 3 Spiral, 4 Half-lock, 5 Diaper Pattern, 6 Drop or Flying, 7 Inert. Here are some illustrations from Bridgeman communicating the folds:
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. We have a playful, somewhat playful challenge coming up this week with Challenge#14, Toy Story! It’s hard to believe that we only have six more sessions after this week. Unfortunately, there are no special relaxations of our standard restrictions this week—but I’m hoping the subject matter might put a smile on everyone’s face!
So, what are our parameters for this week?
Parameters for Challenge #14 Toy Story!: 1. Your composition must include at least one toy. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. No pre-mixing allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. We have another playful (and likely colorful) challenge coming up this week with Challenge#15, Candyland! And as a special “treat” for this week—PRE-MIXING IS ALLOWED!!! We are on the last five challenges for this year, and the efforts put forward by all of you fine painters surely did not disappoint. But as always, let’s strive to really go above and beyond with these last five. I am excited to see what everyone does!!!
So, what are our parameters for this week?
Parameters for Challenge #15 Candy Land!: 1. Your composition must include at least one candy subject. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. Pre-mixing allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
Hopefully you guys and gals don’t devour your reference beforehand. LOL!
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. This week we jump into representing a specific material that often fares well under a “less is more” umbrella: glass! Never fear, though, as this exercise in the arena of transparency is made a little easier for us this week as we get to hold on to pre-mixing yet again! And don’t forget–as I stated last week—we are now on the final five!
So, what are our parameters for this week?
Parameters for Challenge #16 Got Glass? 1. Your composition must include at least one glass subject. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. Pre-mixing is allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. This week we jump into a really challenging session dubbed "The Matrix ."This session asks you to paint a biomorphic subject with a matrix of only perpendicular (horizontal and vertical) strokes.
So, what does this all mean? Well, the term “biomorphic” is derived from the Greek words bios (life) and morphe (form). It is used to refer to any shape or form that emulates naturally occurring shapes/forms such as plants, organisms, and body parts–basically, most things organic. The title for this week comes from the nature of the strokes that are to be utilized. A common usage of the term “matrix” is to describe something resembling a mathematical matrix, especially in the case of a rectangular arrangement of elements into rows and columns. Another way to view the challenge this week is that we will tackle a likely curvilinear subject with rectilinear marks.
Why incorporate this type of resistance factor? Having to deploy a counterintuitive brushstroke is a common occurrence in painting. For example, most of us with experience painting something round know that if we only used strokes that followed the shape’s perimeter, we would likely encounter stroke sections that would just catch an enormous amount of light—thus possibly degrading the communication of the subject that we intend. Therefore we have to alter the “obvious” direction of certain strokes to better align with how the representation will be illuminated. This session is a workout for those types of situations (a situation you might remember that came into play with Challenge #3.)
Please don’t fret, though—we will once again offset some of the difficulty for this week by keeping pre-mixing on the table (so at least there’s that!)
So, what are our parameters for this week?
Parameters for Challenge #17 The Matrix 1. Your composition must include at least one biomorphic subject. 2. Horizontal and Vertical (perpendicular) strokes only! 3. 30-minute time limit! 4. Pre-mixing is allowed! 5. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. This week we begin the final three challenges with one of my personal favorites: Real Steel!!! Hopefully the fun of throwing down some strong specular reflections will ease the pain of losing our premixing advantage.
So, what are our parameters for this week? Parameters for Challenge #18 Real Steel! 1. Your composition must include at least one metal subject. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. No pre-mixing. 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. Well, boys and girls, we are on the LAST TWO CHALLENGES (and I would argue this is the easier of the two, so I’m expecting greatness.) This week we look to the concept of the color wheel for our inspiration with Project Analogous!
For those that might not be familiar with the term “analogous colors,” this term describes 3 to 5 colors that are adjacent on a traditional (often Itten’s RYB) color wheel. For example, five analogous colors would be a categorical yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange, and red. Therefore, our subjects this week would be subjects that contain 3 to 5 of these colors. You can have subjects that contain multiple colors or a collection of subjects, each containing a majority of one of the analogous colors in your composition.
Here’s a few resources for you!:
So, what are our parameters for this week? Parameters for Challenge #19 Project Analogous! 1. Your composition must contain an analogous color scheme. 2. 30-minute time limit! 3. No pre-mixing. 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
Congratulations to all on the successful completion of yet another challenge. Well, my friends, we have finally reached the end of a long journey. Nineteen weeks of alla prima exercises have brought us to this point, and I hope that everyone has gotten something very special out of the ride (I know I did!) This week (The Storyteller) brings us one of our most challenging tasks: illustrating a story or process with your composition.
Some good news, though, is that the difficulty here is hopefully offset by altering two default restrictions, namely a pre-mixing allowance and a 15-minute augment. That’s right—you can pre-mix and enjoy 45 minutes of quality painting time. Now who can’t create a masterpiece with that? LOL!
So, what are our parameters for this week? Parameters for Challenge #20 The Storyteller 1. Illustrate a story or process with your composition. 2. 45-minute time limit! 3. Pre-mixing is allowed! 4. 5-stroke palette draw rule in effect.
As always, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does this week!
