Night Sketching in Alleys

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Night sketching in alleys opens up new worlds of light and color.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRfxtdVxstTcmJxsRtQdebsANG8LJJWngILhf7Xuq1Qy96BAbxkCL038tEQdPvDnEBiCmJaiF0fEOOIOsEAi41Mt5-MFB1MPwlyrBsV22kBL1-y4WwIYK4rB9ClzFBoIRbj7VfgIKka_R/s1600/Alleycat+painting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRfxtdVxstTcmJxsRtQdebsANG8LJJWngILhf7Xuq1Qy96BAbxkCL038tEQdPvDnEBiCmJaiF0fEOOIOsEAi41Mt5-MFB1MPwlyrBsV22kBL1-y4WwIYK4rB9ClzFBoIRbj7VfgIKka_R/s1600/Alleycat+painting.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Streetlights come in a variety of color casts: the yellow of sodium vapor, the green of mercury vapor, the red of neon, and the blue-white of metal halide. Our eyes can see variations in these light colors that elude the camera.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8iQApQu4ED5E1lmHPu8hCF33zfvbqTmh8ha1oFlxhnQpze5vBH08x1ifo0feD9pYNCS4SnwSJVhod9xqbU5a1qrvEDXaqOuBPvxbSHkT-9vtagon2jgjClD1D1JTmEQirAWVQ3Jp0Hz3/s1600/Salida+Alley.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8iQApQu4ED5E1lmHPu8hCF33zfvbqTmh8ha1oFlxhnQpze5vBH08x1ifo0feD9pYNCS4SnwSJVhod9xqbU5a1qrvEDXaqOuBPvxbSHkT-9vtagon2jgjClD1D1JTmEQirAWVQ3Jp0Hz3/s1600/Salida+Alley.sm.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>This casein sketch is about the size of a baseball card. In the semi-darkness, it's difficult to distinguish subtle color differences on the palette, so I take a basic palette of about seven colors.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNRhQsPU0uJathQAzjSDI6lGE2l1bgfJMF_WUGhDWV2uttqL9K5zdLHs_51cEeok_mfn5wGlgqXcF2_7euV1hM5gZn5huDYYQS0wNE92eYjVua9HZ79wshlfG1cWGWY_SfusC4y3Ebqv8/s1600/Night+Sketching+Lights.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNRhQsPU0uJathQAzjSDI6lGE2l1bgfJMF_WUGhDWV2uttqL9K5zdLHs_51cEeok_mfn5wGlgqXcF2_7euV1hM5gZn5huDYYQS0wNE92eYjVua9HZ79wshlfG1cWGWY_SfusC4y3Ebqv8/s1600/Night+Sketching+Lights.sm.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I take a variety of compact LED lamps with me in order to match the illumination on my sketchbook with the levels and colors in the scene. Clockwise from upper left is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933622717/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1933622717&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=M6KGTXTBAJBZI2VZ">single head book light</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1933622717" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IHYBV2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007IHYBV2&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=IP7NLVEWK7RQMSF7">Mighty Bright "Hammerhead" light</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007IHYBV2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027GVIOW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0027GVIOW&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=OOU2NDRY6OOA37BN">Petzl Headlamp</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0027GVIOW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (customized with a nylon diffuser and a 1/4" 20 nut held on with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EU7DBNM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00EU7DBNM&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=G5LHPDVUCQFNTAU5">Sugru</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00EU7DBNM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> as a tripod attachment point). I also sometimes use an <a href="http://www.theartistsroad.net/store/products/100">Artist's Road Night-Light Cap</a>.<br /><br />The lights are clipped to my newest sketchbook, titled "Hitting the Whiskers," following my custom of lifting <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/09/john-seerey-lester-doing-demo.html">a line from the first page</a> of the sketchbook.<br /><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1pqLStkbfYa-vyJxy-6IAEBCtjMFvHlzEkrEEQrZKYgLpJ80T2xOafHOP7EnproJKRWuKqlz-EVaHuK0pigCqD3sNVJjS8m7IJ8ogxqDfgIpu2FEpNUTeX1C5AD3XehduMo6r_EuVP9_/s1600/IMG_8759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1pqLStkbfYa-vyJxy-6IAEBCtjMFvHlzEkrEEQrZKYgLpJ80T2xOafHOP7EnproJKRWuKqlz-EVaHuK0pigCqD3sNVJjS8m7IJ8ogxqDfgIpu2FEpNUTeX1C5AD3XehduMo6r_EuVP9_/s1600/IMG_8759.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />A garbage collector's shirt or uniform is helpful, too, because you want night vehicles to see you. You can pick up these uniforms used at a uniform store. Or you can get a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DJB8S2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004DJB8S2&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=XMQTEYUHMFBONPSF">reflective safety vest</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004DJB8S2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> online.<br />----<br />Previously: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/02/multi-colored-street-lights.html" style="text-align: center;">Multi-Colored Streetlights</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/vintage-streetlight-collection.html">Vintage Streetlight Collection</a><br /><a href="http://jamesgurney.com/site/213/color-and-light-a-guide-for-the-realist-painter">More light colors in my book Color and Light</a><br /><br />

Night Sketching in Alleys

Night sketching in alleys opens up new worlds of light and color. Streetlights come in a variety of color casts: the yellow of sodium vapor,...

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Top Ten Ways to Deal with Curious Spectators

<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/07/curious-spectators-part-1-problem.html">Yesterday's post about the challenges of curious spectators</a> generated a lot of interest— 35 comments on the blog.....and on Facebook: 533 likes, <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/07/your-experiences-with-curious-spectators.html">104 comments</a> and 83 shares. Thanks for your input, everyone!<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidW8e7kdDn_f5ZeKhsyFdwyoDLAcA0Gi4X1cYtl67AkNs4y2ZvN8-u00xXNCTBLwl1-7aK8NqGFEx8mi_o7FseUPzmIw49J8A1VQl3pFtZTKEz5A4xBo1PeoFwgW_bkt4L-0OTHcsLzP0/s1600/Curious+Spectators3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidW8e7kdDn_f5ZeKhsyFdwyoDLAcA0Gi4X1cYtl67AkNs4y2ZvN8-u00xXNCTBLwl1-7aK8NqGFEx8mi_o7FseUPzmIw49J8A1VQl3pFtZTKEz5A4xBo1PeoFwgW_bkt4L-0OTHcsLzP0/s1600/Curious+Spectators3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><div><br />As promised:<br /><br /><b>James Gurney's Top 10 Ways to Deal with Curious Spectators </b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89MkaxA_EuJrqw_IanLK6utZaKxjXCwVuUh_3V_7GZjR34viNR-wN9iM96Aqsif7TOvkrOG1UO2sEMwSGFr3w1E6edWHvLr2l9a34JadcRdITx9_HKitzxP4YK1nxU0xMANSUiAydFgTO/s1600/Critic+Be+Gone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89MkaxA_EuJrqw_IanLK6utZaKxjXCwVuUh_3V_7GZjR34viNR-wN9iM96Aqsif7TOvkrOG1UO2sEMwSGFr3w1E6edWHvLr2l9a34JadcRdITx9_HKitzxP4YK1nxU0xMANSUiAydFgTO/s1600/Critic+Be+Gone.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>10</b></span>. Deflect questions by answering them in advance. There's the "<a href="http://www.judsonsart.com/pleinair/pc/Critic-Be-Gone-T-Shirt-p175.htm">Critic Be Gone Shirt</a>," marketed by Guerilla Painter, which has a rather sarcastic tone.....<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vd8NubhtCZm3Xk5xQ9LS4NemnonmNb91U8eDUx_3c40ouuQ8vecyDBCojswSK0-KcWFzbxHFo_fOuWfyWuzd1UZPJYELO8hJHHMRQBBMuO-TnoMFb2ZdSr1drsi00cred7C_z_lcPBZP/s1600/laura1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vd8NubhtCZm3Xk5xQ9LS4NemnonmNb91U8eDUx_3c40ouuQ8vecyDBCojswSK0-KcWFzbxHFo_fOuWfyWuzd1UZPJYELO8hJHHMRQBBMuO-TnoMFb2ZdSr1drsi00cred7C_z_lcPBZP/s1600/laura1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">....and blog reader Christian shared this T-shirt design made by his friend Graeme Skinner for a friend Laura Young.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">9</span></b>. Place headphones on your head, so that you look zoned out, even if you're not listening to any music. Good way to overhear candid comments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">8</span></b>. If you like to smoke, blow smoke out of cheap cigars. It keeps away mosquitos, too.</div>----<br />The only problem with these first three solutions is that you can miss out on the really rewarding encounters that can come from curious spectators. How do you make the experience work out better for both parties?<br /><br />Let's remember that most spectators mean well. They're not as judgmental as we suppose them to be. They almost universally admire an artist who is courageous enough to bring their studio outside. Spectators often ask dumb things because <i>they're </i>shy and they don't know what to say to an artist.<br /><br />If a person comes up and they seem unsure of what to ask, I usually have a stock line ready to help orient them, such as, "Hi, I'm working in casein, which is an old fashioned milk-based paint that people used before acrylic was invented."<br /><br />In other countries, the language barrier often helps. When I <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/part-7-shanghai-diary-china-rising.html">sketched in China</a>, people watched with quiet, respectful absorption, or they would just <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/part-9-sketching-in-shanghai.html">smile and make encouraging gestures</a>. In my experience, Europeans tend to be really considerate and watch for a reasonably short time, and just <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-jeanette.html">saying a kind word or two</a>.  In Ireland everyone is such a <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/08/scart-road.html">wonderful and witty talker</a> that every encounter is great fun, so I love painting in public there.<br /><br />In Africa, curious <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/01/mr-moha-of-at-benhaddou.html">spectators have volunteered</a> to be models. In Morocco, kids can't resist gathering very close and even blocking the view.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLZM6qjAu8TdZ-hsLqEHevdc3GqKet6mUwV0i1YTTFaX1k2HkTyCTS7dkY2xCUsl44AZV_whGygpNWTKABmXixITWvi3YmJPWMbsn7B7bq1weX9CWiQWAoPgxE__e2GKdjG_beMH2J5KN/s1600/Amish+Kids.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLZM6qjAu8TdZ-hsLqEHevdc3GqKet6mUwV0i1YTTFaX1k2HkTyCTS7dkY2xCUsl44AZV_whGygpNWTKABmXixITWvi3YmJPWMbsn7B7bq1weX9CWiQWAoPgxE__e2GKdjG_beMH2J5KN/s1600/Amish+Kids.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="text-align: center;">Most of the time when kids hang around, it makes sketching much more fun. If you bring an extra sketchpad to loan to a <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2013/03/urban-plein-air-painting.html">really interested kid</a>, you might change a life. Long-time blog readers may remember the time I wore a <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/05/farm-kids-in-ohio.html">steampunk outfit to Amish country</a>, and everyone totally accepted me.</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;">But being inviting and friendly doesn't always work, and sometimes I get annoyed, especially by questions that obsess over sales and careers and money and commerce, and all the things that stop the wings of inspiration from flapping.</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;">....so, let's continue the list:</span></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">7</span></b>. Let them know it's OK to take a quick look, and invite them to come back later. That gives them permission, but it lets them know implicitly that you may not want them to park too long next to you. If you're in the middle of a difficult passage, and can't talk, just briefly explain that you'd love to chat, but you can't right now because your speech centers aren't working. People get that.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">6</span></b>. Change the topic of discussion away from you, your proficiency, or the price of your painting. Ask the person something about the place you're in or the thing you're painting. For example: "Do you know who owns that old building?" Or: "How high did the floodwaters get here in the last storm?" This often leads to truly interesting encounters, and it lets them do the talking so you can concentrate. I've learned a lot about many of my motifs this way.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>5</b></span>. Before you go out painting, create a web page or blog post with common questions and answers, including information about your galleries or your books, or whatever, and <a href="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/">generate a QR code</a> so that they can read your answers on their cellphone. You can put up a sign that just says FAQ and the code, and it will be fun for them to read it on their cellphone.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>4</b></span>. Bring a friend or a spouse along who doesn't mind fielding the questions from the spectators. (Thanks, Mikey!)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfD9LTzm31w4sIrq6Y9TsMqNMzRJWFxx_g7tNtrD0aKZLvkDGroppNVHfQeTb83uLMRNs4C3PtmJvswmFoOM32DMyfUyvLjfT8Rr91uOyOhzBbOGJzT09fET_xMV-6XV_cUP3FfLkXJL5/s1600/Andrew_Wyeth_&_William_Waterway_Marks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfD9LTzm31w4sIrq6Y9TsMqNMzRJWFxx_g7tNtrD0aKZLvkDGroppNVHfQeTb83uLMRNs4C3PtmJvswmFoOM32DMyfUyvLjfT8Rr91uOyOhzBbOGJzT09fET_xMV-6XV_cUP3FfLkXJL5/s1600/Andrew_Wyeth_&_William_Waterway_Marks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Wyeth en plein Jeep</td></tr></tbody></table><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3</span></b>. Choose a motif where you can back up to a wall or a rosebush so that no one <i>can</i> get behind you.<br />Or sit up high. Andrew Wyeth would sit on the hood of his car, with his feet on the bumper so that no one could watch from behind. (image courtesy <a href="http://makingamark.squidoo.com/andrew_wyeth">Making a Mark/Squidoo</a>).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RNc3A4hGgd5On1HCNhMwntCzwwX1xC1HWeKPNSNEqYMG995AUlwNeuu_UO-lA047O_h83lHz7PtqFU96S_ibUo5awbeY2mUOgC1SFQsOmV6zABX057KC-FHkFVk5w_nhO-sorBqhW557/s1600/Dept+of+Art+Shirts.sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RNc3A4hGgd5On1HCNhMwntCzwwX1xC1HWeKPNSNEqYMG995AUlwNeuu_UO-lA047O_h83lHz7PtqFU96S_ibUo5awbeY2mUOgC1SFQsOmV6zABX057KC-FHkFVk5w_nhO-sorBqhW557/s1600/Dept+of+Art+Shirts.sm.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">2</span></b>. Wear a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002EJ1R2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0002EJ1R2&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=YXOWSPC636ENPXWV">uniform shirt</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0002EJ1R2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and surround yourself with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017CXF6G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0017CXF6G&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=WRAXUMBXPP4FNGWR" nbsp="">traffic cones</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0017CXF6G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FW3HS0U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FW3HS0U&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=GCEJGHWNY64SSNAL">crime scene tape</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00FW3HS0U" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DZEETO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001DZEETO&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=5WNBIT6DXREJEPHX">"caution" barricade tape</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001DZEETO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. If there's more than one of you, and you're wearing uniforms, spectators are so bewildered, they don't know what to say. That's what our sketching group, the Hudson River Rats does—we disguise ourselves to look like some obscure municipal department. The "Department of Art" patches add to the official effect. (Thanks, Steve).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIUf30n_cNOE1Y85L_gFwuZnoHwDjehS7_2oaenvPgKkTTQ_AHGXfwRA2-9Ose_6DMtRjCUS3-fEYY_zAN6c7nxhZvsZMaxs0LfTpWqjbdX8yw8wGQQ4D94SFFijKg_KyNvRkGUqej7rL/s1600/KEEP+CALM+AND+PAINT+ON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIUf30n_cNOE1Y85L_gFwuZnoHwDjehS7_2oaenvPgKkTTQ_AHGXfwRA2-9Ose_6DMtRjCUS3-fEYY_zAN6c7nxhZvsZMaxs0LfTpWqjbdX8yw8wGQQ4D94SFFijKg_KyNvRkGUqej7rL/s1600/KEEP+CALM+AND+PAINT+ON.jpg" width="313" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1</span></b>. I mocked up this T-shirt design to suggest a final thought. The challenge of spectators is just one of the things that makes plein air painting so exhilirating. There's also wind, rain, bugs, animals, traffic, and changing light. Dealing with all these issues helps develop our concentration and gives us a sense of urgency that makes us do our best work.<br /><br />Winston Churchill said about painting: "Painting is complete as a distraction. I know of nothing, which, without exhausting the body, more entirely absorbs the mind. Whatever the worries of the hour or the threats of the future, once the picture has begun to flow along, there is no room for them in the mental screen."<br />-----<br />Previously: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2013/12/interview-on-urban-sketchers.html">Interview on Urban Sketchers</a><br /><br /></div></div>

Top Ten Ways to Deal with Curious Spectators

Yesterday's post about the challenges of curious spectators  generated a lot of interest— 35 comments on the blog.....and on Facebook: 5...

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Forgot his brushes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cmoA7BUq5BeJSu1hs8nJ2Z0cYYMTkQsEj9W_mhHJcQq0oUl3f8kZhQwkaD75DM4NHktvJMZEE6cGbhZZ2XG_731hxM3Ex33bPDxpCOM12zFdnnQIIzTBMzV2b7O7Ags6BHB4a0fXHsCO/s1600/537001_378199332212261_2144078634_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cmoA7BUq5BeJSu1hs8nJ2Z0cYYMTkQsEj9W_mhHJcQq0oUl3f8kZhQwkaD75DM4NHktvJMZEE6cGbhZZ2XG_731hxM3Ex33bPDxpCOM12zFdnnQIIzTBMzV2b7O7Ags6BHB4a0fXHsCO/s1600/537001_378199332212261_2144078634_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Have you ever forgotten your brushes on a painting excursion? Sir Alfred Munnings did. Here's what happened.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8qdgPl0iD8U5KlWh2kly_1V6EPfibnNu2gt3OZr8eczwg2W_UzIlZAfe14IkzEAS7O3l59p_o001yRVHSej99fSGlvZcSLVjew3E8NyHWYaRCTBgh-L6OCtfhdyWLWIZmTXFTr5DB3Oz/s1600/Munnings+A+Suffolk+Horse+Fair,+Lavenham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8qdgPl0iD8U5KlWh2kly_1V6EPfibnNu2gt3OZr8eczwg2W_UzIlZAfe14IkzEAS7O3l59p_o001yRVHSej99fSGlvZcSLVjew3E8NyHWYaRCTBgh-L6OCtfhdyWLWIZmTXFTr5DB3Oz/s1600/Munnings+A+Suffolk+Horse+Fair,+Lavenham.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />"Once on Exmoor, not long ago," he writes in his memoir, "I arrived by car at Cloud Farm to paint Bagsworthy Water, some twelve miles away, and found I had forgotten my brushes. <span style="text-align: center;">I have developed the habit of carrying my brushes separately in a brown-paper roll. A box holds a miserable handful, and I like at least one big brush among the twenty or thirty I choose to take...." </span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYFaEnU68eUhXubp_cxWw_EQN5HiZmrpnoUzKYq59d-fWLL4jleuWYVyWUB_2cgBEr5Dd8xWeG1LlAFhfbRt7tkNhyphenhyphen_F1xrZ7U1ArZBL4r05n2TLOGuMg2Zlx2SWLBzphXpbpEHadWJQU/s1600/Munnings+Daniel+Tompkins+and+his+dog+1898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYFaEnU68eUhXubp_cxWw_EQN5HiZmrpnoUzKYq59d-fWLL4jleuWYVyWUB_2cgBEr5Dd8xWeG1LlAFhfbRt7tkNhyphenhyphen_F1xrZ7U1ArZBL4r05n2TLOGuMg2Zlx2SWLBzphXpbpEHadWJQU/s1600/Munnings+Daniel+Tompkins+and+his+dog+1898.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: center;">"....With no brushes, I viciously chewed the ends of pieces of wood, tied paint-rags on sticks, sought out minute fir-cones washed down in spate to the stream's bank, some of these matted with fine strands of grass. A teazle was a grand thing on such an occasion. Cursing and raging not to be beaten, I found that with these tools I could do a lot, and the final result was much the same as if I had used brushes."</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiLwcIpOH-Y9lYI8TLCOeKkEqjLGs9RKcS1QuwPZb0XVG66dJz1wOQYADGPVagvowWG8r7LdHhpQbHfcLTu7uj6Efy0XUXur6919P7bxEuoW9kJoLITsGz8cR_Opm4-5T7bPjl7YHcdzN/s1600/Munnings+Sir+Alfred.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiLwcIpOH-Y9lYI8TLCOeKkEqjLGs9RKcS1QuwPZb0XVG66dJz1wOQYADGPVagvowWG8r7LdHhpQbHfcLTu7uj6Efy0XUXur6919P7bxEuoW9kJoLITsGz8cR_Opm4-5T7bPjl7YHcdzN/s1600/Munnings+Sir+Alfred.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: center;">"I returned next day. Conditions were the same. I sat in the same place near the roaring foam. I made the same design and painted another picture ; this time with brushes. Afterwards, placing the two canvases side by side, and standing back to look, they appeared exactly the same, four yards away."</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwBmR6kZCLZmuEfTDuCE9_b4VhngRQ9WlChdNYxIcCDqYB_F8fqL3fc5otret9EoZOVIfKVUx0EboaG87tgdqi4txweDTdLxLAtTaDIxYQOe-gGKM8bm3WK_h9FuKK8aFvquBrusuZkDr/s1600/Munnings+horses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwBmR6kZCLZmuEfTDuCE9_b4VhngRQ9WlChdNYxIcCDqYB_F8fqL3fc5otret9EoZOVIfKVUx0EboaG87tgdqi4txweDTdLxLAtTaDIxYQOe-gGKM8bm3WK_h9FuKK8aFvquBrusuZkDr/s1600/Munnings+horses.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><div>----</div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Munnings">Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) on Wikipedia</a><br />From <a href="http://archive.org/stream/artistslife010508mbp/artistslife010508mbp_djvu.txt">"An Artist's Life" by Alfred Munnings</a> (free ebook)<br />Some of the images courtesy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sir-Alfred-Munnings-Art-Museum/151183058247224?sk=photos_stream">Sir Alfred Munnings Museum</a> at his home, Castle House in Dedham, Essex. (thanks, Beth Munnings-Winter)</div></div>

Forgot his brushes

Have you ever forgotten your brushes on a painting excursion? Sir Alfred Munnings did. Here's what happened. "Once on Exmoor, not l...

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Easel-Mounted Diffuser

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Getting the best light on your artwork while sketching outdoors makes a huge difference for seeing color. Ideally you want soft, diffused white sunlight at a level close to the brightness of the scene itself. The worst thing is cast shadows or dappled light across the painting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO0fAq6V-YmGzE5iQxD9FzOT41Ge5kn1WulN-6fNmyVnhh0xzT9etQfygVlUk20sFt3sxC2qSkBTNSY9g3HDDmTBa31hVOSN7mYQ6hq4n7iyfoQuujTmufIBPfo1c79a1rBK7E8P9k5t4/s1600/Diffuser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO0fAq6V-YmGzE5iQxD9FzOT41Ge5kn1WulN-6fNmyVnhh0xzT9etQfygVlUk20sFt3sxC2qSkBTNSY9g3HDDmTBa31hVOSN7mYQ6hq4n7iyfoQuujTmufIBPfo1c79a1rBK7E8P9k5t4/s1600/Diffuser.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Controlling the light on your work can be difficult on a bright sunny day, which is why I came up with this easel-mounted diffuser. Unlike a white umbrella, this setup won't blow over in heavy wind. The diffuser affects the light only where you need it.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76nj-Y-4fApE2C1zxGd8bHYc0zZkSAgku7IYbA6qo8aVVr1Rit_xIUeqN7R5v1V6OMEOK2VkhxiDAhui2g0TYabXtjvNeoRrOAbZsL5P4Q3yzM2eh1VZDSQ-Eh6zA-c490VGpkZ9xg8WK/s1600/DiffuserinUse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76nj-Y-4fApE2C1zxGd8bHYc0zZkSAgku7IYbA6qo8aVVr1Rit_xIUeqN7R5v1V6OMEOK2VkhxiDAhui2g0TYabXtjvNeoRrOAbZsL5P4Q3yzM2eh1VZDSQ-Eh6zA-c490VGpkZ9xg8WK/s1600/DiffuserinUse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The white diffusing panel is made using a recycled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FD804K/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000FD804K&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Pendaflex</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000FD804K" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> frame. These rectangular aluminum supports were used for hanging file folders. Over the frame I stretched <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046VDLSW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0046VDLSW&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">white rip-stop nylon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0046VDLSW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and sewed a seam around the edge. The angle of the diffuser is completely adjustable and the whole thing is removable, held in by a wood bracket at the top of the easel.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbT7yOzTmCc-3S-6Z_rf2EKCdrN1X2MmtNfqdQHa1Q2RgBUpDdNn8hlYd2YvSAob5H_pJr1pcUDeEZGi-6l_uQzGNWkYwe6wq5_PJi5a8VMcl29jg8bHNqi4wiX4S_h2ea35NOpz_7L8f/s1600/Easel+diffuser.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbT7yOzTmCc-3S-6Z_rf2EKCdrN1X2MmtNfqdQHa1Q2RgBUpDdNn8hlYd2YvSAob5H_pJr1pcUDeEZGi-6l_uQzGNWkYwe6wq5_PJi5a8VMcl29jg8bHNqi4wiX4S_h2ea35NOpz_7L8f/s1600/Easel+diffuser.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Here's what it looks like on the side away from me. That bracket is a piece of plywood which is split so that it tightens against the aluminum bar. The wood bracket is held on with a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002I01QVW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002I01QVW&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Southco adjustable hinge</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002I01QVW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, so that the whole bracket can fold down out of the way.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR_-lmEku-ockuRHUbePzFKlrxoDZjSvnO1pcm0_euRSwU3EnxK4j7KdNKG5R8P7RVQAqSKcUzsrrjh2viIz2j_kWIQOZX0BNP1nIOkZv3upXn5T8ugCxIK9NtgIyxS81MfmylsWMsRRO/s1600/Painting+Wilderstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR_-lmEku-ockuRHUbePzFKlrxoDZjSvnO1pcm0_euRSwU3EnxK4j7KdNKG5R8P7RVQAqSKcUzsrrjh2viIz2j_kWIQOZX0BNP1nIOkZv3upXn5T8ugCxIK9NtgIyxS81MfmylsWMsRRO/s1600/Painting+Wilderstein.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>My homemade easel system can work for either sitting or standing height, because it mounts on a camera tripod. Here we were last week painting the old carriage house at the Wilderstein mansion here in the Hudson Valley. I'm painting <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/contre-jour-lighting.html">contre-jour </a>(facing the light), so the diffuser brings nice white light to my work surface.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv3Q68J5T28HMvnXVhLQUWhXGWEMHO9iDDNIuqE0EreUv5GjkluWvRmDOhXNdArtUtz6W7O27AWg1wpZARPDxeTuNA9uLFZI0BgSfE6udDJI0kipth4RSGxeF-T5f0lkZkABbSML4kWnz/s1600/Wilderstein+Carriage+Barn.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv3Q68J5T28HMvnXVhLQUWhXGWEMHO9iDDNIuqE0EreUv5GjkluWvRmDOhXNdArtUtz6W7O27AWg1wpZARPDxeTuNA9uLFZI0BgSfE6udDJI0kipth4RSGxeF-T5f0lkZkABbSML4kWnz/s1600/Wilderstein+Carriage+Barn.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And here's the painting I did. I was conscious of lightening and cooling the top edge of the building silhouette to make the sky feel bright and blue without actually painting the sky blue. It's an effect I've noticed from photography and I wanted to try it out on an observational painting.<br /><br />I documented the whole thing on video, and I'll be releasing that segment as part of an upcoming DVD/download on plein-air watercolor.<br /><br />If you make one of these diffusers, please send me photos of how you adapted the idea.

Easel-Mounted Diffuser

Getting the best light on your artwork while sketching outdoors makes a huge difference for seeing color. Ideally you want soft, diffused wh...

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Plein-Air Architecture in Two-Day Sessions

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4iHR2oqktpfVvh8XW2JXW4m0CsQfSyhWlNDKlpXgrHVnt6CZcVdFjs7H03ec52Uomo2J4p6Nm6TKePxcTsDtvDI9P4Ebpeiiel320wyltKmr62eup8KdjjS7SZx39WHvi8H2x5tPg5mmK/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington_Grand_Canal_Venice.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4iHR2oqktpfVvh8XW2JXW4m0CsQfSyhWlNDKlpXgrHVnt6CZcVdFjs7H03ec52Uomo2J4p6Nm6TKePxcTsDtvDI9P4Ebpeiiel320wyltKmr62eup8KdjjS7SZx39WHvi8H2x5tPg5mmK/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington_Grand_Canal_Venice.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This painting of the Grand Canal in Venice by Richard Parkes Bonington (1801-1828) looks immensely detailed and at first it looks like it would have taken a long time to paint. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But he used a time-saving method that works really well for both plein-air and studio paintings of architecture.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi479sKaujPuoD9jklTGYvsCnoLx3OTwrC7zZt2l0V-tolfNfkwRsgOe-Ntp783F7cXjvozIQu2ZU9m6V6ZyU0uVhSW40o_TeATy1qK69eIOpTY3GrCKyDlWHoVZgpTmnXfd5OWOOiXppD8/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington_det2.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi479sKaujPuoD9jklTGYvsCnoLx3OTwrC7zZt2l0V-tolfNfkwRsgOe-Ntp783F7cXjvozIQu2ZU9m6V6ZyU0uVhSW40o_TeATy1qK69eIOpTY3GrCKyDlWHoVZgpTmnXfd5OWOOiXppD8/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington_det2.sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The trick is to paint the large areas of the building fronts in opaque paint with big bristle brushes. Then let that dry completely. This might take 24 hours or several days, depending on whether there's a drying agent in the paint, such as Liquin or a drop of cobalt drier.<br /><br />On the second day's session, you can go back over those big areas with a smaller brush to subdivide the building fronts. A straightedge can help you find the vanishing points and keep the horizontals in perspective and the verticals true. Note that underneath the vertical strokes of the big windows above, he lightly marked the spacing of the windows in burnt sienna before actually painting them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XFJqHvtfjnLUClrM9o-GfbH1GFzwNkCJtBbq2_Cfv1NlKtJhGXgCu5RwH8YWjkEvAlriPxN_3kCDPA-TI8IzL0yCSR72kWGa-hZuGZk__xJw8scPiwjUWkgDw7yi6k7A9cRt3u7GbJsX/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington.det.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XFJqHvtfjnLUClrM9o-GfbH1GFzwNkCJtBbq2_Cfv1NlKtJhGXgCu5RwH8YWjkEvAlriPxN_3kCDPA-TI8IzL0yCSR72kWGa-hZuGZk__xJw8scPiwjUWkgDw7yi6k7A9cRt3u7GbJsX/s1600/Richard_Parkes_Bonington.det.sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Not all of the strokes are dark. You can also pick out some light accents, such as the light stones and the insides of the windows catching light on the brown building at left.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgK133m_kCSCFslwxJos-X3Nxp7rrKJIlTS0ixE57brQ3O7vRewwBOfkXdY0LMFutuoM3g31dAnf2PsXSg4WJT604TQO2hkrd1VyLDKD7v0PfY1EK1OzBvhgpR5duqi0ewBbW-o0J4neL/s1600/bonington-acquisition-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgK133m_kCSCFslwxJos-X3Nxp7rrKJIlTS0ixE57brQ3O7vRewwBOfkXdY0LMFutuoM3g31dAnf2PsXSg4WJT604TQO2hkrd1VyLDKD7v0PfY1EK1OzBvhgpR5duqi0ewBbW-o0J4neL/s1600/bonington-acquisition-full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's another Venetian painting by Bonington. This one is on millboard, 14 x 18 inches, and was painted on location in 1826. It uses a similar technique—and it's also similar to the technique used by the master of Venetian architecture, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaletto">Canaletto</a>. You can <a href="https://www.kimbellart.org/collections/recent-acquisitions/bonington">read more about this image and about Bonington </a>at the website of the Kimbell Art Museum, which owns this painting.<br /><br />If you're painting on location in oil, these two-day paintings take some planning, and you have to be staying somewhere for a while. You can start several paintings one morning, then put them aside and go back to that spot a day or two later to finish them up. But if you're painting in gouache, acrylic, or casein, you can use this method all in one sitting. The mantra is "Large shapes first, small shapes last."<br /><br />The first painting is from the <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Parkes_Bonington_-_Grand_Canal,_Venice_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">Yale Center for British Art</a> in New Haven, Connecticut.<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Parkes_Bonington">Richard Parkes Bonington on Wikipedia</a>

Plein-Air Architecture in Two-Day Sessions

This painting of the Grand Canal in Venice by Richard Parkes Bonington (1801-1828) looks immensely detailed and at first it looks like it wo...

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Protection Against Midges.

After yesterday's post about the Pre-Raphaelite love triangle, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/greg-shea/28/457/333">Greg Shea,</a> who works at the <a href="http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1669140">Yale Center for British Art,</a> sent this intriguing sketch by John E. Millais.<br /><br />It shows two sketchers, puffing on smokes, with bags over their heads, with eye and mouth holes cut out to keep out the biting flies. In the distance, a shocked family looks on. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny6_FDO3Mobs95axE5GytiYmjdo1ZrKJx5ax5ii7K-bYLxK6IwKkkzMlGnV9NSpwENQqyrt9C1LKJYKQEIyS7vHj4Ir8QtKqoyf7gB7xcOkraqjO8gm2IF1fBr_oogrFiyeEfjyfhBz3q/s1600/Millais_AwfulprotectionAgainstMidges.1853TnxShea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny6_FDO3Mobs95axE5GytiYmjdo1ZrKJx5ax5ii7K-bYLxK6IwKkkzMlGnV9NSpwENQqyrt9C1LKJYKQEIyS7vHj4Ir8QtKqoyf7gB7xcOkraqjO8gm2IF1fBr_oogrFiyeEfjyfhBz3q/s1600/Millais_AwfulprotectionAgainstMidges.1853TnxShea.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is titled "Awful protection against midges," and it illustrates a moment from the sketching trip to Scotland Millais took with Ruskin and his wife Effie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to the <a href="http://www.leicestergalleries.com/19th-20th-century-paintings/d/awful-protection-against-midges/13407">Leicester Art Galleries: </a></div><br />"This drawing comes from a series of about twenty-five amusing records that Millais made as a visual diary of his stay in Scotland with John Ruskin and his wife Effie. It was on this holiday at Brig o’Turk, taken between July and October in 1853, that Millais painted his famous portrait of John Ruskin standing beside Glenfinlas Falls and became deeply infatuated with his wife, Effie. Millais was an avid fan of the humorous magazine Punch and on returning from Scotland he showed the results of the lighter side of his trip (his relations with Ruskin having become naturally somewhat strained) to his friend, the Punch cartoonist John Leech. Although Millais was delighted to see his sketches published he asked for them to be anonymous. The images “would never go with the serious position I occupy in regard to Art”.<br /><div><br />"Awful Protection Against Midges was published on the 12th November 1853. It appeared with the title Ingenious protection against midges - a valuable hint to sketchers from nature. Simplified by Leech for the wood block engraving, the Punch illustration lacks the delicate detail of the original drawing. Millais had written to his friend Martha Combe from Brig o’Turk on the 6th September describing this well-known Scottish pest. “There is one drawback to this almost perfect happiness - the midges. They bite so dreadfully that it is beyond human endurance to sit quiet, therefore many a splendid day passes without being able to work”. Martha and Thomas Combe were important Pre-Raphaelite patrons. <br /><br />"The kilted figure on the left is Millais’ pupil and friend, the artist Michael Halliday in his adopted native attire. On the right may well be Millais himself, however Millais usually portrayed himself with exaggerated gangly legs and arms. An alternative candidate is Millais’ brother William, who can be seen sketching in another of the drawings smoking a similar cheroot. William’s favoured pastime was trout fishing for breakfast."</div>

Protection Against Midges.

After yesterday's post about the Pre-Raphaelite love triangle, Greg Shea, who works at the Yale Center for British Art, sent this intr...

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Watercolors by Charles E. Dana

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here's a painting of a door in Friburg by Pennsylvania artist Charles E. Dana (1843-1924). He studied architecture in Munich, and then went to Paris to learn from Gérôme and Bonnat.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_VAkRsoTOHGTenkVqdmMciOs6VBPzpP3W9n2Ff1jSf3JjTO2UjQqgqU_3Y0s5KYB7DAGk1Sf374-vugZydR5HZbZxZarJKput1rjsKQ0RcRz24IOUhuhyphenhypheni0kKXGVYx-uOePIZpdIUtlB/s1600/Dana+Charles.School+at+Fribourg.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_VAkRsoTOHGTenkVqdmMciOs6VBPzpP3W9n2Ff1jSf3JjTO2UjQqgqU_3Y0s5KYB7DAGk1Sf374-vugZydR5HZbZxZarJKput1rjsKQ0RcRz24IOUhuhyphenhypheni0kKXGVYx-uOePIZpdIUtlB/s1600/Dana+Charles.School+at+Fribourg.sm.jpg" width="265" /></a><br />The iron grille in the window, with rectangular mullions behind it, would have taken considerable patience and skill to record in the subtractive medium of transparent watercolor.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5cfdlBCmYCr8kOz8JnmsyqwVhi8wOJGWoQlOn3y3jJtcvJVSYuf0VVMVMst67jfeEjV3-bJmgRglzL3Lj-JZyJ8vntPMBZ5T70moWyLdglIeMCRK24hjC8OWYucfzzp4DTDOFl9irpIi/s1600/1915_1_1_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5cfdlBCmYCr8kOz8JnmsyqwVhi8wOJGWoQlOn3y3jJtcvJVSYuf0VVMVMst67jfeEjV3-bJmgRglzL3Lj-JZyJ8vntPMBZ5T70moWyLdglIeMCRK24hjC8OWYucfzzp4DTDOFl9irpIi/s1600/1915_1_1_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">A <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/20561334?seq=3">1915 article</a> described him "as a student always, living much in the past, searching out the works of old craftsmen. It is only natural that his subjects should have been for the most part along the lanes and by-paths where these interests led him. So we find his work quite removed from that of the painter of moods, and his pictures depicting and recording certain real things which were in themselves the expression of the artist-craftsmen of a bygone period."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Left: A street in Cairo by Charles E. Dana</div><br />

Watercolors by Charles E. Dana

Here's a painting of a door in Friburg by Pennsylvania artist Charles E. Dana (1843-1924). He studied architecture in Munich, and then w...

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Book Review: Painting on Location

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOumd-syfGAcJFBiVh0C6ONBg9NLQLo_C0aZSbvZFBRm_v8EDuiENSB2fIuL_y-Tb3NDZiIAYIKpEg7kQHTXn1j6Qt_Gdwo4C8_aPH2RLnC1e6iaIrGY2jDkzcxCiiWWnN5R9wH7Antl0/s1600/curtis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOumd-syfGAcJFBiVh0C6ONBg9NLQLo_C0aZSbvZFBRm_v8EDuiENSB2fIuL_y-Tb3NDZiIAYIKpEg7kQHTXn1j6Qt_Gdwo4C8_aPH2RLnC1e6iaIrGY2jDkzcxCiiWWnN5R9wH7Antl0/s1600/curtis3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>David Curtis is one of the leading plein-air painters, working in both watercolor and oil in the United Kingdom. He tackles complex scenes with admirable fluency and accuracy, and is one of the contemporary masters of <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/contre-jour-lighting.html">contre-jour lighting.</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuwId1sNW0XT6BALWXY8UfnpPgh2ggJMuFdekOSXAKfX3DkT2QUorgNPQVnW2hsX0j5veownqJUR7B2VBdgH1DkpO3OHHUH9i3SXjXS8i7OHA49ASQ33ZoJX6Sq-WBOOw5L-UxLh7w-g0/s1600/Painting+on+Location+Curtis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuwId1sNW0XT6BALWXY8UfnpPgh2ggJMuFdekOSXAKfX3DkT2QUorgNPQVnW2hsX0j5veownqJUR7B2VBdgH1DkpO3OHHUH9i3SXjXS8i7OHA49ASQ33ZoJX6Sq-WBOOw5L-UxLh7w-g0/s1600/Painting+on+Location+Curtis.JPG" width="311" /></a></div>For both dedicated fans and people new to his work, his newest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1440331421/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1440331421&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Painting on Location: Secrets to Plein Air Painting</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1440331421" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, is an excellent presentation of his working methods, with many large reproductions of paintings that don't appear in previous books on Curtis's work.<br /><br />His subject matter includes primarily coastal views, city scenes, and rural landscapes—no portraits or still lifes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZu02FL9smaPB52AbA2z5YsB8L9CDeNEtu1E_5JbMjw7h2cklv7qu45NU6c8JRRjOC_thlDF22tvT0EEzUKvybsk77YTrq_rmj-K2b9BKOq8TrcdYh_Rf0Gbp3PkT5B3NMkYAuQEvniaH/s1600/curtis+painting+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZu02FL9smaPB52AbA2z5YsB8L9CDeNEtu1E_5JbMjw7h2cklv7qu45NU6c8JRRjOC_thlDF22tvT0EEzUKvybsk77YTrq_rmj-K2b9BKOq8TrcdYh_Rf0Gbp3PkT5B3NMkYAuQEvniaH/s1600/curtis+painting+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a><br />Curtis typically works fairly small in oil. Most of his paintings are around 8x10 or up to 12x16 inches. In his book he discusses how speed and confidence are affected by the scale of the work, and by other challenges such as limited time and changing light.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYauf6wgBHZ83BLPFJvrCmxknDF4R2V9bkSVrjBvNScA5hSqGoHCbvy4NIdk_u4ld5w4htxbrCcwgI3x5GofeDYsWV-U72c8UGqaRWsCLkXhlwAwL29UqPnCWy2cBzMzDMZz65wvICOhI/s1600/curtis_turning_leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYauf6wgBHZ83BLPFJvrCmxknDF4R2V9bkSVrjBvNScA5hSqGoHCbvy4NIdk_u4ld5w4htxbrCcwgI3x5GofeDYsWV-U72c8UGqaRWsCLkXhlwAwL29UqPnCWy2cBzMzDMZz65wvICOhI/s1600/curtis_turning_leaves.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The book gives equal weight to his watercolors, which makes it valuable to specialists in either oil or watercolor, or to artists who want to branch out to a new medium. There are a few step-by-step sequences, photos taken of the motif for comparison, and photos of the painting rig.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="253" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AgBKPWlnDsE" width="450"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a video shot on location that shows some of the watercolor techniques in action. Curtis confidently drops color into wet washes in the early "ghost wash" stage. As he says, "Observe once, observe twice, and dive in."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6hW4bvUkyaQ" width="450"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hW4bvUkyaQ">Video link</a>) And here's another video trailer showing his oil techniques.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1440331421/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1440331421&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Painting on Location: Secrets to Plein Air Painting</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1440331421" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">...also available from the <a href="http://www.northlightshop.com/painting-on-location-u5873">North Light bookstore</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">DVD: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0020KOJFU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0020KOJFU&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Light in the Landscape with David Curtis</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0020KOJFU" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div><br />

Book Review: Painting on Location

David Curtis is one of the leading plein-air painters, working in both watercolor and oil in the United Kingdom. He tackles complex scenes w...

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Painting Kirkside Park

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="253" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6f-6gpGx2E8?list=UUTIoOLzT1jbxAcPW99xn0zQ" width="450"></iframe><br /><br />Here's a quick video showing you a casein painting of a couple of old willows in a park. (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f-6gpGx2E8">Direct link to video</a>)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4APCsehyW9a7yABzUzBDPoZ3lu7Ja8xecl-5YQ09vFp68jUJd-MuU48Uu8f-4vhjFrp8N5nXSkgdJ01QVFSar0S3p0zsq9SpI2ptFcCDtzyVUsV-T5RE3O1aVgLRAIE0gdHDdi1kFukj/s1600/Kirkside_Park.vsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4APCsehyW9a7yABzUzBDPoZ3lu7Ja8xecl-5YQ09vFp68jUJd-MuU48Uu8f-4vhjFrp8N5nXSkgdJ01QVFSar0S3p0zsq9SpI2ptFcCDtzyVUsV-T5RE3O1aVgLRAIE0gdHDdi1kFukj/s400/Kirkside_Park.vsm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I'm using a fuller palette here than usual: titanium white, ivory black, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, chromium oxide green deep, alizarin crimson, light red, golden ochre, and cadmium yellow light.<br /><br />I also used a few touches of water-soluble colored pencils over the dry paint, with notes drawn in a fountain pen. I like this combination of painting and drawing materials because it's fast and you can get textures and effects that you can't get with drawing or painting media alone.<br />-----<br />Sign up for my pay-what-you-want <a href="http://www.concertwindow.com/shows/james-gurney">live stream this Saturday in New York City at Concert Window Open.</a><br />-----<br />Here's the tech:<br />I was using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BNBKZQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004BNBKZQ&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Richeson / Shiva casein</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A8B1NC/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000A8B1NC&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">1/4 inch flat brush </a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8883705629/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=8883705629&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Moleskine watercolor notebook</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=8883705629" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00134QBQO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00134QBQO&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Caran D'Ache watercolor pencils</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007X63MLI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007X63MLI&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Waterman Phileas red fountain pen </a><br />Camera: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030ZESEQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0030ZESEQ&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">GoPro HD Hero</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0030ZESEQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> rotating on a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZB4WUQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002ZB4WUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">kitchen timer</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002ZB4WUQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> at 2 second intervals<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007X63MLI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />Lots of info on casein at <a href="http://www.richesonart.com/products/paints/richesoncasein/richcaseinfaq.html">Richeson's FAQ about casein</a>

Painting Kirkside Park

Here's a quick video showing you a casein painting of a couple of old willows in a park. ( Direct link to video ) I'm using a fuller...

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