"Ducks and Geese" (oil on linen, 8" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo

When I showed my teacher, Diane Tesler, the above picture I took at Solomons Island, MD, she told me to keep it as a photo.  Apparently, it was too cute for her taste.  But she is in Indiana on vacation, and I am free to paint whatever I feel like.  So I painted "Ducks and Geese" today.

How can you resist the charm of this tableau?  Three geese decked in bright yellow rain gear were so jaunty that I and my friends burst out laughing when we spotted it while driving by.  The house owner obviously had a terrific sense of humor.  What made it even funnier was the two real ducks that happened to be there, as if they were checking them out.  I could almost hear one of them saying "if they are real, I am Donald Duck!"

"Victorian House" (oil on linen, 11" x 14") sold

sold

Bobbi Pratte's workshop was coming to an end.  On Sunday afternoon, we went to Solomons Island Road--downtown, so to speak--to paint.  I have spotted this charming Victorian house on the previous day and was determined to paint it.  The clouds were gathering, however.  It got so breezy for my friends who were painting a tackle shop across the bay that they had to quit early.  Some workshop participants had already left for home.  Not me!

I was only aware of the clear shadow patterns disappearing and the thunderous noise of bikers who zipped by.  When you are focused on painting, the world around you disappear.  Friendly neighbors stopped by and talked about the house owners.  A bicyclist pulled over to watch me paint.  None of these bothered me.

Bobbi stopped by twice to check upon me.  She had a note pad to draw the designs of students' paintings to discuss the main compositional problems.  I was impressed.  She said that the left side of the house (it was painted as in the shade at that time) needed more interest--too big a shape to just sit there doing nothing of interest.  Following her suggestions, I moved an azalea bush, replacing a much smaller hosta, and made it spread over the stoop.  Two links of fancy ironwork fence were introduced at the bottom left of the picture, so that it would have a definite foreground.

One idea of hers I decided not to follow is flipping the flag to face the other way.  When I came home and printed out the above photo, I noticed the interesting diagonal shadow patterns on the sidings.  They weren't there when I was painting because it had become overcast.  Much of the happy, sunny look, which was the subject in the first place, I was painting from the memory.  So I painted in those shadows and that seemed to suffice to make the troubled area interesting.

"Turquoise Time" (oil on linen, 12" x 9") sold

sold

On Sunday morning, Bobbi Pratte had her plein-air workshop students do a black-and-white value study prior to a full-fledged color painting.  I thought I would take it easy and paint just one boat after Saturday's challenge.  I sat down on my stool to do a study of the boat with a turquoise cover.  If you click the photo above, you can see my attempt better.  It didn't take a whole lot of time and actually looked nice, although I later ruined it by accidentally putting a plastic bag for soiled paper towels on top.

By the time I got to colors, the boat on the far right had left.  Bobbie thought I would be better off without it anyway.  She asked me what I was going to do with the top portion of the painting, which was not like what you see in my painting (there was a lot going on in that area).  I said I was going to simplify and treat it as one big shape of dark-toned reflections; she was fine with that.

One very important thing I learned from Bobbi is this: a boat sits in water, not on water.  The line created where it meets water is crucial.  Painting a simple boat was a good idea.  What I like about "Turquoise Time" is that it has a clear, strong message.  I often try to put too many things into a painting and end up with a fussy picture.  As the popular saying goes, less is often more.

"Peaceful Marina" (oil on linen, 9" x 12") sold

sold

On Saturday afternoon, Bobbi Pratte's plein-air workshop students painted a marina at Solomons Island, MD.  Water is hard to paint; boats are even harder to paint.  Two of them combined make a fabulous, but challenging subject for a plein-air painter. 

The reason why water is difficult to paint is that it's hard to tell what colors a body of water happens to be at a particular moment because it reflects sky and many other things all around.  Added to that are the currents, breeze, and the ripples caused by boats going by, which keep shifting the shapes of reflections.  Boats come in so many different shapes and sizes that drawing them in perspective is always a big headache.  I tried them last year en plein air and was not happy with what I produced.  So I challenged myself again this year.

As you can see from the photo above, I moved the boat on the right so that it would be within my picture to balance what's going on on the left side of the painting.  You cannot see in the photo the colors inside the boat shed.  There was a lot of reflected light bouncing into the wall, poles, and the boat.  That's why we paint outside, to really see.  It was chilly in the shade; the ducks in their mating season made quite a bit of noise; and sea gulls hovered in the air as the fishing boats returned.  Whenever I look at the painting, I will always remember these things.

"Drum Point Lighthouse" (oil on linen, 10" x 8") sold

sold

Hi, I am back.  Having lived in this country for 27 years, last week I took a solemn oath to become a citizen.  The event called for a major celebration, so I took a weekend plein-air workshop with Bobbi Pratte in  Solomons Island, MD, about 90 minutes of driving from where I live.  This was my first out-of-town workshop.

The weather forecast was grim.  The teacher emailed us about the rain jacket, umbrella, duck tape, etc.  Why duck tape?  To strap the umbrella onto the easel since not everybody has a plein-air umbrella.  It rained all week, but the sky began to clear by Friday.  By Saturday it was the most glorious late spring weather one could hope for in the mid-Atlantic region!

We stayed at Comfort Inn that owns a marina and also happens to be right next door to the Calvert Marine Museum, home to the picturesque Drum Point Lighthouse.  My memory isn't what it used to be; Solomons Island sounds so exotic that I didn't know I've been to the place many years ago until I saw the famous lighthouse.  Many artists had painted this iconic regional landmark.  Now I got to try my hand.  For next few days, I will share more of my paintings from the workshop.  Stay tuned.