En Plein Air

Today I woke up, made my pot of tea as per usual, and then packed my watercolor kit and went out painting from life. Outdoors. En Plein Air. I found a place in the shade - but more importantly, I found a place that looked to stay in the shade for the next 2.5-3 hours.

The next step was to sketch out the composition, mess it up, erase it and sketch it again. Then a light wash of the general colors for each region of the painting. Once general colors are established, the next-most-important thing is getting the shadows established before the sun continues moving and changes the shadows. If watercolor were a more forgiving medium chasing the shadows might be an option, but that’s simply not something I’ve been able to do successfully with this medium.

Then (and I know this makes it seem minor, but this is where I often mess things up) the remainder of the painting time is spent subdividing the big regions into smaller ones and further adding detail where necessary or fun.

Only problem of the whole day was that while I was unpacking my supplies and setting up I realized I had forgotten my watercolor palette. Fortunately a fellow painter  loaned me an oil canvas panel, which worked as a watercolor palette in a pinch.

I’m not at all unhappy about this painting - It was a fun time, it looks like the scene and the shade kept me from overheating.

It was a pretty good time.

-ZR