The Foundry - Sutter Creek Plein Air

On a whim early this morning I called my artist friend Howard Rees to see if he was free for some plein air painting.  Fortunately he was!  And to add to my last minute luck, at an art event the evening before, Julie Trail had told Howard she would be painting at the Foundry in Sutter Creek.

We met there in the most incredible spring weather....I think it reached at least 80 degrees...it was calm and the skies were clear and blue.  Wow, what a day.  Amazing.

The Foundry is actually a collection of buildings.   It is no longer in operation, but I think the history dates back to the Gold Rush, when the Foundry built mining implements.    It's a great collection of wooden buildings.  Unfortunately, they are pretty neglected...and in a decade or two, I'm sure they'll be gone.  But in the meantime, what a wonderful plein air subject.

We had a great time painting and then repaired to Pizza Plus in Sutter Creek for some absolutely delicious pizza, and, of course, an ice cold 24 oz beer.   Things don't get a lot better than that.

The Old Foundry - Sutter Creek  Oil on linen panel  12"x16"

When I got home this afternoon, I took the painting into the studio for some final touches.  As often happens when I paint in bright light, the painting overall was a bit dark.   I lightened the side of the building, which .helped define the structure a little more clearly and also reduced a large dark area.  I also added a few suggestions of greenery above the roof line.  I had originally painted some very light -almost white - sky there to separate the roof from the burnt umber tone I had previously applied, but it was too intense and distracting.  Adding the green and gray tones calmed it down and allowed the building to come forward.  Finally, I added some interest and texture in the near surface of the road and around the painting in general.   All in all, the time in the studio was probably less than 20 minutes.

I'm pleased with the painting.  Again I tried to plan before I started by doing a small sketch of the composition and the lights and darks.  I wanted to resist painting and then correection, painting and correcting, painting and noodling.  I blocked in everything with Transparent Maroon and Ultramarine Deep.  After my first block in, I did not like the size and location of the building, so I wiped out most of it and blocked it in again.  That's a real advantage of blocking in with transparent color line and wash on a non-absorbent oil primed panel.  Once I had it as I wanted it, I began to add color and to define shapes with restated darks as much as possible.  There was a lot of jumble and junk around the area.   I felt it was critical to capture the feeling of that junk without getting caught up in rendering it.  It's interesting how much you can suggest without really painting anything specific at all.  Those intense darks in the foreground junk also made for some great contrast with the light areas in the foreground as well.   I love the effect of that relationship....it gives such life and energy.  This painting was a lot of fun. 

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Model A Flat Bed

I had a lot of fun doing this small sketch of a Model A Ford flat bed.  I took a picture of the car at the Amador County Fair this year.  Regretfully I forgot to get the exact identification.  I think it's about a 1927 model.

Late next month, I'm going to be painting by invitation at the Ironstone Winery Concours d'elegance, an annual event in Murphys, California.  I'm told that last year there were some 400 classic cars entered!! I imagine there will be chances to paint a few of the classics, so I'm trying to practice a little.  This sketch took about an hour, a little too long, I think.  I'm aiming for about 30 -45 minutes.  Overall, I managed to keep the shapes simple and to maintain a lot of contrast, which seems suitable for a quick sketch. 

This was done on Ampersand Gessobord, a perfect surface for quick studies and sketches.  I plan to take a lot of these panels with me to Murphys. 

Model A Ford flat bed    Oil on panel  9 x 12 

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

The Ironstone Winery Art Show

The Ironstone Winery near the gold rush town of Murphys in the California foothills held its 16th annual "Spring Obsession" art show reception last Saturday.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, I spent several days painting in Murphys last year with a Howard Rees workshop group. (  http://www.howardreesartist.com/ )  On one of the days, we visited the Ironstone Winery to paint on their beautiful grounds.  I was not aware of the art show at that time; however, this year my artist friend Vickie Chew who lives in the area gave me the details and, at the last possible moment, I decided to enter. ( http://vickiechew.com/ )  I entered five paintings into the juried show and four were accepted, including one of my paintings of a small miner's cabin on the Ironstone grounds done during the previous year's visit.  

On Saturday night I was honored to receive a merit award for the miner's cabin plein air painting.  The judges for the show were Kathleen Dumphy, Craig Nelson, and Anamarie Nelson.  Kathleen is a nationally known plein air artist, Craig Nelson is a well known oil painter (I have two of his dvds) and Annamarie Nelson is a faculty member of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco (as is Craig Nelson).  Certainly a very distinguished panel.  There were three blue ribbons and three merit awards given in the open competition.  One merit award was awarded by each of the judges individually.  It was an honor to have Kathleen select my painting.

Of the four paintings I had in the show, this was probably the last one I would have expected to be given an award.  But I do remember the beautiful day painting at Ironstone Winery with my friends, and that in itself was a very special "prize".  

My thanks to Ironstone Winery for putting on this show.  If you are ever in Murphys (which is well worth the visit) be sure to visit Ironstone.  It's very impressive.

PS:  Thanks to Ted Smith, another gold rush country artist, who framed this painting for me at literally the last minute.  I picked it up from Ted on the way to Ironstone!  ( You can find Ted at Gallery 10 in Sutter Creek  http://www.gallery10suttercreek.com/ )
   

South Fork Yuba River - A Small Study

Many, many years ago, I spent some of the best summer vacations of my life in a large cabin along the South Fork of the Yuba River, not far from the little town of North San Juan.  My cousins and the life-long friends of theirs who owed the place all called it "The Ranch".  There were half wild horses, forests and the cold clear river.  And, of course, the "diving rock".  Unfortunately it burned down some time ago, but the good memories of swimming all day in the river will remain with me forever.

A few years ago, my cousin Karen and I took a drive back into the past to North San Juan.  Although we couldn't locate where the Ranch had been, we knew we were close.  I took this photo very near the spot where we once swam as kids.  Today I was in the studio, came across it and did this small study.

Memories of The Ranch  oil on 8" x 6" panel

Abandoned Cabin - Study

This is an abandoned cabin among a group of abandoned structures near La Grange, CA.  I have no idea what this cluster of structures once was, but there are clearly some industrial buildings.  Anyway, I'd like to paint several of the buildings from the photographs I took there.  The cabin is the first that I've tried.  I decided to do a quick study first because I wanted to try painting the sunlit background and the dappled light first before diving into a bigger canvas.  This is 6" x 8".

Cabin near La Grange  6x8 oil on canvas study

The Mysteries (and challenges) of Painting ...

Last week, I met with artist friends along the Mokelumne River above Jackson, California.  This is Gold Rush country and it seems there is something to paint everywhere you look.  On this day, we ventured away from architectural subjects and found ourselves facing a rapidly moving river and GREEN everywhere.  I won't go into the problems I have consistently had with painting 'pure' landscapes made up almost entirely of GREEN.  Suffice to say that on this day, I came away with no painting at all, having wiped down my very pathetic attempt in order to save an expensive panel.  That is always a bad feeling.  But I resolved not to let it remain simply an un-fun experience.  If I am to make progress, such outings have to be LEARNING experiences.

I followed up with several hours of study and experimentation with mixing greens which I might talk about in another post, but I also thought deeply about my mental state and how very important that is to a successful painting.  On this day along the Mokelumne River, I was not mentally prepared to paint.  It had been a busy week in the office with several challenging situations arising that remained unresolved.  I brought along my little dog Dixie Doodles for the first time.  She was a good girl all day, but this was an experiment on my part, and it was distracting and new for me.  I kept checking on her and worrying about shade and water.  I was very aware of my previous struggles with "pure" and green landscapes.  And finally, I compromised on what to paint, selecting a location that accomodated Dixie instead of one that I preferred for the subject matter.  The outcome was predicable.

The side of the Murphys Hotel, Murphys, California

I thought back to a successful experience and searched for contrast.  I remembered the first day painting in Murphys, which I have talked about in a previous post.  Of course the architectural subject matter was something I was more comfortable with, but my mental state on that day was wholly different than my day on the River.  On the evening of arrival I walked the town of Murphys and found this wonderful wall of windows with the balcony.  It's the side of the Murphys Hotel, in operation since 1856.

Just enough room to avoid being run over!

I knew as soon as I saw it that this was going to be my first painting of the trip.  In the morning, I set up along the street next to the scene.  I was fresh, excited and mentally focused on this subject.  I was clear on what I wanted.  I envisioned a bold painting with thick paint to capture the rustic, aging subject matter.

The final result and a happy painter!

In my opinion, the Murphys Hotel painting was my most successful effort of the trip.





So what were the lessons I learned by this comparison?


1.  Focus.  Painting isn't easy.  It requires my FULL attention.
2.  Know why I am painting a subject. What do I want to capture and record?  Go for that and minimize everything else. 
3.  Have a plan of how I am going to approach the painting.
4.  Have a vision of what the result will look like.  This doesn't have to be a perfect vision.  There should be lots of room for change and creativity, but I should still have a conceptual idea of the outcome.
5.  Be enthusiastic about my subject matter AND my concept.  If I'm not, it's going to be a struggle.
6.  Don't rush the beginning.  Take time to consider, study.  Make a sketch or two.  Get everything ready BEFORE starting.  Have the right colors, brushes, medium.  

A Sunny Sunday in Mokelumne Hill

Once again, with artist friends Ruth Andre and Howard Rees, I ventured into the Mother Lode Country for some plein air painting.  This time, unlike the last, it was a gorgeous summer day.  We were in the Gold Rush town of Mokelumne Hill, a quaint little town surrounded by rolling hills covered with oaks...and just the first sprinkling of pines.  We first set up just outside of town for some landscape painting, and then after lunch we relocated to paint a barn that Howard had discovered and was chopping at the bit to paint.  All of us had our struggles during the day....possibly due in part to the long lay off over the winter....but all agreed afterward that it was a great day to be outside painting. 

This was the morning painting.  I took a lot of liberties with the actual scene.  I think it makes a pleasant composition.  Peaceful and inviting. 

A Farm Near Mokelumne Hill   Oil on 12" x 16" Canvas Panel. 

 

Mokelumne Hill Barn  Oil on 9" x 12" Canvas Panel

And in the afternoon we painted this old barn.  I had problems with this one.  In fact, this is the second attempt at the barn.  The light was overhead and behind the barn which was nestled under a canopy of trees.  As a result, the barn was in fairly dark shadow with strong light in the foreground.   At first I used a black primed canvas, but that was hopelessly dark and I was already having problems overcoming the dark shadows.  I switched to a canvas primed with raw umber which was better, but I still had problems.  In the end, I settled for this little sketch.  I may play with it a bit in the studio.