Workshop with Fongwei Liu - Day two and three

On the second day of the Fongwei Liu workshop, we adjourned to Miller park to paint.  I have to admit that this was a major disappointment for me.  I'm familiar with Miller Park and find nothing of interest to paint there.  I understand that a good artist should be able to find - or create - subject matter anywhere, but I'm afraid I'm not one of them yet.  I need to feel inspired and excited by my subject matter, and Miller Park leaves me cold.  I think even Fongwei had a difficult time finding something to paint, as he wandered up and down the narrow parkway for sometime before climbing down a steep bank to find a spot by the water.  He did manage to find a simple scene with some early morning light coming through the foliage and, as one might expect from a painter of his caliber, managed a decent plein air painting.  I struggled, tried in vain to make a clump of trees interesting and finally gave up.   I wiped the canvas down...those panels are too expensive to waste on a yet another bad plein air effort.

In the afternoon, we returned to the studio for a lecture on the essentials of a good painting.  Fongwei used examples of his own work and also that of many other impressive artists.  I wish I could have gotten the names of some of them...I would have like to see more examples.  I enjoyed the presentation...and once again, I found his comments and advice helpful and memorable.  But I have to say, the day was largely a loss for me and I left a little early feeling pretty discouraged.  Most of that had to do with my own short comings and the crisis of confidence I have found myself in lately and not in the workshop proper.

On Sunday we went to Capitol Park in the morning.  I felt much better about this location as there are almost endless things to inspire an artist there.  I resolved to keep it simple in light of the very depressing experience of the day before.   I set up and painted by the fountain in the Rose Garden.  It was a beautiful day.  I discussed my idea for my painting with Fongwei and he approved my location and idea before I started.  He also suggested some changes to my approach before I had picked up a brush.  One of the things he stresses in his workshop is to have an idea, a plan, a concept of what you want to accomplish and how you will go about it.  This can be simple and broadly conceptualized, but it is critical.  It was morning and the light on the fountain and the roses was beautiful  Determined not to get into licking and messing and guessing again, I pulled out the 1 1/2" brush and laid in the background ad the major components of the fountain in simple strokes.  I was determined not to overwork and I forced myself to leave the strokes as they 'fell'.   I was very pleased with this simple painting and the feeling of the light that I caught. One interesting thing occurs to me as I look at this painting now.  As I discussed my concept with Fongwei before beginning, he pointed out that the two rose bushes framing the fountain could be somewhat static if not handled right.  He cautioned me not to make both bushes the same height even though they actually were...and he suggested exaggerating one.  I see now that I completely forgot that advice!  Oh well.  Next time.

Roses in Capitol Park  12" x 9"  Oil on canvas panel

Finally, back in the studio, I painted this colorful landscape from a photo reference I had on hand.  If I remember right it came from a Wetcanvas challenge in the Western Art forum.  Most of the references I have are my own photos, but I do have a few from Wetcanvas.  It's a good source for material and everything posted by members is done so with the condition that it be available to others to use.  No copyright problems.  I think I will work on this one a bit more. 

Aspens in the Fall   12 x 9 oil on canvas panel. 

With that, it was time to go home.  I said good bye to Fongwei Liu.  It was an honor to be able to listen and learn from this fine painter.  I will remember his gentle and scholarly approach.  I think my work will be a little better from the experience. 

Workshop with Fongwei Liu

Oak Park artist and gallery owner Patris arranged for Fongwei Liu to conduct a three day workshop at her studio.   I was excited to sign up...Fongwei is one of those Chinese painters who so intrigue me.  I've been following his blog for some time, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to meet him and benefit from his experience and skill.

We spend the first day in the Studio.  Fongwei gave a  lecture on the components of a painting....composition, value, edges, paint application.  After that we painted from photo references we brought from home.

Fongwei Liu (white shirt) at Patris Studio August 2012

My painting for the day was from a photo I took while in New Mexico several years ago.  It's 12 x 16 on a Raymar panel.  Time about 3 hours.  Early on in this painting, I felt I had lost it, but with some suggestions from Fongwei, I think I brought it back.  While I worked on this I was very conscious of composition and value.  There are parts of this painting that would benefit from additional work, which I may yet do.   Overall, however,  I was pleased with the outcome.

New Mexico ranch house 12 x 16 oil on canvas panel. 

I'll post additional paintings done at the workshop over the next day or two.

Back to the Still Life Lessons

Another of the still life lessons from Dan Edmundson.  This actually happens to be the 10th and final lesson, but I have not yet done number 9.  I'll get to that this weekend, perhaps.  Then it's on to the landscape lessons.  There's a lot of glare on this picture.  I need to get a better one, but for now this will suffice.  I like the chiaroscuro effect of the painting.  A difficult effect to paint.  A series of glazes would probably greatly improve this painting.  Another fun one, but challenging too.  

Flowers, Vase and Grapes  16" x 12" oil on canvas panel

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.  

Four Days In Muphys - Day Three and Four

On the third day of our painting trip and Howard Rees Workshop (http://www.howardreesartist.com/) we traveled a few miles down the road to Columbia.  This amazing little gold rush town is now a State Park with shady streets, restored buildings and lots of charm everywhere.  There's no traffic allowed in town, so it's possible to set up the paint gear virtually anywhere.  However, we found ourselves there on a very hot day with hundreds and hundreds of tourists.  While there were many incredible old buildings to paint, it wasn't as easy as it seemed to get a good vantage point, find some shade and stay out of the way of everyone else.  Several of us found a shady little park at the end of the main street right across from this building.

Columbia Store  Oil on Canvas Panel  12" x 16"

I did a second painting in Columbia, but it isn't worth posting.  I went completely astray on that one!

Finally, on day four, our little group returned to Murphys.  We gathered together at a small town park with a stream running through it.  Kids played in the rapidly moving but very shallow water all day.  Inner tubes were the vehicle of choice.  It took me a long way back to some great summers on the  Yuba River near North San Juan California. 

Shady Spot by the Stream (Murphys CA)  Oil on Canvas Panel  12 x 16

I was in the sun (overcast most of the day) and looking into the shade while painting this.  When I got it home, I was taken back at how subdued and dark it was.  However, I've grown to like it quite a bit.  A different painting for me.  Thanks to Howard for several suggestions that got me unstuck as I painted along.  And thanks to Ray, who painted a scene with the underwater rocks first.  I stole his technique!

With reluctance, I left Murphys and the Gold Country in the late afternoon and headed for hot, hot Sacramento.  A great painting trip!  Thanks again to Howard and Janey Rees.

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Four Days in Murphys - Day Two

For our second day in Murphys, we were joined by two others who are often members of our group, but who were unable to come along for the entire trip.  We traveled a short distance to the Ironstone Winery to paint on their amazing grounds.  It's really hard to describe Ironstone.  If you are ever in Murphys, be sure to visit Ironstone, sample the wines and see the park-like grounds and exhibits.  Very well done and quite extensive.

Several of our group painted the lake and the beautiful wooded areas at Ironstone.  I'm always drawn to structures, so I painted a small miner's cabin located on the grounds.  Again I used a 12 x 16 canvas panel.  I went a bit overboard on the transparent oxide red, but it does make the painting glow even if it is a long way from the true gray of the old place.  At one point in this painting, I was struggling.  The background trees had gotten way too detailed and overworked.  In desperation, I got out my 1 1/2" flat brush recently purchased from Rosemary & Co and simply brushed the mess together in several big passes.  I then used the same brush to tap in some lighter values to represent closer sun-lit branches.  It worked.  Several people commented later on the trees.  Little did they know it was an act of desperation!  At the very end of the painting I used the big brush again to put in the road at the bottom after my friend Ruth Andre said the foreground lacked something.  I love that brush!

Old Miner's Cabin (Ironstone Winery, Murphys CA.)  12 x 16 oil on canvas panel. 

We didn't have a large group for this trip, but some old friends showed up to make up for it. Ruth Andre and Julie Trail came for just a part of the trip.  Ray and Gail journeyed from Carson City, Nevada.  Bob and Caroline Engle came from Thousand Oaks, CA, a long journey.  Bob and Caroline will be moving to Dallas - Ft. Worth in September, so this may have been the last chance I'll have to paint with this talented artist.  We'll miss your constant good humor and tireless enthusiasm for painting, Bob.  Good luck, good painting and happy trails to you and Caroline.  Stay in touch.  Also along were Vickie Chew, Sharon from Nevada, Andy and Cindy from Berkeley, and, of course, Howard and Janey Rees.  Good friends all. 

Ray (I've forgotten Ray's last name!  Will get it!)

Ruth Andre

Bob Engle

Vickie Chew

Julie Trail (Sorry for Lousy Photo, Julie!)

A Part of the Group...Bob E., Cindy N., Caroline E., Howard, Janey, Me

Photo by Andy N.

Four Days In Murphys - Day One

On Sunday July 15 I drove to the Gold Rush town of Murphys, California to meet up with friends for a four day plein air painting workshop.  We gathered Sunday evening to discuss the upcoming itinerary and several of us wandered the little town to explore possible painting subjects.  The evening was exquisite.  Summer was full on and twilight lasted until after 9 PM.  Murphys is often called the Queen of the Sierra.  

Murphys Historic Hotel  

  Scenes like these old buildings were everywhere.  A plein air painters paradise. 

We stayed in Murphys Historic Hotel.  Previous guests include  Mark Twain, Horatio Algiers Jr., John Jacob Astor, Thomas J. Lipton, J.P. Morgan, and former President Ulysses S. Grant. It's been in continuous operation since 1856. 






The next morning I set out to paint.  I had spotted my first location the night before:  the side of the Murphys Hotel, right where I was staying!  I set up along the side street, only a few feet out of the traffic and painted happily away.

Murphys Historic Hotel   Oil on 12 x 16 Canvas Panel 

I spent longer on the painting than I realized, but I was very happy with the result.  I managed to stay loose and use expressive brush strokes. I interpreted rather than copied, changing the overall color from a washed out pink to this much warmer and more dramatic color.  Perhaps most importantly, I resisted coming back and "fixing" things!  hallelujah!!  I'm learning!  

After lunch, I wandered down main street to the Hovey Winery.  The owners were nice enough to allow us to use the grounds for our daily afternoon critiques.  And of course, we drank lots of their wine.  I set up on the walk just outside the grounds and painted a portion of their beautiful wine tasting room.  I like the sense of reflected light in this painting.  And the flag and hanging basket of flowers added just a touch of color.  I was pleased with the overall result.  The owners expressed interest in using my painting in their marketing.  We'll see.  That would be great. 

Hovey Wine Tasting Room at  Murphys   oil on 12 x 16 panel 

Our first full day in Murphys could hardly have been better.   I'll include pictures of the others who attended the workshop in the next post.