Willie's on Broadway Plein Air Oil

David Peterson, Sacramento's cherished watercolor artist, hosts a plein air paint out on the third Saturday of each month.  He has been doing this for a long time, I understand.  Currently the Sacramento Plein Air Painters meetup.com site serves as the source for information about the time and place of David's paint outs, as it does for dozens of other plein air events, thanks to moderator Martha Esch's tireless efforts. ( http://www.meetup.com/Sacramento_Plein_Air_Painters/ )

Last Saturday, we met at the parking lot of Willie's a Sacramento favorite for hamburgers and chili fries.  Right across Broadway from Willie's is the Iconic Tower Theater which was the starting point for the world famous Tower Records.  The weather was incredible, and most of us were in shirt sleeves by 10 am.  The majority of the group painted the well known "tower" of the Tower Theater, but I decided to turn and face Willie's and give that a try.

My goal here was to capture the feeling of Willie's and the rear of a neighboring gas station.  I wanted to get the 'urban clutter' feel.   I had a 16" x 20" linen panel already toned in a pretty garish red-orange.  That's a lot larger than I usually attempt when doing plein air painting, but I wanted the width to give me room to block in the structures without getting too small.  I decided to ignore the bright tone, even though I was thinking "vignette" right from the start, meaning that the tone would be a major player.

I made a very conscious decision to try to paint the shapes and shadows and avoid painting things.  I also resolved to think in layers: block in of major shapes and shadow without detail, locate few edges to define shapes slightly, add some pieces of color placed as judiciously as possible and finally place the 'clutter'.   I think that plan worked well overall.

Willie's on Broadway    Oil on 14" x 20" linen panel.

It's surprising how many missteps can be made even when one knows better.  I made several here.  The most obvious is the placement of the large pole....almost dead center!  I even compounded that by sketching in a parking lot curb that leads almost vertically to the base of the pole, thus effectively splitting the painting in two!  I considered painting the pole out and relocating it, but decided against it.  I didn't want to start getting fussy for one thing.  For another, this is a plein air sketch.  If I were to try to translate it into a studio painting, I'd shift the pole -- maybe.  But in the end, I started liking it.  There's a certain tension that it creates.  It's all part of the mess.  It's edgy.  Maybe it's OK.  Maybe not.   But it stays.

I've cropped the painting in this picture to 14" x 20", cutting two inches off the bottom.  That's in keeping with the reason for the selection of this panel anyway....it was the width I needed.  The height is superfluous.  I'm going to cut down the panel to this size.  

All in all, a great morning on Broadway.  I had a double cheeseburger and garlic fries afterward.  Don't tell my cardiologist.  Although overall, I think both my heart and soul got a boost by being in the sun with artist friends again....thanks David!


My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

"Rising Above"

Happy New Year!  2014 is here, ready or not.  Is it possible that it's been 14 years since Y2K, when planes were going to drop from the sky and computers worldwide were going to stop working?  And here we are more than a year after the end of the world.  Looks pretty much like it did before.  Guess I should stop procrastinating and get back to work!

This painting has been on my easel for quite a while.  I put some final brushstrokes to it yesterday and signed it.  Time to move on.  My object and focus in this painting was the evening light strongly hitting the old Elks Building in downtown Sacramento.  I pushed that light by darkening the foreground somewhat more than it appeared to be in real life.  I also minimized the detail on the old building, letting the rich native color of the building and the light of the setting sun be the star.

As I painted along though, I couldn't help but notice and reflect on the stark contrast between the Elks building, built in 1926, and the newer and closer building which also edges into the light.  I simplified the newer building, leaving out a fairly plain vertical panel at the corner, letting the windows run to the corner instead, so I can't hold the architect responsible for that.  But in either version - the actual or my simplified one, the contrast between the soaring architecture of the Elks Building and the squat structure and prefabricated panels of the newer building is much the same.  Although change is always inevitable, it makes you a little less enthusiastic about tearing down the old to make room for the new. So maybe that's a theme for this painting as well.  It certainly gave me the idea for the painting title.

"Rising Above"    Oil on 20" x 12" canvas

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

"Spence" An oil portrait

It's been a while since I painted a portrait.  This is from a snapshot I took of artist Chris Spencer of Locke, CA.  On this day, Spence was 'holding forth', as he often does, in front of Al the Wops.  Spence is not only a gifted artist who has made Locke his home for more than 30 years, but he is also one of those 'characters' that you run across now and then and who stay with you forever after.  I've had a lot of fun painting with Chris in Locke and the Delta and I've always enjoyed his outrageous (and insightful) take on life. 

I'd prefer to paint from life, but sometimes - often - that isn't possible.  I liked the photo and so I decided to try it.  It's a fairly large portrait - 16" x 20".   The compostion was difficult because of the hand, which I considered essential to the portrait.  It forced the head to the left of center, just the opposite of what I would normally want with the head also facing to the left.  As a result, the painting may be crowded on the left side. I'm not quite sure.  I've considered cropping closer (into a square) to see if that helps and I've tried it on Photoshop, but for now, I'll just let it sit for a week and then decide if it needs to be fixed is some way, or if it's ok as is.

Spence    oil on canvas   16" x 20"



Spence in Black and White  

Spence   Oil sketch on canvas

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

A great print experience!

I've never pursued the idea of selling prints of my artwork, but the concept got a significant boost the other day.  As an experiment (and at the request of two buddies) I sent off for a variety of prints using one subject photo.  I choose iPrintfromhome.com on the recommendation of a friend, and I'm glad I did. I new venue for my work might have opened up. 

My friends wanted prints of a Model A that I had done using a great old truck that I photographed at the Amador County Fair.  The painting is a small 8" x 10" oil on an Ampersand panel.  I liked the painting itself...and the color range from very dark to stark white made it a good test run candidate.  I ordered a 8x10 photo print lustre finish, a 9x12 inkjet lustre print (an upgraded process) and a 9 x 12 giclee on canvas (unstretched).  I was able to easily crop the photo of the painting on the firm's website to accommodate the slightly different size ratios.  The costs were very reasonable and the service was prompt and the prints were delivered impressively and securely packaged.  Honestly I'm blown away by the quality of the prints.  All of them are just great....and the prices for the work are very reasonable.  I'm delighted with the the whole process and the end result.  No, I'm not on the iPrintfromhome.com PR staff.  I just appreciate good work and value.  A few times I've commented on products and services that in my opinion, deliver what they promise and make the artist's life a little easier and more fun.  I'll try to do that more in the future, but for now....iPrintfromhome.com gets a California Painter Thumbs up!

Here are the sample prints l to r.  Photo print, 9 x 12 giclee (unstretched but with 3" canvas all sides for stretching. Can also be glued to a panel, of course), and the 9x12 inkjet.  

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Noyo Harbor Watercolor Sketch

I'm working on an oil painting of a downtown Sacramento scene.  The focus is strong evening light on a beautiful, very old highrise with lots of deep shadows in the foreground.  I'm trying very hard to maintain the light and the shadows as the star of the painting without getting lost in architectural detail or people in the shadows.  On a couple of occasions, when I've felt the urge to began 'refining' the scene, I've stopped and broken out the watercolors.  With big brushes and washes and very little planning, I dive in.  With only a quarter sheet of watercolor paper and an hour of time at risk, it's easy to just let go.

This quick sketch took about an hour.  I used a plein air oil painting I did a year ago in Noyo Harbor at Fort Bragg, California for the subject matter.  It's obvious I'm still learning watercolor technique.  My washes are overworked and my painting approach is clearly that of an oil painter...strong and even a bit ham-handed...but I really enjoy these little sketches.  In a very short time it's done for better or worse.  I plan to try the same subject on a half sheet next...and with a bit more pre-planning.  Meanwhile, it's back to the shadows and the skyscraper.

Watercolor Study Noyo Harbor, CA   W/C on paper  approx 10"x14"

 

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Morning Light on the Jackson Court House

This painting started as a plein air study and ended up being completely repainted in the studio.  My friend Howard Rees and I met in Jackson (Howard's home) and visited the old courthouse, now a museum, to paint.  We both set up in the same location where the morning light coming through the trees and skimming across the side of the building made a striking scene.  (Fortunately I took a picture as I was setting up - the one thing I did right that day!)

I made the classic mistake of 'chasing the light' which very quickly lit up the entire building as the shadows fell away.  Doing that, I lost the very thing that was so appealing earlier in the morning.  On top of that basic error, I had committed a number of drawing mistakes.  My perspective wasn't correct and I had placed the building too far to one side of the composition.  There were a number of simple drawing and relationship errors as well. In short, I had done a very poor job of planning the painting in the beginning and then compounded that mistake with lousy, rushed execution.  Normally I would have wiped the painting down to save the RayMar panel or simply set it aside to join a pile of other failed works.  But I was bothered that I had missed the target so widely on this effort and I decided to try to learn from it.

After the painting was completely dry, I redrew the building directly on the panel with charcoal.  I paid attention to the perspective in particular.  The colors in the original plein air work were dull, particularly in the sunlit areas, including the side of the building.  I pushed the color a bit in some places....or so I thought....but interestingly it turned out much closer to the 'real thing' than I would have guessed.

In the end, I felt good that I had not given up...that instead, I found solutions and worked through the problems.  The next time I go out to paint on location, I'll have this little exercise to fall back on.

Morning Light On The Jackson Courthouse   Oil on 16" x 12" canvas panel

  


My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art

Exploring Watercolor - New Mexico Ranch House

I had a very short time to paint yesterday afternoon...a good opportunity to continue exploring watercolors while keeping it loose.  It's hard to express the sense of freedom I've enjoyed while painting these small watercolor 'experiments'.   It feels just like what the Doctor ordered.  I have been so bound up, so confused with oils lately.  The watercolors have come along at just the right time. I am aware that I am painting them like an oil painter...and missing the subtle magic inherent in w/c ....but just letting it go and seeing what happens has been a terrific feeling. 

This 1/2 sheet was done in less than an hour....including clean-up, which mercifully is almost non-existent.  I used a photograph and oil painting I had done of an abandoned ranch house on the Acoma Reservation in New Mexico simply because both were right there when I decided I had an hour to "play."  I'm still very much re-learning watercolor process and technique, but for this sketch, I tried not to think too much.  One or two minutes of object placement with a pencil was all that went into the planning.  After that it was placing color with one of those wonderful razor sharp flats...whether that was the right brush or not!  Many mistakes and just a whole lot of FUN!

New Mexico Ranch House   watercolor approx.  14 x 20

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art