plein air painting – Page 8 – Marianne Thompson

February 28th, 2015

February 28th, 2015
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 8 x 10 in
(sold)

Finally! I got to go painting outside again! It was a beautiful day and if it was cold I didn’t notice. I brought my dog with me for the first time (normally I leave him with my Uncle.) I wasn’t sure it would go too well, and I didn’t want him to freeze, so I only did a very tiny painting. I’ll get a picture of it alone tomorrow. You will notice a lot of pink in the painting that doesn’t seem to be in the picture. It’s an effect you get when the sun is too bright, everything begins to look sort of pink, or the light bouncing off white has a rosy blush. If you’ve been in snow on a sunny day you’ve probably noticed it. One more point for paintings over photos in communicating the experience of “being there.”

Loon At Sunset

Loon At Sunset
Lake of the Woods
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in

I have to fix the spots on the Loon’s back, and probably will toy a little more with the water although I may not. This has been three days worth of frustration. I think I succeeded to some degree in what I was hoping to do (learn,) now I’m just sick of looking at it.

Sunset Thunderhead

Sunset Thunderhead
(Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada)
Oil on Canvas, 24 x 36 in

Again this week Plein Air is a bit of a misnomer, as it was painted in the warmth of a sunny living room while winter cavorted outdoors. I was thinking of the island, and storms I’ve known there. That’s snow on the right hand side – picture was taken outside.

February 4th, 2015

February 4th, 2015
Oil on Canvasboard, 18 x 24 in
(sold)

The sun set in the back yard one frigid and gusty day, blowing swaths of ice particles off the trees in plumes into the sky. I took a photo then, and worked from the photo but also from the yard. There are improvements yet to be made here and there – and then, on to the next.

Afterglow on the Canoe Channel

Afterglow on the Canoe Channel
February 2nd, 2015
Sunset, Lake of the Woods
(from a photo)
Oil on Canvas,
24 x 30 in

I hope that bad things can be trusted to happen in threes. I am very sorry to have lost my uncle so suddenly. The blessing is that I will now have time to process all of these losses through the medium most soothing to me – colour. I took this photo in outside daylight. Open Studio this Saturday, February 7th is a go, FYI! Perhaps I’ll see you there.

Penny

January 6th – 10th, 2015
Penny
(nfs)
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in

This has been a fairly rough year so far – the most recent blow was the rather sudden demise of my beloved cat Penny. Her name is short for Pentecost, which I named her because she was all grey and black except for one big tongue of flame on her forehead. Painting her has been wonderful – a very fulfilling way to spend time thinking about her and our life together, to savor and celebrate her incredible beauty. I think I may tweak this here and there, but it’s basically done. I hope now that there’s a little routine & order to home life (and the care of my uncle at home in hospice) I will be able to get out and paint again soon.

Moonrise Over Channel Island

December 14th & 15th, 2014
Moonrise over Channel Island
Kenora, Ontario
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in

Another painted in studio from a photo / from memory during last week’s Open Studios. Thanks to all who have come out and supported me and my work this year! Happy Holidays to all.

Sunset Over Canoe Channel

Sunset over Canoe Channel
December 6th, 2014
Kenora, Ontario
Oil on Canvasboard, 12 x 16 in
(sold)

My absence all this while has been due to a sudden and terminal illness in the family. I hope I can get back to painting regularly soon. Recently I had two weekends of Open Studios – the 6th of December and the following weekend, the 13th and 14th. Capitalizing on the hours I got to spend in my studio space, I painted this and the one above from memory & photo while I was there.
PS – if it looks familiar, it’s because I did a painting from the same photo not too long ago. I hadn’t brought any new ones into the studio, just decided on the spot to paint so had to make do with what was there. Also the previous one got ruined by an ill-timed car-door slam. The sky in this one, at least, is better than the previous (Feb. 11th. Wait for the re-take of this in better light to finalize your own conclusions on the matter!)

Strong and Free

November 16th, 2014
Stormy Weather, Lake of the Woods
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

For the past month I’ve been sick, I’m finally on the mend. I didn’t get out this weekend to paint, but I did some studio painting on Sunday. This is from a photo and a memory I have of a very stormy day on the lake this summer. I took this indoors and on a dark day, when the weather is better I’ll get a better photo of it. I should be back up posting regularly from now on.

Red Auerbach

Red Auerbach
October, 2014
Pencil, 16 x 20 in

This is just one of the sketches I’ve done as practice for a portrait I’ll be doing soon. It’s not plein air and it’s not from life, obviously – but because I’ve been sick I’ve been stuck inside and would like to show I’ve not been totally idle.