Plein Air 2013 – Page 5 – Marianne Thompson

Plein Air Painting 2013

May 25th, 2013

Backyard, MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in

It’s been raining all day and I resent it; Saturday is supposed to be painting day. So I put on my warmest hat and winter coat, and went out back and sat in the rain for three or four hours, painting this. Oil paint, I found, is not adversely affected by water – and in fact, with the knife it can produce some really interesting effects. However the volume of water that accumulated on the canvas, palette, and on my person eventually made it extraordinarily difficult to see what I was doing. So I stopped, will revisit tomorrow. It bothers me that the green of the flowers’ leaves is obviously very different from how it looks in the photo. I’ll have to look into that tomorrow.

May 19th, 2013

May 19th, 2013
Cox Reservation
Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

I wanted to paint the river at low tide because I liked the reflection of the sky in the puddles on the mudflats – so I hurried at the beginning to get my sky and water in (because they obviously have to match.) By the time I had nearly finished all the rest of it, I was frustrated by how different my painting looked from what was in front of me – at that point, a swollen tidal river at high tide. However, both halves were accurate to the space / time they were painted in, and they are very harmonious in tone as the light was consistent throughout the day as I looked northward. It was a beautiful day for painting and being outside. I loved the sinuous riverbed and its echo in the footpath, I think I conveyed this adequately too.

May 8th-12th, 2013

May 8th-12th, 2013
My backyard, MA
Oil on Canvas, 22 x 30 in

This is the painting as it stands, about 6/7ths of the way complete. I was captivated earlier this spring by the fresh cool bloom of spring leaves and flowers, as they lit up in the warm glow of sunset. I took pictures, then didn’t get out to paint it quickly enough, and the whole aspect of the plant had changed.

I worked outside on location with the picture in hand to reconstruct what I had seen, and use the real trees and surroundings to inform my coloration. I did not go to Essex today. The weatherman said it would be raining and stormy, and I knew if I went, trusting in my star, it would pour. So I stayed here to finish this, and ensure by my absence the day would be clement for my friends out in the Greenbelt today.

May 4th, 2013

May 4th, 2013
Cox Reservation,
Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 in

This photo is a little askew, and it doesn’t do the texture justice – will retake. Had a better painting day than the previous few.

April 27th, 2013

April 27th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24 in

I hate this painting. I had a dreadful time trying to do it. I deemed this one unworthy even of the “Disasters” page. Then eventually I decided to fess up, partially. This is a small tolerable segment. Maybe when I’m done having wounded pride I’ll post the whole thing on Disasters.

April 20th, 2013

April 20th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Pencil Sketch, 16 x 20 in

Though I carried all my painting gear around the Greenbelt for at least an hour in search of something to paint, nothing “spoke to me.” Whatever’s been dogging me these past months, Lyme or otherwise, flared up again this weekend. I almost went home in defeat – but instead remembered I had a pad of paper in the car. I sat myself down in front of this tree and started drawing. What was nice about this was that with a pencil I can get all those tiny details that my knife is too clumsy for. I really needed to focus on something outside of myself and this was a very good way for me to do that. I stopped when the light had changed too much – I am undecided as to whether to try and finish it or leave it as is.

April 15th-19th, 2013

April 15th-19th, 2013
Massachusetts
Felt tip pen on paper, 16 x 20 in

One of the reasons I love Plein Air is that it turns my attention out of my thoughts and anchors them into the world around me. This week there’s been no escaping the world around me. I’ve been inundated with images and information of horrific events, and as it surely is for all in Massachusetts or with ties to Boston – and to those to whom this sort of violence is routine – it’s been overwhelming. The goodness of people is overwhelming too, but I think in this stream of consciousness doodle you see more of the darker side.

April 13th, 2013

April 13th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in
(sold)

I’ve painted in this same spot several times – most recently, January 19th (though standing in the same spot, that time I was looking to my right.) I am excited that some of the dingy grey grasses are beginning to take on new life and new colour! I see a few things I want to change in this painting, will go do so – but on the whole it was not too bad of a day’s work.

April 8th-9th, 2013

April 8th-9th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 22 in

This is the penultimate picture of the painting – I’ve changed a few things since I took this, will re take soon. Yesterday was a beautiful warm day, I had a few hours in the afternoon to paint. I stood by a cluster of trees that caught my eye with their strange, shaggy bark. I have since learned they are Shaggy Bark, or Shagbark Hemlocks. I liked them because they reminded me somehow of the Muppets.

April 6th, 2013

April 6th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

After the frustration of last week, which I realize was caused by my painting a scene in the worst possible direction sunlight-wise (SW I think – changes quickly over a short period of time), my goal this weekend was to paint a scene due North. I liked the way this tenacious oak retained its dead leaves through the winter, and the drama of their orangey tone against the gorgeous clear sky. I don’t think the photo does it justice; because although this painting is by no means perfect, I did succeed, in my own eyes, here and there, in reproducing the dazzling effect of the leaves against the sky.