Going Light
The January challenge with Southern Ca Plein Air Painters Assoc. is causing me to be a lot more deliberate about when I will paint. This morning I decided I would “go light” and do a morning walk into Santiago Oaks plus take care of the day 4 painting commitment. The round trip walk to the Oaks is 2.5 miles, so needed to trim down the painting accessories to the minimum. Here’s what I came up with:
Back pack
2 brushes (3/4” flat sable, and an old #8 round sable)
2 cups of water and a plastic water container
a few paper towels
small tri-pod seat that rolls up and fits in a sleeve (did I say small? I must remind myself, “be very careful when you sit down that you don’t go over backwards”. The whole falling backwards while you are painting thing, reduces your credibility as a serious painter.)
11x14” sketchbook (just fits in the backpack)
6B pencil
metal folding travel pallet.
After the hike into the park, I find a place along one of the walking paths to set up and paint. I’m not sure what I’m going to paint but there are some things I’m looking for: 1. I need shade on my paper, if I’m in the sun, the light reflects off the paper into my eyes and I cannot judge the values on the landscape. 2. I want to stay on one of the main paths where people are walking by every so often. I’m slightly concerned about mountain lions. My reasoning is, human traffic could discourage them, and if that doesn’t work, I have reduced the odds that I could end up as the target. 3. Finally I would like an interesting subject. I have learned not to hunt around for something that really inspires me, or I will waste half my painting time. Just find a shady spot, that has some interest to you and sketch or paint. Here is what I have discovered, once you start painting and you’re sorting out the patterns of lights, darks and mid values, you completely forget about the mountain lions.
Here are some takeaways from this morning’s walk; it is amazing how many shapes you can make with a ¾” flat brush. The rule of thumb with watercolor is you should stick with your large brush as long as possible in a painting. Ninety percent of the painting below was painted with the ¾ flat. The chiseled bushes to the lower right were a dark wash over a light value, using the tip of the flat to create a negative shape for the bushes. Another thing I have come to appreciate with watercolor is how little I really need to take with me to have fun and complete a painting.
