Paint Out, Part II

I promised to write more about the plein air Paint Out that I participated in last month in Avery County, NC. My first post on the event has been by far the most popular post on my blog to date, so I hope that the continuation of the story will also be appealing. The top photo shows my setup in Valle Crucis, and my last painting of the Paint Out. After returning home, I painted a larger painting of this same scene, using the plein air  study as my guide. This is one of my favorite approaches to painting in the studio. You can see the finished studio painting here.

"Shifting Clouds, Price Lake"

SOLD

One day we were were assigned to paint on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our subject could be in any county (or any state, for that matter!), as long as it was on the Parkway. Thanks to tips from a fellow painter who is more famiiar with the area, I headed north from my lodgings into Watauga County. I chose to paint Price Lake. It was a partly cloudy day, and so I got to see those wonderful odd shapes of the cloud shadows on the undulating mountains.

My idea with the Price Lake painting was to simplify the landscape by dividing it into foreground, middleground and distance (plus sky), and to aim for 100% accuracy in the color of each part. As Maggie Siner has taught, "Don't leave any paint on your canvas if you would not bet your life that the color relationship is accurate!" Every time I am tempted to think something is "good enough", I pause and ask whether I would bet my life on it. That usually sends me back to mixing the color again!

 

"Church in the Clearing"

18 x 6

SOLD



I returned several times during the course of the Paint Out to the lovely St. John's Church in Valle Crucis. This time, it was another partly cloudy day, but by waiting for the moments when the sun would burst through, I was able to get the painting you see above. Don't worry--I was careful to avoid setting up in the midst of actual graves, and found a spot to stand beyond the burial area. This painting (details here) is available at 3 French Hens in Charlotte. I have been really drawn to this church. You can see different painting of it here, which I just finished in my studio. As you can see, I came home from the mountains filled with fresh inspiration.

Thanks for reading about the Paint Out. And thanks to The Crossnore Gallery, and the very gracious gallery manager, Heidi Fisher, for organizing and sponsoring the event!