Behind the Scenes

Lesley in Provence

Lots of you are curious about the steps involved in painting abroad and getting those paintings back home to the States. Especially when one paints larger paintings, or lots of them: How do you get them all safely home, and ready to hang?

When I embark, I take my blank canvas (mostly Belgian linen) rolled up in a sturdy mailing tube. Having long rolls of canvas allows me to select any size for any particular subject. That provides much more flexibility than painting on pre-cut panels! I also take a piece of plywood, as large as will fit in my suitcase, to tape the canvas on, thus providing a sturdy support for painting.

Canvas clipped to board...

Usually I quit painting a few days before returning home, so the paintings have time to dry. Then I roll the finished paintings back up--painted surface facing outward--and put them

Look Up!

"Honfleur"
Eugene Boudin

Lately the weather has provided my area with lots of interesting clouds (and summer thunderstorms). Watching the shifting clouds, I thought it would be timely to write about skyscapes. In the painting world, several artists are known for their skyscapes. The one who is first in my mind is the French painter Eugene Boudin. He was called "King of the Skies" by none other than the great Camille Corot.  Boudin lived in Normandy, and if you have been there you know that the skies are very active. No shortage of cloud formations!

"Grand Ciel"
Oil on Wood, 26,8 cm x 21. 8 cm
Eugene Boudin, c. 1888-95

Boudin's paintings of skies range widely in approach. Some are highly finished and carefully rendered. Others are very gestural, almost unfinished. When painting skies, you have to move quickly, and often the rapidly executed, somewhat unfinished paintings of clouds are the most appealing to me.  As Nicolaides wrote in his seminal book on drawing, "The clouds

Simplifying the Landscape

"Tree Silhouettes, Hazy Morning"
Oil on Canvas, 7 x 14
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

Simplification is a major factor in my approach to painting. I am always trying to eliminate unnecessary details in order to get to the essence of my subject. I often think about what one critic wrote about the great artist Eugene Delacroix: that Delacriox had a precious gift in his "capacity to sacrifice details in order to attain a more durable reality." 

"Lavender and Clouds"
Oil on Canvas, 10 x 10
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

I completely agree that simplicity gets at the heart of the subject. It produces a form of reality that detail cannot rival. There is a power and a beauty in simple shapes that can take your breath away. 

During my recent painting trip to Provence, I spent a great deal of time working on simplification of the landscape. The number of fence posts, or trees, or rows of lavender is not what matters. Rather, my goal is to capture the scene in a handful of major shapes, and