Small, Simple and Superlative

"Pansies"
4x8
(c) Catherine Kehoe

I don't know how I have failed to discover Catherine Kehoe before now. She is a very talented painter and teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. As my blog readers know by now, I am an enthusiastic fan of

Sacrificing Detail

"Distant View, Rainy Day"
4.5 x 9.25, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014

I have recently been trying to approach my landscape paintings with an eye toward simplification. I am working to omit needless details, and focus instead on the essence of the subject. So of course my heart leapt up recently

Tree Party

"Tree Amidst the Lavender Fields"
7.5 x 11, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014

Good News! My painting "Tree Amidst the Lavender Fields" has been chosen to be part of the Tree Party juried exhibition, to be held at Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC. Many thanks to the juror, Andy Braitman, for selecting my painting for the show! 

It's always a roll of the dice to enter work in a juried competition like this. The juror typically has hundreds or even thousands of images to review in a very short time. As a result, the decisions must be quick and are often arbitrary. I have had far more entries declined over the years than accepted. I always remember the story of a famous artist who had his painting declined

The Canvas Tote

No, I am not referring to the classic tote bag---this is about toting canvas halfway around the world for painting purposes! I have received so many questions about this topic that I decided to write this post and share some information that I hope will be useful. These tips are particularly designed for plein air painters who are traveling by air with checked and/or carry on luggage.

First point of clarification: I do not travel with my canvas already mounted on panels, or with panels that I have purchased from art suppliers. These are wonderful options (I especially like RayMar linen panels). But for me, it too limiting to have only these relatively small, standard sized panels. Instead, I like to travel with a roll of unstretched canvas. It allows me to paint large or small, vertical or horizontal, odd sized or standard sized. I just mark off my rectangle on the canvas, to whatever dimension I wish...as you can see below:

So here's what I do. First, I decide what suitcase I will take. Then I measure the interior of the suitcase to determine the longest mailing tube it will hold. That measure will be the height of my canvas. (It's usually 20 to 24 inches). I buy a strong cardboard mailing tube, and cut it down to size, if need be.

Next I buy the canvas itself. I typically pack two types: (1) a cotton canvas, and (2) an oil primed Belgian linen. Why both? I prefer to paint on the linen, but it weighs a lot, and it is very easy to dent in the packing and unpacking process. So I lighten my load a bit by packing cotton duck canvas for some of the yardage I take.

The rolls of canvas and linen typically come in widths of 54 inches. I roll the material out and cut it in strips to fit my mailing tube. I usually end up with 5 or 6 strips that measure 22 x 54 inches. I roll these up and slip them into the mailing tube, which then goes into the suitcase. Voila!

I also pack a light piece of plywood, cut to the size of my suitcase. When I get to my destination, I can clip my canvas to this board when I go out into the field to paint. I might choose to paint several small paintings of various dimensions on one piece of canvas, as shown in the photo below.

At the end of the trip, I roll the painted canvas back up (painted side OUT), and slip it back into the mailer. From thence it goes right into the suitcase for the homeward journey. I usually have enough time for the paint to dry, but if I am going to be painting right up until departure time, I take a couple of panels (mentioned above) to use on the last day or two. Those can be packed even when wet, with their wet sides facing each other, using little plastic bubbles at the corners to keep them separated.

When I get home, I usually mount the paintings on wooden panels, which I have cut to size.I use an archival paste glue for mounting. If I have been smart enough to leave a nice margin of canvas around the painting, I will stretch the painting on stretcher bars instead of mounting it on board.

My approach does make for a fair amount of "post-production work"--mounting and stretching the canvas---but I think it's worth it. In return, I am free to chose my subject without regard to a fixed dimension. So you might say that the extra work is the price of freedom!

In Our Own Back Yard

oOn several occasions during the recent workshop in Provence, we had the opportunity to paint in the tiny hamlet where we were staying, The hamlet is called "Les Bassacs", and consists of just a handful of old houses. By "old", I mean OLD: Parts of the house I stayed in date from the 15th century!

The houses are clustered together

Perched Village, Part I: Murs

Murs, France (c) Lesley Powell 2014

I wrote earlier about painting inside one of the perched villages of Provence. Now it's time for an even bigger challenge--painting the village itself, from below. Our intrepid instructor, Maggie Siner, would say that there is danger in these villages. Inside, there lurks the danger of succumbing to the charm of the subject and making a cutesy, corny painting. Outside, from afar,

Limestone Cliffs of Lioux

What a sight--near the Provencal village of Lioux, a huge limestone rock formation that can be seen for miles away. This one is a natural phenomenon---not made by man's quarrying, but instead cleft during some architectonic shift of the earth's plates in prehistoric times. I later learned