En plein air

plein air sketch

Yesterday afternoon I took my easel into the back yard.  I almost never do this... in the past, it's been a less-than satisfactory experience. There's always too much sun, too much wind, too much uneven ground, etc. etc. etc. However -- since I've enrolled in a three-day July workshop with Tony van Hasselt, which will include daily excursions to paint en plein air, I'm determined to conquer my aversion to working anywhere but indoors.

Reference photo

Our property is not large, and it's anything but sylvan. (Our neighborhood is more like a John Cheever-suburban-backyards concept, minus the in-ground swimming pools...) 
But, we do have a few picturesque "Palace Purple" variety Huechera, one of which is a volunteer, growing out of a crack in the stone retaining wall. 
Yesterday's mid-afternoon sun was very bright, so the cast shadows of the foliage were dark and well-defined, and the highlights/colors colors vivid. A
great, naturally occuring set-up for my plein air exercise.
So, this morning I did an outline drawing of all the leaves, and then did a small value sketch using water-soluble graphite pencils (a wonderful tool!). After sketching it in roughly, i used a small brush charged with a bit of water to smooth out the sketch details. The value sketch is an important step along the way to a finished painting -- and it's one I've too-often omitted.

Value sketch, done with water-soluble graphite pencils (light, medium, and dark)

I'm using a 16" x 23" piece of 300-lb. Arches paper. Although the package is labelled "cold press" it seems almost like a "rough" sheet. This is advantageous, I believe, since it will provide an easier way to render the foliage highlights, and the myriad details of the stone wall background.

First wash

I've started with a mottled wash of the stone wall, using a combination of French ultramarine and sepia. This is my favorite duo for producing grey (altho there are a lot of other two-color combos that result in grey, as well). I used a 1" angled flat brush to do the background, and cut around all the foliage. I purposely did an uneven wash, as I don't want the stone's surfaces to appear flat.

"Rock Wall Shadows" 
SOLD

Click the link to purchase this painting at my Daily Paintworks gallery.