Winter View a Painting done in Plein Air

©dweaverart

On Sunday Feburary 14, 2021 a very powerful winter storm Uri came into the deep south and produced freezing rain, sleet and snow.  On Wednesday night the same week another winter storm came into the south named Viola and dump a whole lot of snow.  On Thursday the following day that afternoon I painted a shed that was in the snow.  I went and got prepared to paint in plein air.  I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to paint the snow in plein air something I have never done in the snow.  In this photo you see my plein air set up.  I use a homemade stay wet palette and a french easel which was given to me as a gift.  I have a wooden board in dimension of 12"x20" that I place the underneath the stay wet palette. 

 

Whenever I paint in plein air I work with a limited palette.  A limited palette is a arrangement of primary color with white how ever I add a raw umber in order to get as close as possible to a black.  As a artist painting in plein air time is critical because of the light of the sun.  In this case there was no sunlight at all it was an overcast day.  The colors seen in nature under a overcast sky are muted ( desaturated ).  The colors are not as vivid and saturated than under a sunny sky.  

The most important reason for using a limited palette your color will harmonize more naturally.  Also less color you have to carry or bring to your scene to paint.  My limit palette are starting at the top from left to right are cadmium yellow light, yellow ochre, cadmium red medium.  The bottom half from left to right phthalocyannine blue, titanium white and raw umber.

8"x10"

This is a photo of my color ground or color stain of the stretched canvas.  I paint with acrylic so all the colors I use is acylic paint which is water base paint.  I used a spray bottle of water and saturated the canvas and mixed the colors of paint on the wet canvas.  The colors for the ground are cadmium red medium and phthalocyannine blue.

8"x10"

After I applied the wet color to the canvas I used a dry old rag and wiped the color all over the canvas to stain it.  This is how the canvas will looks like after the color is wiped into the stretched canvas.

©dweaverart

I want to show you the reference photo right beside the picture of the painting.  The reason I want to share this with you without the colors is because of the value.  As artist who paint in the style of realism must understand the value stucture which influences to color mixing.  Value is the light and darkness of a color.  When you take away the color and make it black white and grays you began to see the ranges of value in your subject.

©dweaverart

Here is the finished painting of the subject.  You can see the shed the fence in the lower right side of the painting the smaller shed to the left with snow on it's roof and the trees in the painting.  I used a flat brush #10 to block in the large shapes.  It is very important when you paint in plein air to block in all the large shapes the darks first to the lighter value.  I also used a small round brush to refine the large shapes.  Finally, I used a palette knife to brake up the large area of space both negive and positive space in the compostion.  Give me your feed back on this painting or if you are interested in purchasing this painting then email me at dweaver15@gmail.com  You can also direct message me on Instagram @dweaverart and on facebook @dweaverart.  Thank you.

 

Winter Barn in Plein Air

© dweaverart

I had been watching the weather forecast for the week and the meterologist had forecasted for warm weather.  I had got of from work and I said to myself I'm going to paint today.  I did not plan on painting. It was unseasonally warm for Feburary.  I went home and mixed my paints as I always do for a limited palette.  I got all my supplies needed to paint in plein air and lefted the house to paint.  There was just off the road a train crossing but I was not in a good place to paint in plein air do to privacy.  I went further on down the road and crossed the highway and found a good location to paint.  I shouldn't be picky about locations to paint at but when I don't feel it or it is unsafe to paint there I will not paint.  I usually look for places that have a great center of interest with some verticals.  I wanted to arive there before the clouds rolled in.  My goal was to paint the light and shadow but the sun had went behind the clouds.  The weather conditions became overcast.  I was determined to paint something.  I found a barn in a distant field off the road and I painted it. 

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Whenever I paint in plein air I paint using acrylics.  I took the time to prepare to plein air paint even though it was on the spur of the moment.  I had premixed my colors limited in colors going from left to right at the top of my palette raw umber, phthalocyanine blue, and cadmium medium red.  Now from the bottom going from righ to left is titanium white, cadmium yellow light, and yellow orche.  I used a palette knife and used some slow drying medium to premix the paint. 

© dweaverart

I was pleased with the outcome even though I did not have much time to paint.  I took me 40 minutes to paint this painting.  I had stained the canvas with yellow orche.  All my colores where dulled down using other color instead of straight out of the tube because they are too rich or vibrant in intensity.  Whenever I paint in plein air my goal is to be loose as possible.  The brushes I used to create this painting where a round brush, flat, filbert and a liner brush.  Despite the time of the day it was very rewarding just to get out doors and paint.