Plein Air painting in the sunflower fields with friends!

 Yesterday, I had the absolute delight of getting together with friends to paint in the fresh air at the sunflower field that Tecumseh Land Trust plants yearly!  It is in it’s prime and the colors were VIBRANT! So, of course, I used my brightest hues and values…so fun!

Painting BIG!

 Painting a large piece pushes me, loosens up my tendency to tight brushwork because…tiny strokes would be of little impact.  Most important is value, color and shape/composition!  Even more important than painting the perfect leaf or reflection…the painting relies on me looking at it abstractly.  Does it feel right?  Do the shapes tell a story, draw the viewer in to travel throughout the scene?

Here’s the progress so far on my fall scene - - -

Wish me luck ad I continue to add darks (but keeping some sparkle), shapes and reflections!

The sketch - tbd if it’s right…

I’ve been asked to create a large piece of work and oh my, it is an honor to make a piece of artwork on commission.

My brother asked me how long it takes to make a big watercolor.  
Well, that depends on the subject and how well the planning works out, right?
 I make sketches until I really like one, then do a value sketch.

I may make a small mock-up in color before I launch into the actual piece of art.
That way, I can work out the lights/darks, colors, focal point and see if all 
seems to balance, to draw in the eye,   to make the viewer sigh with delight!  

Then….I will need to cut a big ‘ol piece of watercolor off the roll since this beauty
is far bigger than my usual Arches blocks or even my ‘full sheets’ of wc paper.  I’ll    tape or clip it onto a big board and launch into it, 

building up the colors and darks,

leaving the lights and brights to lead the eye into the place I want the viewer to 
dwell for minutes, maybe hours?

AND I recently had the delight of watching master oil painter Tim Horn paint en
PleinAir at a local Tecumseh Land Trust protected farm…

so fun to watch him 

select his scene and build from tones 

to values and colors 

and beauty on canvas.