It was the final day of plein air painting in Georgia, but you can bet there will be many more posts about the experience.
Final Georgia Painting Day
Two in One Day
We painted today on a huge private estate that belongs to heirs of the Reynolds family, which was fabulous. It was also kind of muggy, but we were brave plein air warriors.
This time we were on our own to choose painting sites, one in the morning and a second site in the afternoon. Laurel patrolled, offering help throughout the day.
The finished painting 
My next choice
Now what have I done to my blog?? Sigh.
Both of these paintings were rectangular, not square, but I am quite inept at blogging on this little device–the normal controls aren’t showing up.
Tomorrow is the third and final day so we will continue next week.
Long Day Learning
We began the day with sketching exercises, walking around the grounds of a former plantation turned state park.
Teacher Laurel demonstrated a step at a time, and then we copied those steps. She is a very thorough explainer.
Then I went sightseeing!
Learned in March
It is possible that I didn’t learn much in March. Perhaps I spent too much time on hold with both Huge & Rude and Small & Bumbling. But now we have faster internet, so that’s a good thing.
- FWIW means For What It’s Worth. (Thank you, SD!)
- Donald Miller has a podcast and is a delight to listen to. I’ve always liked his writing (Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Scary Close), and now he has a business called Storybrand, where he helps people market their products by telling their stories.
- I figured out a new tool for teaching people to draw. (Why did it take 25 years? I didn’t have the tech skills and equipment until a few years ago – there’s one excuse.)
- One of my new students taught me a little trick for seeing things when you don’t have your cheater magnifying glasses. Make a mini telescope with your fist, put it to your best eye, and look through it at the thing you are trying to read. It helps a little.
- I relearned that everything is harder than one expects it to be. We have Spectrum, finally, sort of. It took 5 days of visits by 6 different installers, and another visit by some sort of technician (or more–I’ve lost track). I still have no phone in the studio, but finally bought enough gizmos to bounce the internet signal to the outbuildings. The sales boy sold this to us on February 7, and now it is April 1. Am I a fool? Nope, but I’ve been fooled by Small & Bumbling into thinking the switchover would be easy.
- Posts about walks I take garner more comments than posts about drying paint (unless it is the progress of a mural).
- Getting a new book is fun fun fun! (I already knew that, but just wanted to push Mineral King Wildflowers a little bit.)
New Idea for Drawing Lessons
In the month of March, I am teaching a beginning drawing class to six people, two hours per week at Arts Visalia, a very fine non-profit gallery in downtown Visalia. (This is the county seat, the town we usually mean in Three Rivers when we say we have to go “down the hill”.)
The six folks were all new to me, although we have found a few connections, as one does in a place like Tulare County. We worked through my regular beginning exercises on the first evening, and they were terrific. Easy to work with, understood and followed directions, asked good questions that helped me clarify my instructions, and they all did very well.
I suggested that they bring photos they might like to draw from for the second lesson. That night, I woke up with such a good idea that it could only have been inspired by God.
It is based on the idea that there is an order of difficulty in drawing. Here it is from easiest to yikes:
- Other people’s drawings
- Black and white photos
- Color photos
- Real life
I went through my zillions of photos and chose a stack that will give a beginner a reasonable chance at success. Then I chose one to try out – could I draw this quickly? Could I scan it successfully and make a printable tool for my new students?
Yeppers.
I like this! This means I have 11 more tracings, drawings and scans to do. Good thing I love to draw.
Secret Painting Class, Day Two
The poinsettia as an oil painting subject was challenging. One of my students requested that I demonstrate rather than just explain. That was a big “duh” moment for me. I should have thought of that myself!
I’ve been in workshops before where it seemed as if the demonstration was a waste of time. This is because the demonstrator/teacher/artist didn’t say why he was doing each thing. He would forget to explain, so I’d watch with no idea of how to make my own decisions. I did my best to explain how I mixed each color and why I added how much of which primary or white.
Maybe next year we’ll just finish all the incomplete paintings from previous years’ workshops.
Secret Painting Class
Sometimes, in spite of feeling highly unqualified, I show a few of my drawing students what I know about oil painting. I’ve been oil painting since March 8, 2006, and yet I feel green as grass.
But, they want to learn and practice, and I want to share what I know.
This year they all worked on a poinsettia. I provided a stack of different photos, and every participant chose the same photo. What??
The flower shape was a bit confounding, although mostly forgivable. After all, who cares exactly how many petals (which are actually leaves, but who cares about that either?) are on a poinsettia?
I thought this would be an easy-ish subject because we worked mostly in shades of red. Because, who cares if the color is exactly the same as the photo or if it is a red that the painter finds more pleasing?
Nothing is easy when you are new to painting (or drawing or knitting or driving or playing golf or playing a flute . . .)
Wow. That session went quickly. Tune in tomorrow to see the process and the results of day 2.
Drawing Lessons
Drawing in pencil is my favorite thing. My second favorite part of my business might be helping other people draw in pencil. One afternoon a week, I teach 5 small groups of people for one hour per group. Each participant works on his own drawing at his own pace. Her own drawing at her own pace. (Nope, I will NOT use the plural “their” when discussing the singular participant.)
My students are FABULOUS people. Each one has his own reasons for attending, her own goals for lessons; I enjoy each individual and the unique blend of each group.
There is a mix of ages (6th grade is the youngest I accept) and a mix of skill levels. Have a look at some of the recent work.
Today’s featured oil painting at Anne Lang’s Emporium:
Labor Day
Remember in the olden days when Labor Day was the first day of school? You’d get up in the dark, put on new clothes, wear shoes for the first time in months and say, “Mom, these shoes are too tight!” to which she’d respond, “They are fine. You just aren’t used to wearing shoes”.
Then you’d stand out in front of the house with your lunch box (mine was Mary Poppins, and although I didn’t see the movie, I did have the record) and a cat or dog for a photo.
Photos were a big deal in those days, taken to commemorate Events rather than for routine and systematic documentation of everyday life. None of us knew what to do with our faces or our hands or our bodies when a camera was looking at us. Today all kids can instinctively arrange their bodies into professional look poses and with their perfectly straightened teeth and the confidence of a supermodel, they all look naturally beautiful.
Now school starts in early August when it is still hot. I think everyone wears shorts to school now, which were forbidden in the olden days except for P.E., which was required from 7th grade on.
I am very old-fashioned. There are no drawing lessons in July or August, and we resume on the Tuesday after Labor Day. (I even wear shoes, real shoes, rather than Tevas or Crocs and if you want, I can pose awkwardly with my cats for a photo.)
Anyone want to take drawing lessons? I have a few openings. . .
Back to work, all y’all!
Private Oil Painting Lessons
Occasionally I have a chance to teach a handful of people what little I know about oil painting. I have only been painting for 12 years, so while I feel qualified to share what I know, I don’t think of myself as a qualified oil painting teacher.
There are 3 women about 2 hours away from Three Rivers who have been learning to oil paint by various methods and by painting together. They invited me to teach them what I know. One was my dear friend, The Captain, who successfully painted a pomegranate with me about a month ago.
This time we painted poppies, each person working from a different photo, but all mixing similar colors and tackling the project in the same order, but at differing individual speeds.
- We squeeze out our double primary palette colors and mix up three shades of the background greens.
- We draw the approximate shape of the poppy on the canvas, rotating the canvas and photo to view all the shapes from every angle and learn how to erase.
- The background gets painted first, working first with the darkest colors and moving lighter.
- We mix 3 shades of orange for the poppies.
- We paint the poppies.
- We let it dry overnight (only sort of dry – this is oil paint!) and then repaint the background for better coverage and more detail.
- We repaint the poppy for better coverage and detail.
- We evaluate one another’s paintings, congratulating the others on their success and belittling our own efforts (sad, but true).
- We exclaim over the fun, the success, and say that we need to do this again.
At the end of day one’s painting session. 
