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Watching a Master Paint in Mineral King, Part 3

Marty and discussed the weirdly shaped juniper. The light on the edge of it was compelling, and he decided to put it in, but not the same size as it is in real life. The trouble with that scene in real life is that there are 4 trees, all in a line, all the same height and evenly spaced. If it were painted that way, it might look like a sad little orchard rather than a natural scene.

When he added the light on the edge, the tree came alive (not literally on the canvas but you know what I mean, yes?)

We discussed the Honeymoon Cabin. Marty didn’t know what it was, and his wife and I convinced him it was important to include, especially because the painting is to be a wedding gift for a couple who knows Mineral King.

He worked his way down into the lower reaches of the painting, which looked like a daunting amount of real estate to me.

We discussed the snow patch on the side of Vandever, which is important enough to have a name – Bearskin. It is often speculated about during the summers as we wonder how long the snow will last. The addition of Bearskin made it necessary to add the remaining snow right below Farewell Gap. He also added in Falcon Peak, which is really just the headwall of White Chief Canyon (to the right of Vandever).

Marty also did some reshaping and tightening up of the accuracy of some of the shapes. Because he paints in a loose and impressionist style, this surprised me. But, his scenes are always recognizable, so of course he wants the shapes to be correct. We talked about the top of Vandever, which wasn’t visible from where we stood, and I was able to tell him that the top is jagged and it is taller than West Florence on the left side of the gap.

We discussed the vegetation, and he made some visual notes so he would know how to finish things later in his studio.

On Monday, I’ll tell you some of the many things I learned from watching Martin Weekly, master plein air oil painter paint in Mineral King.

2 Comments

  1. I wonder if Marty’s reputation as a master plein aire painter is because, though impressionistic, it’s details carry more authenticity of the actual scene and the feel of it. Even unfinished, it is really appealing.

    • Louise, that sounds right to me. Around here, realism resonates more with folks than abstraction or even impressionism. I think Marty’s work could be accurately described as “impressionistic realism”.

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