Tuesday, May 12, 2015

"Norwood's Buttercup Fields" A Plein Air Study, 5" X 7" Oil on Canvas Panel.

Oil Paintings and Plein Air Outings

NEW!!! Oil Painting Blog

New to my blog as well as to me, join me for my adventures in Oil painting.  
Yep you heard it O I L, (water mixable that is!)  

I've always had a sensitivity to oil paint but mainly the solvents needed for their use. After a few years of trying to make pastels, acrylics and my beloved colored pencil work "En Plein Air" for onsite paintings I've found that water mixable oils will do the trick.  I'm using Cobra brand for this purpose and I'm taking to it like a duck to water.   



"Norwood's Buttercup Fields"  A Plein Air Study, 5" X 7" Oil on Canvas Panel.

I had a really great day today!  Who can ask for more than that?
Creating my very first Oil painting, (using Cobra Water mixable oil paints).

Wonderful Spring air, very few bugs, painting in the shade of a hundred year old tree - and Virginia buttercups filling the fields at a local Historical landmark plantation, Norwood.  This plantation has been in the same family since 1835.  To view the plantation click:  here 

The back fields, I plein air painted, in colored pencil, one c-o-l-d November morning in 2013, are horse fields that lead down to the James River in Powhatan County.  When we visited that Nov. day the owners volunteered to allow us to come back in the Spring to paint the same fields when the buttercups were in season.  

Me at my easel. 

And Oh my! Were they right about the beauty of the golden fields!  What a view from the back of the house.  Knowing that at one time, there had to have been tobacco or other crops planted there, but today they board horses.  The horses came and went all morning long but this painting was not about them.... it's was all about the buttercups.  

Ok, about the Cobra paints --  as an ex - acrylic & watercolor painter, who has primarily made her way to the wonderful translucent color of Colored Pencils - 

Cobra's, by Royal Talens,  are Juicy, Creamy and didn't dry fast like Open Acrylics do.  The breeze was warm and 92 deg. today at 2:00 when we finished.  So they did dry enough to add layers on top of my underpainting to enable me to finish in the field.  No solvents are needed, not even water, except to wash out a brush!

Although I worked small, "just a study" I told myself.  It didn't have to be a finished painting, after all.... my first oil and first completed "Painting Media" painting in 15 years.  I left the golden field of Norwood happy and content that I finished a piece in 3 hours.  That would never have happened in CP, I'd have had to go home to finish it even at this small 5 X 7 size.       



OK now since we painted under the trees, evidence of critters and debris fell into my palette the longer the session went.  To the point that I was adding texture as I went.  LOL ;))))

While I have much to learn about these oils, I love not getting a headache from solvents, and clean up is easy with soap & water.  Stay tuned for more adventures in Oil.  

"Just Add Water" Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelbord


"Just Add Water"  12" X 16" Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelbord

I finished this piece in April just in time for the fine art fundraiser I Co-chaired again this year, "Artful Healing" which benefited World Pediatric Project, at the Jepson Alumni Center at the University of Richmond.  

The reference was taken on my 2012 trip to Provence and the lovely hill top village of Bonnieux, France.  On one of the side streets was a cute little shop with art and other crafts and outside on their terrace was this lovely little gathering of watering cans.  Perfectly arranged, although I did move the bluest one on the right over a little. The snail shells are to remind of the snail paintings seen in that gallery as well as the great escargot on the menu in town!  I can taste the garlic butter.......Mmmmmm.

My local art association - Bon Air Artists, has put on fundraising art sales for over 23 years, which have always benefited a local charity.  I have co-chaired 5 of them in the last 6 years.  A very time consuming activity which unfortunately takes much time away from painting in CP.  This was my last year to co-chair the event, as I have made a commitment to producing many new finished works for my upcoming One Woman show at Uptown Gallery here in Richmond, Nov. & Dec.  Stay tuned.....

Much more fun news to come, as I hold a secret adventure in the works.  Keep drawing and enjoy this wonderful Spring!  
  


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