Travels, Art Journaling and Plein Air Colored Pencil Paintings

Slocan Lake View, BC, CA- 6" X 12" Plein Air,  Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard
Available For Sale

As life gets back to normal after traveling for almost a month in September.  I'm playing catch up on all things art related and business related.  But BOY! did I have fun! For an artist who gets recharged by traveling and being on the road, seeing the Pacific Northwest (specifically the Oregon Coast and up to British Columbia, Canada) made the top of my list for my 2018 travels.  I'm an east coast girl so I know it pretty well, north south and mid Atlantic.  Although I've enjoyed previous trips to Washington State and Montana, getting to enjoy the PNW for 3+ weeks as an artist and spend time with my sister was a joy.

I travel journaled for most of the trip and those images will come in another post, stay tuned.  I still need to put a few finishing touches to a couple pages :))  Journaling is always a great way to get the feel of a place for me art wise.  Observe the lighting, atmosphere and vibes of a place. (And the afore mentioned are so different than here in VA.)  Travel journaling kind of gives my head time to adjust to actually making art on a trip. It also gives this "name challenged" brain of mine a place to write location names, places and people I see along the way.  The dates on photos correlate to the dates in my journal so I know where I was on each day.

The scene above was of Slocan Lake's south slip, where ferry boats would come into Silverton in the early part of the 20th Century bringing supplies and miners families to town.  My sister has a lake house there and her view of Slocan Lake is beautiful also.  So many photos to paint from so little time! My reference photo taken for a few tweaks after I returned to Oregon is below.  While the photo is close to what I saw, the camera greatly changes the tones on the far mountain range I observed.  They were not the very blue as seen below.  While pretty I wanted to capture the actual view.

Photo of Slocan Lake View for reference

You see the human eye can see so many more values and colors than the camera. Which clones major darks and cannot see the subtle tones our eyes can.  Plus for this morning out it was really about the fog that still settled in the highest mountain ranges and the lightly dusted glacier of Idaho Peak seen in the distant right.  With some editing of the scene, (removing a couple small trees that interfere with the distance focal point) I hope I can give just a little of my experience of a moist, foggy day to the viewer.  The dew in the grass and shear quiet of the location.  While it was only mid September the tourist season was ending in Silverton.  The campgrounds nearby emptied in the few days we were there and brisk high 30 degree temps hit in the mornings at lake level.

I took so many photos while in British Columbia of the scenery, mountains, rivers and lakes  I will have no shortage of landscape images to work from.  If anyone is from that area who stumbles upon my blog I hope you feel I did it justice.

Of course the piece is for sale and you can contact me at my email: gloria@gloriacallahan.com if your interested.  All of my Colored Pencil works on Ampersand board are created using artist grade lightfast pigmented colors, and are protected with fixative and 6 light layers of archival UV Acrylic Varnish.  

Now off to frame this little guy!

More 2014 Plein Air Colored Pencil Works

I promised you more Plein Air pieces and here they are:

"Pier 22 Annapolis Docks" a 8 X 6" Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard completed during a weekend workshop on location at the docks.  My BFF and fellow plein air junkie, Kathy Scott also worked at this view in her native oil paints.

In Sept. we attended a plein air workshop from Oil Painter - Barbara Nuss who's book on Composition we both own and hold in high regard.  Which can be purchased from her at her website HERE or at a Barnes and Nobles.

Now again most workshops I attend in plein air are for other media, not colored pencil.  But I always feel you can learn from other artists in their approach and palette.   I just translate in my head the colors they mix or demonstrate into my well known Prismacolor shades.  Black Grape, Moss green etc.

To the right is Kathy's 10 X 8" piece done in Oil "Dockside Bar"  Her piece was also finished in the studio afterwards.  To view more of Kathy's work her website can be viewed HERE You can see the differences two artists observe in the same view.  It is the artist's prerogative to add or remove elements they find distracting to their subject.

The view across from the main dock area was in constant motion.  The large sail boat Woodwind II from my piece, came and went in the 4 hours we painted in the sun.  A large bay charter boat came and went from slip 22 every hour and a half.  Blocking our view and making us move our set up spot initially.  But such are the perils of working in the fresh air!  

The above shown pieces were from our second day of the workshop, Sunday.   On the prior day, Saturday we watched a demo Barbara completed from the window of the Quiet Waters State Park in Annapolis, MD, while we waited for the rain to clear.  Then it was out to the South River view to take it on for ourselves.

So my "South River View" an 8 X 8" Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard came to be.  Now again, my colored pencil works are usually near 75% complete on location, with the build up of layers and saturation of color added afterward.

We concluded our trip to Maryland with a detour thru Chads Ford, PA to see the homes and studios of N. C. Wyeth and his son Andrew.  What a treat!

I do have a few more works yet to see the finishing touches from other 2014 plein air adventures in CP.

Stay tuned!
Gloria

Plein Air Colored Pencil Painting - On The James River

A week ago Richmond had it's second Plein Air Event sponsored by Brazier's Gallery 

on West Main Street.  Nationally known artists from around the country and locally competed in an week of plein air painting with the beneficiary our local Richmond Symphony.  Having participated in a past Richmond Symphony fundraiser and as an ex flute and piccolo player, it's a great group to support.  Two of my friends and I went down for the Fast and Fresh painting on Sat. morning where artists where set up on Monument Ave. in various locations to paint from 9am to 11am, with a judging and sale afterwards.  I have to tell you I met some plein air painters I had only read about in Plein Air Magazine, I was a groupie for sure.  Oil, watercolor, pastel and acrylic all media represented except my beloved CP.  But what this morning out had accomplished was just what I had hoped it to, inspire and motivate my two friends to try plein air working for the first time.  Resulting our plan to do so this last Thursday.  

 On June the 20th my two art friends and I,  plein air painted at James River Park in Chesterfield County, VA.  I of course worked in Colored Pencil while the other two worked in oil and acrylic.   Working with other painters is not new to me as I am often the only one working in colored pencil.  My usual goal when working outdoors with painters is to accomplish as much as possible in the same amount of time as they are willing to work onsite.  My slower to develop media means I'm usually the last to leave with less accomplished.  I accept that fact and by now I have learned to set a few goals for myself for each outing.  This time the goals were to get as much done faster than I have ever done in the past and to get a good feeling of atmospheric perspective.  I worked on an 8 X 10 hardboard that I had primed a while ago, a pale greyblue color with Colorfix's Blue Haze Primer, creating a sanded surface.  It seemed the perfect color to work fast and fresh on my own (see reference to the plein air event above). 

Above is the cropped view of my photo taken before I started. 

After scouting out a location at the park with a view of the James (which was very muddy after some thunderstorms the night before). We set out to work, my friends for the first time ever working plein air.  I thought to myself, "if it's their first time then I just may be able to accomplish a lot this time".  I usually work on white Ampersand Pastelboard (my favorite because of the ability to get truly light - lights) colored pencil being a translucent media.  This meaning the blue under-color of my primed board will show thru and change my hues and brightness.  On this bright and relatively cool June day I would be able to work more quickly not starting with a white surface.  Here is what I was able to    

accomplished in a 3 hour period of time (above).  Now this photo turned out a little more warm in tone than the second one to the right, not sure why.  The right one is also a bit bluer than the original due to my great photography skills, not sure why either.  ARGGG.  After arriving home and a quick bite to eat a late lunch, I took the above photo and sat down to work less than 30 more minutes on tweaks and missing info like: the ripples in the water and deepening the tones a little.   Really, I only worked a short time on this.  You will notice I added a smaller version of a tree on the on site photo to the lower left foreground, to point your eye into the painting a bit more.  Not sure if I like it but it's there to stay.   

What I learned this outing:

 #1 You cannot use watercolor pencils for an underpainting on the Colorfix primed surface, it will lay down well but when hit with water the color beads up on the surface and does not sink in like it does on the Ampersand Pastelboard I usually use.  When I have worked on the pastelboard I work 5 X 7 but this blue primed sanded surface allowed me to work 8 X 10 and get a lot done.  However it would have been faster if I could have underpainted with the WC CP's.  With this subject matter the blue hue of the board did not impact the overall tone much.

   

#2 Working with inexperienced plein air friends allows me time to get more done, thanks Kathy and Suzanne for trying this with me.  Next we are off to Suzanne's.

#3  There's nothing like getting out to see other professional artists plein air paint to get the inspiration juices flowing.

#4  I have great friends who will accompany me to paint plein air and to go out of their comfort zone and try new things.   

So everyone get out there and do some sketching, painting, observing.  Whether it's fast and fresh,  or as slow as CP we all can benefit from working outdoors.  First time or not we all have something to learn.  I'm already contemplating my next plein air goal in colored pencil.  Have a colorful day!

Gloria

Provence Trip and a few Plein Airs finished

                                                   Lourmarin Plein Air Study 5 X 7

 

                                                   Roussillon Plein Air Study 5 X 7

Well finally I've scanned two of the Plein Air pieces done almost completely on site.  Both are on
Ampersand Pastelboard this first one on white and the 2nd one on the green pastelboard.  I prefer the white as the green or colors make bright whites a chore.   The Lourmarin turret turned into a home was completed with a underpainting of Watercolor Colored Pencils (Caran D'Ache) with layered  Premier Prismacolors completed on top.  Before starting the piece I photographed the scene and did a quick graphite study for composition purposes in my sketch book.   (I tried to scan it but the sketch doesn't want to show up well, sorry.)  I used the wc cp's to quickly tone the background area leaving the sky untouched.  When the wc cp was dry which happened quickly on site because of the dry warm day in July.  I then worked the sky.  Wanting to capture the atmosphere from morning haze still in the Luberon mountains behind.  Working small in Plein Air cp has become a must for my getting near completion in one day, but the sanded surface helps work much more quickly.

The Roussillon piece was started on a very windy morning sitting in the parking lot across from this hillside town.  Roussillon is where natural sienna pigments are found in the ground and the hues are amazing.  I did not do a composition sketch before starting this, nor did I do a WC CP underpainting, just straight Prismas onto the board.  Because this board was green to start with I mapped out a sketch with white cp lightly to build the drawing.  The day was so windy I had to leave halfway done and finish back at the hotel.  Building the colors due to the green Ampersand base coat, first with white.  Final finishing came when I came back to the states, but mainly tweaks and small details.  There was so much to get into this small 5 X 7, but the feeling of the village and it's colorful earth pigments is there. 

So there you have it, a recap of 2 of the pieces I did while on my France Plein Air Trip.  Colored pencil really is better thought of as a sketchbook media when on site.  But when you use a sanded surface, work small and use an underpainting of WC pencils things can move faster.  Perhaps not as fast as other media, but getting a saturated look is possible.  When wanting to work bigger I still use pastels, but  I do not love the mess I create nor are my pastel skills highly evolved.   And taking pastels on this long France trip would have meant more weight for my luggage.

Soon to post my Central VA British Car Show piece, just have to get it photographed.   Have a colorful Day!
      

Last day in Paris and Monet's Home and Garden

 Claude Monet's garden is about 1 hour 15 min., from our hotel via our special tour bus, and was everything I had hoped it would be and then some.  The artist's home is inviting with the rose arbors lining the garden side of the house.  And the gardens it over looks are so filled with blossoms you hardy knew which direction to look.  My only disappointment was it was so busy (we got there when it opened) there really was not a place to even do a quick sketch.  And we only had 2 hours to see it all.  Inside no photos are allowed but for those who have not seen it, it's decorated to the exact duplicate of the photos displayed inside. With replicas of his paintings hanging in his studio. My favorite part of the house was the blue and white kitchen.  His bedroom was a cheery space that's windows opened up onto his magnificent garden.       

The bridge view today is much the same as in some of his famous paintings but appeared to be lower than I expected.  I suppose it's because he painted from his boat in the water, giving it a higher angle and view.  But again many crowds to contend with thus no drawings ala Plein Aire.

We concluded our afternoon with a trip to the Musee de l'Orangerie  on the grounds of the Louvre gardens.  Containing a tribute to Monet's Water Nympheas series that took over 4 years for him to paint. They fill the walls of 2 long oval rooms. The link here will give you a teaser. www.musee-orangerie 

So that was a good ending for our Monet day.  
Au revior,

Gloria

The Louvre's Mona and the Eiffle Tower from my hotel room tonight.,

 At the Louvre to see Mona, my Italian mother's favorite painting.  Hectic and crazy today because Sunday's are free admittance to museums in Paris.  Wilma and I had a great time on the Batobus (a river boat that transports you to many of the sites all day along the Seine River.  Unfortunately we did not get to see the Museum D' Orsay due to extremely long lines.  No drawing or painting today it was our free day and art appreciation day.     

After a lovely dinner that cost way too, much we're back to the hotel and our rooms view of the Eiffel Tower at night.  Now to get a good nights sleep before our painting day and tour of Giverney tomorrow.  (our last day in Paris and France).

The one thing I've learned on this trip to France with other media Plein Aire painters is that the still life artist in me and the vignette lover in me has much to practice in my landscape cp work to feel comfortable.  I did stick to my guns and worked small the whole time 5 X 7 or 4 X 6.  A few I've shown here or will how in the next few weeks to come.  So stay tuned for more.

Gloria        

Provence Plein Aire - Roussillion

View of Roussillion, France and it's Ocher  pigment in the mountain.

Yesterday was our trip to the perched town of  Roussillion, where the ocher pigments

My beginning for the view of Roussillion.

were mined, in all shades.  Finding the town which is only about 15 min. from Bonnieux was a little tedious as 2 of the roads were washed by mud slides.  So the third option 25 minutes later panned out.  Climbing in switchbacks the whole way up "Bubba" our new vehicle made the trip up smoothly.  Such a change from the vehicle I started out with.  Thank you Hertz!  

Lavender fields in many areas were out (not as much as farther south) and proved good photo ops.  As the driver I had to stay in the vehicle so I'm waiting for the copies my car mates ran out to get while I hung on to the edge of the road.  Look for them in follow up posts when I get back.  Being the designated driver has it's downfalls as I can't shoot so many of the quick shots of this wonderful landscape while driving, like my car mates can.  

As you can see my start for the view of the town was slow to develop.  The Mistral winds were at first a thankful gift for this hot day but soon became.a force to be reckoned with.  As the ochre colored sand and dust blew across the parking lot where I sat in the shade, I soon had more grit in my eyes and teeth than I could stand.   Here I'm working on a 5 X 7 piece of green ampersand pastel-board. laid out initially with 10 % french grey.  The drawing needs corrected some but the various little buildings are at varied angles which I observed first hand while in town.   This is as far as I got in about an hour and 15-20 minutes.  It was difficult to not loose your place while doing the sketch, while holding on to your supplies n the wind.   I hope to add some more to it from my photos.  More to come.  

Have a colorful day! Au revoir,

Gloria

Le Clos du Buis's garden by the pool inspired this drawing as the Luberon hills an Mount Ventu beyond the inner hedge roll out beyond the outskirts of Bonnieux. This very large glazed urn filled with their version of red geranium (has very tiny blossoms)looks out on the pool level before the grounds fall away into the lower garden.  I worked o this two afternoons in my multimedia sketch book.  No wc cp under-painting 100% cp.

The day before we went to Arles (a 1.5 hour trip) to see the Van Gogh Museum and had lunch at the Cafe name after the painting he did of it at night.  I had the Van Gogh salad and it was as colorful as his paintings. The museum was closed and with the warning symbol written in French on the Peugeot I was driving (saying "Get your engine fixed now!") had us having a difficult day..  We located a Hertz office in Arles which had us driving to Neems airport (farther west) to exchange it for a brand spanking new Chevy Captiva.  Ya!!!!!! American!.  It drives so much better but is so much bigger that we named it Bubby.  I'm the largest car in our hotel parking lot..  Scary to drive these perched towns with when you meet a bus/truck or fast driving car in your lane but it handles the mountainous country roads so well with our foursome.  As the appointed driver I am the one who has to maneuver these roads but without Kathy our only French speaking artist navigating for us we might never get there.

Oh, and I am now along with my car mates working on finding the best sorbet in Provence.  So far the best has been here in Bonnieux with the tea shop down the street and at the La Flambe restaurant..  The tea shop has Lavender sorbet which pared with raspberry is lovely., La Flambe has Cassis (Kir liquer) flavor and paired with lemon or citron sorbet is the best palate cleanser after a meal.

There you go one post to catch you up and another one yet to come with yesterday's trip and drawing.  Have to charge both the battery on the notebook and by tummy.  Have a colorful day!

Gloria 
.

Our Hotel/B&B "Le Clos du Buis" front view.  Today we recovered from several sleepless nights, jet lag and scoped out Bonnieux our temporary home town.  A hilltop village is so picturesque, friendly  and so  quintessentially French.  As typical, the streets are narrow and busy, but the pedestrian streets may offer some good set up areas for Plein Air painting tomorrow.  Or at least the quaint doorways along it were easy painting targets.  Lunch at a terraced brasserie was a salad with small crispy tomato pizza on top, looking over the Luberon valley below.

We were invited into a home with a rental apartment in it which was 12th century and part of the original ramparts of the walled town.  Most of the place was below street level (down 3 levels), the rooms were catacomb like and a cool earthen temperature.  The woman/owner had the cutest little Jack Russel terrier was very interested in our group of painters.  Her rear balcony overlooked the valley and the hill-town across named Lacoste.  A view to savor with a cup of morning cafe'.       

So there you have it my first full non travel day in Provence.  Dinner tonight is at the Hotel, family style with all 20 of us and the kitchen is smelling wonderful.  Garlicky yummy! Mmmmm.  I think my all day walking up hill has made for a good appetite.

Au revoir my followers,

Gloria  

Pre-Plein Air trip to France Carry Ons for a Colored Pencil Artist

Here's what my large carry on bag looks like packed with my takings for the Plein Air Painters trip to Provence, France.  And if you notice the time of this posting you'll realize I'm having one of those sleepless pre trip nights.  So I got right to starting my trip Blog with a "Here's what I'm taking for colored pencil art".


Carry On Luggage to France has to be an exact measurement (which I won't boar you with here) but suffice it to say, my laptop/camera backpack meets that and bags also can weigh no more than 26 lbs.  Fully loaded it is 18.8lbs. so far, but I will add my ziplock bag of liquids (via TSA requirements) and maybe an additional treat for the trip.  The laptop part holds my notebook easily and the padding protects my Prismacolors.  And since they can't be purchased in Europe I need them safe.

The camera is missing as I'm using it for the photo, but you'll see my hot pink camera bag with sd cards, extra battery with charger and a bigger lens next to it.  This all fits in the camera location of the bottom of the bag along with some power bars, Garmin (loaded with Europe Maps) and it's cords, card reader, and French power converter.

My Prismacolor CP pencils are in a 120 count leather organizer, and working clockwise around the table top is:
A few scrap sheets of UART in very small sizes;
Several 5 X 7 ampersand pastelboards and (2) 6  X 12 ones;
My little notebook (for blogging to you all and sending much needed responses to home that I'm doing fine);
A 5 X 8 multimedia sketch journal, with envelope glued to the back inside cover for ephemera from the trip;
A few loose sheets of watercolor scraps to use as a palette for the watercolor cp's;
In the black organizer, a set of 40 Caran d'Ache Supracolor wc cps (I'm trying these out since they wet nicely and also layer dry nicely too!);
Some dry cloths for blending;
Michelin map of Provence, France;
Small bundle of brushes for blending;
Extra Prismas in my favorite colors;
Battery eraser;
Extra batteries for my last Panasonic battery sharpener;
Scotch purple tape for lifting color and watercolor tape for taping down drawing paper;
Small kit with stumps, eraser, mounting putty and 2 Caran d'Ache Neocolor water soluble crayons; Garmin;
Bug wipes and Wetwipes and more Power bars.
Oh and a nifty little hat behind the green kit that stuffs into itself and can clip onto my pack.

If your wondering I have an assortment of papers and a small drawing board in my large check in bag.  I'll add sunscreen from my ziplock bag of liquids when we get there.

And for my personal items (see left hand upper corner) I'll carry my hip slung mini purse loaded with a watercolor cp mini set in the small pencil tin with water brush and larger travel brush for washes, mini journal book, sunglasses, passport, Intrn'l Driver's License, tissues and a few personal items.

In my Italian large bag (on the right) will fit my small mini purse, Paris travel book, hand sharpener so I don't wake sleeping passengers, ziplock bag for pencil shavings, vitamins, business cards ( you never want to miss a chance for a connection) purse size toothbrushes for a fresh mouth during the long 9 hour flight, mini hair clip and 4 X 6 multimedia journal for on plane journaling. 

There you have it, no kitchen sink but enough to keep me busy, drawing, and manageable.  I haven't shown you a few personal items in the big bag but then again a girl has to keep a few things to herself.

Until I sign on in France to tell you about our trips beginning, have a colorful day!
Gloria



x

The Artist's Journal Workshop by Cathy Johnson- Great Book Review

I have to recommend a book I just received and hadn't been able to put down until I finished it.  The Artists Journal Workshop - creating your life in words and pictures by Cathy Johnson.  It is a real motivator for me an avid sketch book/journal collector.  (Albeit a collector of many empty journals.)  OK I'm not that lazy as many of you may think, it's a long and sorted traumatic story dating back to my childhood when my brother found and read my diary!  Since then I always liked the ideas of journaling thoughts, sketches, and such but I was always afraid someone would read it and not understand my rantings.  Writing has always afforded me a way to work thru feelings, list to do's or want to do's (I'm a crazed list maker, just ask my family) and of course being an artist there is the need to sketch.  Whether to work out a new painting layout, practice my skills, doodle, document a trip or just plan recap my day.

With this book Cathy shows you how she and 27 other insightful artists do just that.  No I'm not a paid North Light Books employee, but I wouldn't mind if they sent me free books to review.  It is just a wonderfully done book, showing you how to get over the blank WHITE page, tips and techniques to get you to make this a habit, suggests materials to use, how to put together an efficient and small journal kit for travel and a more complete one for at home.  No this is not an Art Journal, you know the unique pieces of art in and of themselves made from old books or all collage based.  Although I think an artist's personal journal shows that art is their daily life, and thus a work of art for them.

This was just the book to get me moving again and start to fill some of the journals I have collected.  Next on the to do list is to organize a sketch crawl.  More on that at a later date.

I have been working on a colored pencil wave image, not large and more for practice than anything for a larger piece.  Now back to the colored pencils, oh maybe I should get dinner started..........

What art have you created today? 

 

Just hours to go

And before you know it I'll be in Italy, well in exactly about 24 hours that is. I'm packed and next to get dressed and on my way to Dulles Airport. Flight leaves at 12:30 pm so most of the next several hours will be travel time to Dulles. And then a very long wait at JFK until 8:30 tonight when we leave for Pisa. Into Pisa their time at 11:35 am 9/5/09.

So most of the last several days has been non art related except for the packing and weening out the necessary from the not as necessary. You see I pack from the everything but the kitchen sink manual. So this is REAL HARD. But I am beginning to force myself into a "Plein Air" state of mind, a roving artist ready to paint in what ever beautiful site Tuscany has for me. Or at least that is what I'm telling myself.

The reality is that it may take that first glass of real Italian Chianti to get me to relax! The truth is I may not have any art to post here until Sunday. It's not an official painting day but it will be our first full day in Italy so I hope to do some sketching at the Castello di Colognole where we are staying near Greve. More on that Sunday.