Photo app for Painters

The Challenge of Getting Photos Good Enough to Paint From:
As painters we all know that working from life is the best approach.  Our eyes can pick up so much more than a camera can.  Sometimes, however, there are scenes that just won't hold still long enough for us to grab them with a brush....so we do it with a camera.

Cameras lie.  Not intentionally.  It's just their nature.  This shot, taken early on the last morning in Mexico is a great example.  The sunset was glorious but impossible to paint, even if I had the time.  The scene changes second to second and I don't have a photographic memory.   (that black stripe down the middle is actually the trunk of a palm)

The second shot I believe I could use as a reference for a painting.

What's the difference?

The first shot was with the standard iPhone camera.  The second was with one of several HDR apps I have on the phone.  The first takes only one shot with the best exposure it can figure out.  The HDR app takes three photos in quick succession, using differing exposures for the differently lit areas.  It processes the three, combining the best from each into a composite piece.  Pretty cool!

There are quite a few different apps to pick from:  HDR FX Pro, True HDR, Pro HDR, HDR, Top Camera are the ones I have.  Each has a little different twist but they are all inexpensive, some are free.  These photos were taken with True HDR.

Yes, there are drawbacks.  Because three photos have to be taken it doesn't work well for any scene with too much movement in it.  People walking, for example, will have some blur where the figures are.  Still, for most landscape shots, they work great to capture more of what it's like to see with our own eyes.  I'm sure they will get even better.

Yes, they have a little of an 'other worldly' quality about them but I'd rather deal with that than a photo like the first one.

Here are two more taken that same morning.  I think you can see how difficult this would be to get with a regular camera.  (check your camera.  some newer ones have HDR built in)  Snap.....

All Dressed, No Place to Go, 10 x 12

OK.  Last Mexico post.  I have more paintings but it's time to move on.  Maybe later.  Went out painting today with CG and have new ones to post.

One evening I wandered up to the roof after it had gotten cool enough and did this.....and tweaked it a bit the next night.  I sort of got fascinated with the palms and if we had some around here I think I would be out doing more.  So many colors.

So here is the real reason for this post.   There was this guy who showed up to trim the palms.  In this country there would be a crew of four, a boom truck and traffic cones.  In Mexico an old red Datsun pickup comes down the street.  He gets out his equipment....consisting of three yellow plastic ropes and a machete.  He loops the rope around the tree and begins to climb.  Here.  I took some pictures.

I'm taking the pictures from the roof.  Notice that little guy in the tree?  He's six feet tall.  He's hanging on with one hand.  Insurance?  Workers Comp?  Probably not.

And here you can see that yellow rope lightly looped around his waist and under his butt...sort of.  His feet are in the other loops and he seemed perfectly comfortable, even enjoying himself.  Wait!  I don't see the rope!  What the....??

Arroyo Morning, 12 x 12

 

During the rainy season, later in summer, this often has water coursing through it.  On an April morning it was completely dry and deserted, except for myself and a fairly irate possum.

The bougainvillea are hard to believe.  Despite pulling out every red I had, their color when hit by light is impossible to capture....but I could at least get my impression of it.  It was a delightful early morning experience, although the possum and I were glad to part company.

This Saturday's Marker Workshop is almost filled.  If you can make it, please contact the Winslow Art Center and spend a Saturday having fun while you learn.  I'm going to be covering some things I haven't included in other classes and I have a few extra markers for you.  If you can't come at least keep an eye open for an article about my approach to markers in The Scream Online's upcoming issue.

Palms Against El Mirador, 12 x 12

Painted from the rooftop, this evening painting was the last one of the trip.  I was sad to leave because, once again, it felt like I was just getting into the swing of being in and painting in this small town.

I like the abstractness of the large hill.  It was covered with vegetation that had gone dry until the coming rains when it will spring into a jungle like green.  The palms are an endless source of subtle color variations.

The drawing is of some young banana trees in the back of the courtyard and just outside the door where I slept.....oh, yeah....you can see it.   Love those markers for making quick form out of my sketches.  You really should try it.  I just got an order for some new colors for sketching on toned paper which I'll post later.

Oh yeah.  Here is one of those baby 18" iguanas that would drop off the roof occasionally next to us.....a bit surprising.

On the Sunny Side, 10 x 12

In the drawing below you can just see....way over to the left....something that resembles a bush with a wall behind it and a jog in the curb.  It's titled 'Waiting for the Locksmith', which may tell you something about what I was doing while I did the drawing.  There is a story there....I'll never tell.

The next morning, while my friends Mic and Truman were busy painting a glorious beach scene, I walked back to the shade on the street.  This was fun to paint; simple, direct.  I tried to get all those lines...curb, pole, wall, weeds, shadows....to gently converge on the bush.

The marker drawing was just an exploration of shapes and overlapping form.  Other than the truck, I did it with no real focal point in mind.  It was just a desire to play with the pens but it probably led to the painting on some level.

That also brings up my Marker Workshop to be held on April 20th.  Contact Winslow Art Center for details and to sign up.  It's a fun event.

Alamos Nights, 10 x 12

Night painting is such a different experience....because of low light levels I'm never sure what I've put on the panel until the next day when all is revealed in the light of day....like it or not.  Here are two that made it without being scraped.

The doorways were a challenge.  The bluish tones on the right were jarring next to the orange hues on the left.  I had to find a way to weave the colors together so they maintained their identity but still flowed into one another making a whole.  Without that it would have ended up as two paintings on one panel.

'Cathedral at Eleven, 10x12' was a case of blind faith.....quite fitting in front of a church.  My palette was completely dark.  I was picking paint from just remembering where it was on the palette.  Occasionally I shone a small LED light on the panel but it distorted the color and wasn't much help.

This painting could use some more work but I want to keep it the way it is, mostly as a memory of that night and the power of painting by the seat of the pants......or faith.  Your pick.  Besides, I like the strokes.

Palms of San Carlos, 10 x 12

Ever need a winter break and, unexpectedly, find yourself in Mexico painting with two good friends?  No?  So sorry for you.....(he says, gloatingly).

When I go somewhere else to paint it usually takes me up to the last day to begin to see the color well enough to do a decent job of representing the area.  I don't know what happened this time but it all seemed to flow the way I wanted it to.  This is the first one I did on the trip.  I won't post them all, just the more interesting ones.

Lately I've been interested in brushwork, finding that line between interesting paint application and enough accurate description that you have an idea what I'm seeing.   I haven't gotten 'there' yet but with this piece I was satisfied that I'm headed in the right direction.

The next five days are predicted to be rain mixed with low clouds.....you need a break.  Go somewhere and paint.

Alamos Square, 6 x 10

Town Square, Alamos, Sonora

Announcements!

1.  I'm back from Mexico where I ate great food, lived in a small mountain town and painted from dawn to dusk with good friends.  If there was a downside it was that the lady that sold the Tres Leches cake was only in the town square twice.

2.  The Scream Online, an online international magazine for the arts, will be having features on myself and two other artists in their upcoming edition.  The focus will be on drawing...in my case Drawing with Valued Markers.

3.  Finally, for all those who have been asking for it, I will be teaching my marker workshop on Saturday, April 20th at the Winslow Art Center.   I've had wonderful feedback from those who have taken it before so, whether you are a painter, sketcher or dabbler, you'll find something you can use in this course.  It is such a great way to quickly capture the essence of your wanderings in the world.

The drawing above is only two values and white yet so much depth and movement can be expressed.....and in only a few minutes.  I'll be posting more drawings, as well as Mexico paintings, between now and the 20th so stay tuned.

Provence Time VI, 8x8

What is this urge we humans have to beautify our world?  From the ancient caves at Lascaux to the petroglyph decorated boulder at the north end of this island.....and to a doorway somewhere in the south of France, we seem to have a need to decorate.  Ourselves, our surroundings, our walls.  It's a nice urge.

Maybe that's a reason why we paint.  We're decorating. 

That....but I think more than that.  Color is certainly exciting.  I like using it to halt time to entice your eye so we both can see and share something for just an instant.  Our worlds connect.  When it works, our minds make a fleeting communication....and we know each other better.

But it's more than color alone.  Shapes and forms, values, mystery, belief, history, dignity, angst, edges and edginess all play a part in the depth of our communication....even in something as simple and direct as a pot of flowers on the steps of a very old home in Provence....placed there to decorate the world.

Beach Apple, 8x10

 

iFLOPS.  With this blog post I am suggesting we 'locals' start a new organization.  There's PAWA, the organization of Washington Plein Air Painters.  There's OPA, the Oil Painters of America....but no iFLOPS.......the Flat Light painters of Puget Sound.  I think I got an idea here.

These thoughts occurred to me late yesterday afternoon as I was standing in the rain painting this lovely little wild apple tree on the shore of Pleasant Beach.  Flat light has its challenges.  Flat light with drops rolling down into my eyes presents another.  BUT, after several years of driving past this little wonder I finally painted it.  It would have been so much better with a little sun.

I wonder how it got there.  Did an apple drift to shore....or did someone toss a core out the window as they drove by?  Did you know that you can't plant an apple seed and actually get the type of apple you planted?  They all revert to their wild state.....which was somewhere in Kazakstan.  All those Red Delicious, Braeburns, Cameos, and all the others came from grafted trees.

My goal is to educate.

By the way, the 'i' stands for 'idjut'.

(Update a few days later.  I've been informed that this is a plum....the apple is just down the beach....does this mean someone threw out their pit?     ....nah, flowering plum)

In For Groceries, 10 x 12

 

'How do you know when a painting is finished?' asked someone in class the other day.  I smiled politely and muttered something unintelligible.  I can usually tell when the dishes are finished, the gas in the car is finished or the day has ended.  Paintings, at least in the case of this one, seem to go on forever and stop only when I am lying on the pavement or studio floor gasping for breath.   (That might be a bit of an overstatement.)

I still puzzle over how some simple subjects can be a struggle and seemingly complicated ones can roll off the brush.  This is not always so but often enough that I take notice of it. 

Attracted by the orange/blue thing of the boat, dock and water I was unaware of how delicate a balance they had with each other.  I still don't think I it is 'right' but got tired of picking myself up one more time to give it another go.

At this point in my life I know nothing more to do so I guess it's finished.  Time for another one. 

Forest Spring, 20 x 36

 

Rob Weiss and I had planned a day of painting yesterday but he got called away to help a friend....so rather than re-figure my Monday I headed once again across the driveway.  Despite many interruptions here is the result, which I like but, of course, if I painted it again I would.....(absolutely never satisfied).

This is one of the larger plein air pieces I've attempted and I don't think it would have been successful without the study 'Caught' from a few posts back.  That was done two weeks ago and much in the forest has changed as well as the light being very different.  All those branches and twigs were fun to paint even though there always seemed to be one more that was forgotten.  So many decisions about what to include and what to leave out.   Just under four hours with a bit of studio tweaking.

Backwater Seclusion, 24x30

Cruising down Bainbridge Island's Eagle Harbor you would never see or guess that this little stream fed backwater was there.  You can't see it from the main channel.   I've drawn or painted it several times and finally did this studio piece just to explore the color I was seeing.

 That was a year ago and running across it the other day I realized that I hadn't posted it.  A year isn't very long but already there are parts I would paint differently if done today.  I suppose many areas of my life are experiencing subtle adjustments, changes and growth that I'm not really aware of in the moment.  How reassuring.

I rather like how the bluish water reflections dance to that far shore. 

Two from PAWA

PAWA, the Plein Air Painters of Washington, had their annual meeting yesterday and we had a great time.  We painted.  We ate.  We saw old friends.

Here are two paintings from the event.  The portrait is the way it came off the easel.  The still life, because I was slapping paint pretty fast to get it finished. needed another twenty minutes work this morning.

Gail says that I should never paint fake flowers because that's what they always come out looking like.  This is a great example of me not taking her advice.  By the time you read this it very well may be reborn as something else.  It has some nice parts and I certainly enjoyed the experience of painting it....but it is a great linen board that could be ???

Rob Weiss did the same setup from a different angle which you can see HERE

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Caught, 8x16 quick sketch

So many of my painting friends are traveling somewhere cool to paint.  One is going to San Miguel de Allende, three are in Maui, and, of course, there are the two who can't decide on their house in Mexico or their house in Tucson.  I won't even mention the ones in Maine or Montana.

With that in mind I walked thirty feet across the driveway to paint this one.  Admittedly it wasn't far or exotic but buried in the woods I did feel 'away'....and it wasn't raining.

This is a study for a larger piece I want to do.  I love the negative shapes formed by all the branches and bushes.  Can't wait to get started on the bigger one.

If you get a chance check out Dan Corey's latest piece from somewhere in Maine.  His blog has the plein air piece with the scene.....and then he did a different and much larger version.  Both are very impressive.  Love his color.  See it HERE.

Last Water, 10x12

Last October, while the day was tilting rapidly toward night, I was searching for that last painting of the day and the simplicity of the light in this irrigation ditch seemed soothing.  It remained soothing until I began painting it.

It wouldn't cooperate.  It twisted and turned, trying to avoid my artistic grasp.  I parried with my brush.  It dodged with the light and color.  I think it ended as a draw.  (Would that make it a draw in the draw?)  Oh well.

Five questions to deciding 'What color is that?'
  1.  Is it red, blue, yellow, green or purple?  (Munsell color wheel)
  2.  Within the color you picked does it tend to the  warm or cool side?
  3.  How saturated or how pure a color is it?  Does it tend toward gray or is it vibrant?
  4.  What is the value...how light or dark is it?
  5.  Great.  We did it only four questions.

Look at this painting.  Pick a color and if you can answer those questions you can mix the color.  Congratulations.

Geraniums, 16x20

 

Last week's class demo.  I didn't quite finish it until that evening but you can see the steps at Diana Kingsley's blog.  I like doing demonstration paintings because an audience keeps me from thinking too much and focused on just intuitively slapping paint around.  Sometimes it works.

This class is about painting from photos and making them believable.  In Diana's photos you can see that I was using two sources to get the most information.  Outdoor experience, however, is the best source.

Cottenwood Down II, 12x14

Hand warmers, toe warmers, long underwear and rain gear....it was still cold but so worth the little discomfort to be able to stand in front of this scene for an hour.

It is now more than a year from that day.  Yesterday I took a workshop in 'gouache resist' from a very talented person with 27 (I think) children's books in print.  She has used this technique for many of them with outstanding results.  Pierr Morgan's website is HERE and her blog is HERE.

There has been a children's book on the way back burner for a long time but I never found a technique that I wanted to use for it until I saw some of Pierr's work.  So I took her one day workshop and played and learned about it.

I've painted with gouache for well over a decade and never heard of 'gouache resist'.  Because dry gouache is still water soluble the whole idea seemed bizarre.  I had to know more.

After several attempts in the workshop I was searching for something else to do when I spied Cottenwood Down II hanging across the room, leftover from the Friday artwalk.  OK.  Now realize that this was my first experience with this technique and there are many things not going the way I expected.....but this is what I got using that painting more as an inspiration than a guide:

Not bad.  Possibility.  Certainly playful.

Here is another from the book idea:

Pretty cool.  Check out Pierr's website for more information on the technique and examples of her books.

Lowtide at the Fort, 10x12

Desperation made me do it.  How many days can I go without painting outdoors?  How much gray can one person stand....

So, since there was a break in the weather, I toddled off to Fort Ward to paint the beach and to find whatever color notes were hanging around waiting to be picked up.  Half way into this it once again began raining and becoming colder.... so the painting got looser and faster as I went.  It looks more like a spring early morning than a gray winter....but I got to paint outside.

My sister used to visit here from Minnesota.  After being here one December she vowed never to come back because she froze here more than Minneapolis at a minus 10.  She's been true to her word.  Must be the moisture.  Yes, I'm whining. 

Drummer, 24x30

Liz Wiltzen.  If you are an artist and don't know the name....you should.  Liz lives near Calgary and, among other things, is a wonderful painter.  Even better, the blog she writes always has something pithy and important to say.  Every time I visit it or see one of her new posts she is talking about something I was just thinking and puzzling about....and putting it into terms that make me rethink.  She has another blog and occupation which is equally interesting....but you can find that on your own once you visit her art blog.

This is one of those three hour portraits done by a whirling dervish....at least that's what I presume I look like when doing one this size in that amount of time.  I love painting this guy because he is such a great model and a nice person.  Here is a closeup if you care to see the brushwork:

 

My drawing class begins this Thursday and is open to anyone who has spent their life thinking they can't draw.  Sign up for this Thursday evening class and I'll spend five weeks proving to you that you are wrong....absolutely.  Contact the Winslow Art Center for details.