"One Alii Beach"

[Yax]

Finally got back outside painting today. This oil on canvas is 11"x14". I still feel more comfortable in the studio, but I am determined to get more proficient at plein air painting. Yax

[blondheim12]

Nice painting. The more you work on location, the better you will like it.
Love,
Linda

[LarrySeiler]

it has all the telltale signs of your having been on location. The cohesiveness of the values and color is reminiscent of the harmony that exists in real life.

You may not feel comfortable, but...what is that? Familiarity with a working routine?

Artists often work best when they are challenged, and some folks never get quite used to challenge. I'm not saying this is your case. There should always be some stress, some pressing issue that demands your focus. While hindsight sees the fun, eventually...I maintain that the moment is out to defeat you. It is an act of unadulterated war. An engagement. You against all the variables, the barrage of unnecessary stimuli and useless information that would come against pulling together a theme... against a focused response.

You have time in a studio to work those things out. That can lead to comfort....however, as you sharpen your ability to respond, you sharpen also your ability to immediately pick up on what specifically your aesthetic sensibilities are reacting to. You learn to hone in, ignore what needs to be ignored...and as a result less needs to be worked out. You discover that you have adequate time, and you are on top of your game.

Remember Oscar Wilde's saying, "nothing is worth doing except what others say is impossible!" Turn an about face on the comfort of the studio. Learn to laugh! Embrace the moment. See it as a different game played by different rules, and in time you will find more discomfort painting indoors...except when you can imagine the stale photo before you as what it might be like if you painted actually standing there! :D

I like this piece. I really enjoy the strength, the colors of the palm's shadows! Well done!
:clap:

Larry

[walden]

Nice painting! Good composition, & good color in sky & water, & especially in the sand-- it's so easy to let sand get so pale that it washes out altogether. Don't you wonder when palms are leaning like that when they're going to fall over? I always do-- won't walk under one. :)

[Yax]

Thank you blondheim12, lseiler and walden, your encouraging comments are most welcome. I am convinced that plein air painting will be my best teacher. At the moment, I feel a bit unsure of the task at hand. In the studio I can hunt and peck to find just the right color, but out there...you can't fool around. I am so charged up about plein air painting, and can't wait to go for another try. Yax