see what plein-airing can do for you

[Ruth]

I found this one, one of my first plein-aires from about 2 years ago. I don't know if I posted this back then, but it's interesting to see how much my approach and style has changed.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-May-2002/gryphons.jpg

Here's the latest, for comparison:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42578

Ruth

[Wayne Gaudon]

I can see it because I'm going through it now.

.. Look at all that green and that pushy background

.. This is a good post Ruth .. You must be proud of the footsteps between this one and todays and this is just what the doctor ordered if anyone has any question as to why you should pack up and get outside.

:clap:

[CarlyHardy]

Although this painting is really good....the color that you're using now just glows. I really notice the absence of darks in the park painting as compared to your most recent. Hope I can see this kind of visual change in a year!

Just thought I'd share that since painting plein air this year...I've lost 7 pounds! Now that's what I call improvement!!
carly

[tuatara]

Hi Ruth,
do you put it down to a shift in that you are looking for different things or your mind has learnt a new way of seeing. Hope that makes some sense - its hard to explain!! It is great to see the older one. Thank you!

regards Pam:)

[LarrySeiler]

without question a nice piece for early years. Heck...nice for many who've been painting for awhile.

Still....I can see that emotionally you are more charged now. More prepared to take in thru your senses and respond, and the sense of drama more explosive. Interesting to see....

Larry

[Ruth]

Thanks y'all, for your comments.

Pam - I think it's that I have given myself permission to try a lot of different things. I had never worked on a red-toned canvas. I had never tried doing a whole painting with a knife. I had never heard of Larry's "rag-in" method. I hadn't used oils in a hundred years. I had never tried to paint anything except with its local color and had never really seen all the colors that are out there.

The thing about giving myself permission to try was that I also gave myself permission to fail magnificently! There's something liberating about that mind-set. :D And fail I do, many times, but I learn something with each one, and go on to the next one with new pathways opening in the old brain! What a great feeling that is!

;)

Carly, I'm jealous:D
Larry, YES!
Wayne, thanks, that's why I posted it :D


Ruth

[impressionist2]

Ruth, I think the most important criteria in an artist is not necessarily where they are at the moment, but how much they've improved from where they were at. When you see great improvement in an artist, it's a wonderful thing.

I think your early painting still has good design but it's obvious that you have "taken charge" now. I think plein aire is your forte.

Renee

[Phyllis Rennie]

Nice to see how far you've moved. Wouldn't it be fun to repaint the exact same scene and compare? It is still a beautiful piece--just more controlled and stiff than your current work. What kind of reaction do you get from non-artists to the change?

[walden]

It's very, very cool to see that kind of progress, Ruth! :)

[Rose Queen]

Incredible, Ruth! I like this one, too, but the stuff you're doing now is so much more interesting and so much richer.

[tuatara]

The thing about giving myself permission to try was that I also gave myself permission to fail magnificently! There's something liberating about that mind-set. And fail I do, many times, but I learn something with each one, and go on to the next one with new pathways opening in the old brain! What a great feeling that is!

I can relate to that!! Wonderful!

thanks,
Pam:)

[LarrySeiler]

Oscar Wilde once said- "Nothing is worth doing except what others say is impossible!"

grab onto what is difficult, and suck the life out of it! When its no longer difficult, grab something else that is only barely in reach, strive with it and suck the life out of that. Success is built up on many many failures. This is why I say, "paint 120 bad paintings, and you'll know something about painting!"

Its also why I love Degas's quote about the difficulty of painting.

Larry

[blondheim12]

Your skill level is like a flexible bubble. You should constantly be working on making the bubble a little larger in all directions. If you break the bubble by going too hard and fast, you have overreached your level of ability and control. Instead, keep pushing here and there all around the bubble of skill, enlarging as you go. Skill is a gradual process.
Love,
Linda
http://pleinairflorida.org