Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Oil Painting – Hall of Fame Oil-from-life challenge, May 2017: plein air!

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  • #448646
    Grotius
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        Hi all,

        For this month’s oil-from-life challenge, I challenge people to submit any painting from life painted en plein air (outdoors). I’ll define “plein air” generously to include paintings you make while sitting in your car or looking out your home window, lol. Pick any scene that interests you — gorgeous seascapes are of course welcome, but hey, I’m thinking of doing a plein air of a gas station. Four guidelines:

        1. Please paint primarily from life — not from photographs or imagination. I would like to see your direct impressions of some outdoor scene, unmediated by cameras.

        2. Please submit something created new, this month, not something you’ve done in the past. (Optionally, you may post a photo of your work on the easel, with the subject in front of you, but this is not a requirement.)

        3. Please paint in oils. That said, please feel free to post studies in any other medium, (e.g., pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, gouache, casein, acrylic) so long as you also post your oil painting(s).

        4. Please list the size of your painting and support. E.g., ‘”8×10″, oil on panel.’ All sizes welcome.

        —————–

        Unfinished works, studies, and outright failures are all welcome. There’s no requirement that you paint as well as the Old Masters. I certainly don’t!

        There’s no requirement that you invite comment & critique. If you’d rather post without being critiqued, just say so; that’s fine by me!

        —————————

        At the end of the month, I will sum up the proceedings with a written awards ceremony in which every artist will receive at least one written commendation from me, in the form of a post here in this forum. (Yes, this is like every kid on the swimming team receiving a medal, lol.) E.g., “Best cityscape” or “best trees” or “best view of a shopping mall” or whatever. If you’d rather opt out of receiving such a commendation, just let me know.

        I hope you’ll all consider posting something! Thanks.

        - Geoff.
        My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

        #532918
        moscatel
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            Thank you for starting a new thread. Can we post several plein airs per person this month?

            Here’s my first one. I went to get familiar with my next week’s organized plein air event place and made a painting there as well. (wanted to try out the canvas I just had made -> will make more, the surface is fine to paint over). After painting couple of hours I was ready to wipe out what I had done but somehow found energy to continue. Oil on canvas, 24×30 cm

            #532941
            Grotius
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                Hey Mosca, thanks for posting something so fast! That is a really neat picture. I’m glad you didn’t give up on it. It’s quite ambitious with the tree in the foreground and complex buildings beyond. You’ve done a good job of distinguishing the well-modeled foreground tree from the cooler, lighter trees in the background. Also, I like the warm colors on the buildings. It feels very European.

                Yes, you’re welcome to post as many plein air paintings as you like! (I should have made that clear in the first post.) I can’t wait to see what you do! I expect to post several paintings myself.

                Thanks again for participating!

                - Geoff.
                My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                #532919
                moscatel
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                    Geoff, thank you!

                    #532942
                    Grotius
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                        I did this little study, “Garbage cans”, this afternoon on my front lawn, in about an hour and a half. It’s not exactly a traditional subject, but I liked the cool colors of the trash & recycling cans against the somewhat warmer grass and foreground tree. Also, I sorta liked the idea of contrasting the young, growing tree with the decaying, discarded refuse. 6″ x 6″, oil on panel; C&C welcome.

                        - Geoff.
                        My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                        #532920
                        moscatel
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                            “Garbage cans”… It’s not exactly a traditional subject, but I liked the cool colors of the trash & recycling cans against the somewhat warmer grass and foreground tree.

                            It is surprising how many artists actually paint this subject, not at all that rare. I do like your painting! Excellent job on this one. :thumbsup:

                            #532943
                            Grotius
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                                Thanks, Moscatel!

                                - Geoff.
                                My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                                #532921
                                moscatel
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                                    oil on canvas, support is curious kind of paper (explained below, see yourselves :cool: ) 20×30 cm

                                    I got this paper from an elephant care center in Sri Lanka. I think clever way to manufacture paper. Added gesso over the sheet before painting on it.

                                    #532922
                                    moscatel
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                                        More from this week.
                                        Finally got to paint the blue flowers while cat sitting in the garden.

                                        20×30 cm, oil on double oil primed canvas

                                        Tried something different, detail of the blue flowers, oil on board, 10×15 cm

                                        Color sketch, oil on card board, 14×14 cm

                                        #532923
                                        moscatel
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                                            River plein air with a company of my Bengal cat (she enjoyed the trip a lot, she is such a champion going to many hour plein air trips with me). oil on board, 15×22 cm

                                            #532924
                                            moscatel
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                                                Last plein air from this week. oil on double oil primed canvas, 20×25 cm

                                                #532944
                                                Grotius
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                                                    Moscatel, I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of these images — and by your impressive productivity!

                                                    I really enjoy the colors in the painting on the “dung paper”. You’re not afraid to put some pinks and warm colors in your sky. I have never heard of dung paper! It has no odor, I gather? Really neat.

                                                    The three flowers paintings are all marvelous, but my favorite of the three is the first and largest, the wide view of the whole bed of flowers. That is just a lovely picture. Again, you use a nice variety of colors, from the cool blue to the warmish yellow. Even some orange colors in the middle picture. Very well done!

                                                    My favorite of this week’s worth of paintings is the wide view of the river. That’s just a great picture. The rocks in the river really engage our interest; they sparkle with color, and the river around them has energy. There’s depth in the background too, inviting us to look at and beyond the fence.

                                                    The detail of the rock also boasts lovely colors. It’s really pretty. I’ve never tried a painting like that. I will find a river and give it a try! (Once it stops raining. It’s been a dismal few days here. I’ll be back outside in a few days, I expect.)

                                                    I’m curious — how long did each painting take? And is this for a plein air competition?

                                                    - Geoff.
                                                    My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                                                    #532979
                                                    kagiva59
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                                                        Hmm, never tried plein air before. So I sat down outside my gf’s porch with a 16×12 canvas board and tackled this as I would a wet on wet effort. After 2 hours I figured I had too much paint and things were going to get a bit muddy. So I stopped, took a photo, and will now wait a few days to touch up based on photos I took. Maybe I’ll add in the ducks and geese.

                                                        Yet another bob.

                                                        #532945
                                                        Grotius
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                                                            Wow, kagiva, that’s pretty awesome, especially for someone who’s never done plein air before. Strong composition, beautiful colors, and a really nice drawing too. Also, I really like the reflections in the water. Plus, I envy your GF’s porch view!

                                                            I’m curious — how did you find the experience of painting outdoors? It can be challenging: wind, insects, sun, noise, passersby. But mostly I enjoy those challenges. It cheers me up to be outside rather than indoors; I like chatting with onlookers; and I like using my own eyes to decide what colors to use. What was your experience?

                                                            Also, please feel free to post your finished piece, even if you touch it up in the studio with photo references. My guidelines don’t require that the entire work be painted outside. I’d love to see how it finishes up!

                                                            - Geoff.
                                                            My website and blog: https://www.geoffwatsonart.com/

                                                            #532980
                                                            kagiva59
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                                                                Thanks Geoff.
                                                                It being mid spring here, the trees are still filling out, the insects haven’t come out in earnest yet, and the 1st batch of goslings and ducklings have just hatched a couple of days ago. What the trees hide is that this pond is surrounded by town homes. So at 9am with a cup of coffee and a warm sweatshirt I started this job curious about how the changing sun would effect my results. Turns out 2 hours isn’t enough to worry about. As to passerbys, only the adult geese were curious enough to come close and check things out. I’m not sure how I’d react if I had foot traffic behind me.

                                                                Yet another bob.

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