"Art In The Village" 14" x 11" acrylic on canvas---SOLD
I paint in acrylic, and I now have a pretty good way of keeping the paint from drying out, and I was really happy with this session of using it. If anyone would like more info on my method of using acrylic paint, comment me, I'd be glad to describe it.This painting was done last Saturday, June 10, at an organized event here in London, Ontario called "Art in the Village". Wortley Village is an vintage district of London, with boutique shops, like a village within a city. I had my exhibitor tent with some of my paintings, and I thought I'd try to offer a demonstration as well. I started the painting at about 9:00 am, but Saturday was a very unseasonably cold day, only 16 degrees C, about 60 degrees F, but there was also a nasty, biting cold wind blowing. The point I'm making is that this 11" x 14" painting took about 1.5 hours of painting time, but stretched out over 7 hours of the day--mostly because of the cold, (I was standing in the shade as well, and the trouble with a cool summer day is that you dress for summer, if it was early spring, or winter I would have been dressed warmer, and it would have been perfect).
In 7 hours, the light changes, and I had to keep reminding myself to ignore the shadows and translate everything I saw back to where the light was in the morning. I think it worked out ok in this painting, but I hope for a warmer day for my next painting, which I am planning for this Thursday evening.
But anyway, what I really want to relate here is that if you are an artist, get out there and paint outdoors...you'll love it, and you'll love what you create. If you are an art collector, you are not going to get a more vibrant, fresh work of art, so look for and support En Plein Aire art and artists' everywhere.
--Rob
4 comments:
Nice work. I would have approached the composition a little differently.
The main building almost divides the canvas in half. When you plan a composition, consider placing
main elements along the thirds of the canvas. A good
book on composition is Edgar Payne's "Composition of
Outdoor Painting"--his lessons apply equally to
landscape, cityscale, etc.
Keep it up!
Thanks Ed, this was the first plein air outing and I doing this painting showed me the joy of plein air, which I plan to keep as a part of my painting style. While I had art school training, my instructors never taught the basics, I rely on reading and seeing to change that, but now with blogs, yours especially, I not only learn from the best, but hopefully develop new art friendships.
Hi Rob, I really like this painting and I don't think the composition is a huge problem. It's good to break the rules once in a while. The composition leads my eyes from the post at the front to the signs and the car and then down the street. It's a very attractive piece.
ps. I would love to know how you keep your acrylics from drying too fast.
Thanks Lesley, based on comments I have had when the painting was shown before it sold, I think certain subjects can break the rules of layout and work in their own way. I think there is an honest charm to a street scene that can capture a viewer's attention and hold it.
I've got acrylic paint drying fully under control, and I don't use extenders to do it. New blog coming on that subject...
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