Farmer's Spring - with Process Shots!

Farmer's Spring, 8 x 10, Oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2020

SOLD

I recently came across this plein air piece from one of last year's workshops that I never posted! Hmmmm... not sure how I forgot to do that, but here it is now, complete with process shots. This lovely roadside view is from Wimberley, Texas, about an hour outside of Austin (a great place to paint!) See workshop information at the end of this post, and join me for one this spring!!

Block in sketched with ultramarine and burnt sienna.

Creating a sense of distance requires a variety of greens.

Almost finished, but the piece needed something... 

Pops of more intense color and light finish the painting - added at the very end!! 

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2020 SPRING PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP INFO:

SEE DETAILS and CONTACT INFO ON MY WEBSITE: laureldaniel.com

March 30-April 2, 2020 - Wimberley, Texas

April 16-18, 2020 - St. Simons Island, Georgia

May 8-9, 2020 - Austin, Texas (full with wait list)

Country Field - Aesthetic vs. Reality

Country Field, 8 x 6, Oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2019

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"Country Field" is a small demo I painted for a plein air workshop this past spring. After I finished and even signed it, I was bothered by some things. While I had managed to replicate the scene, it wasn't aesthetically pleasing to me. An additional lesson came to mind what is more important: aesthetic or reality? I say aesthetic.  

Sometimes it is necessary to adjust reality a bit to accurately portray what we SEE and FEEL about our subject. Permission granted to make changes for the betterment of your painting! 

In this case, I had stuck a little too close to the real thing and lost the feeling of the place... so... I did some adjusting! Below you can see the before and after photos of this piece, and a photo of the scene. 

Changes I made and why:

1) I gave the main tree shape a more interesting shape by cutting back in with sky and distant tree line. Before, the main tree was too perfectly round and static.

2) I cooled down distant row of trees. Before, the distant trees were not receding enough, or separating enough from the front tree.

3) I added more fencing on the right. Before, there was too much weight on the left side. The added fence counterbalances that weight and creates a more specific "path" into the scene.

4) I lightened up the highlights on the trees. Before, the highlights did not fully convey the light that came and went that day.

5) I added Bluebonnets. Before, there was no reference to season. It was Texas Spring! Bluebonnets were everywhere else and I had plenty of reference. HAD to!

Above: Before 

Below: After

And here is a photo of the scene... 

Welcome to the Winery - with process shots!

Welcome to the Winery, 10 x 8, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2019

Available

This is a demo from my spring workshop in Wimberley, TX, an all-inclusive art retreat, where it's all art, all the time! It's a perfect way to teach and to learn! So much bonding, so much art opportunity, so many break throughs and so much fun! My next one is on the calendar coming up in March 2020! Join us (see below)!

On one of the days, we painted at a local winery. This is the road that leads to the tasting room and I couldn't resist the tunnel effect of the trees and the one-point perspective provided by the driveway. The workshop was all about composition, and this was a perfect example of using the design to lead the eye. Below are process shots of the piece coming together...

Block in using ultramarine and burnt sienna. Establish focal point from the beginning.

Mass in dark uprights. Use the best average color and value, and go after big shapes. 

(Painting is rubber banded into a wet panel carrier. Please excuse obstructed view.)

Mass in Ground Plane. Again, use best average color and value and simple shapes. 

Break up masses with subtle shifts of temperature and value. This allows detail to be "suggested" without getting too fussy. Add highlights to indicate light and pop the color (be careful not to overdo it!)

You can see that I made some adjustments on the final piece: 1) The tasting room needed defining (it had grown taller than planned) and brightening (it was too muted). 2) The tree shadows broke up the road too evenly, so I tightened up the space between. 3) The tree foliage was pointing out of the picture, so I spread/enlarged the canopy in order to bring the eye back down and INTO the tunnel leading to the winery. 

Regarding #3... sometimes things need adjusting! :)

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2020 PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP INFO:

March 30-April 2, 2020 - Wimberley, Texas

April 16-18, 2020 - St. Simons Island, Georgia

May 8-9, 2020 - Austin, Texas

SEE DETAILS ON MY WEBSITE: laureldaniel.com 

Hill Country Fence Line - Demo Process Shots

Hill Country Fence Line, 8 x 10, oil, L. Daniel

Workshop Demo - SOLD

What happens when it rains at a plein air workshop? Well, we take shelter inside and work from photographs. It often works out to be a valuable time to cover some concepts in more depth.

On the third day of my workshop in Wimberley we had torrential rain... I mean, this was serious Texas thunder and lightening, and a literal downpour! It was pretty dramatic and cozy to be inside, but we worried just a bit when the creek started to rise. Our sweet inn keepers moved our cars to higher ground, "just to be on the safe side". Thankfully, all was well in the end, and we just kept painting through it all. :)

Below are process shot of my demo from that day:

 Compose/Block-in large Shapes and Values

Mass-in Upright Planes – Shadow Family

 Mass-in Upright Planes – Light Family

 Mass in Ground Plane and Sky Plane

Break up Masses and Add Highlights

Some Final Notes to my intrepid Students:

Remember to work dark to light, and thin to thick (dryer, not runny).

Values get cooler/lighter and contrast weakens as elements recede in the distance.

Save small details (like the fence) and brightest highlights until the very end. 

Cypress Creek Reflections - Workshop Demo on Selection Process

Cypress Creek Reflections, 8x10, oil, L. Daniel © 2018

Workshop Demo - SOLD

On day two of my workshop, we painted the Cypress Creek next to Creekhaven Inn where we stayed. How great was it that we could walk out the door and down the hill to set up? The lessons that day were many... water, reflections, and mixing greens... but a big one had to do with the Selection Process. 

The scene was full of trunks and limbs and all kinds of tangled branches... what to choose? It's so important to have an "idea", and we can't have it all. (That never works!)

What caught my eye was that sunlit patch of grass next to the big cypress trunk (which widened nicely as the morning progressed), so I zoomed way in. My goal was to portray the feeling of the creek as simply as possible. 

Take what you need and leave the rest. 

Editing is EVERYTHING! 

More from the banks of Cypress Creek...

Texas Landscape - Workshop Value Study Demo

Texas Landscape, 6 x 8, oil, L. Daniel © 2018

Value Study Demo for Wimberley Artist Workshops

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching a group of fabulous painters in Wimberley, Texas. This was a four-day workshop with the Wimberley Artists Workshops, and it was an all-inclusive, total immersion set up. It's a such great way to go... beautiful accommodations at the Creekhaven Inn, with  all meals taken care of... we were completely free to just paint and learn!

We started out the first day with a value study in the morning, and then painted the same thing in color after lunch. It was a great exercise, until the winds picked up in the afternoon... all but two of our easels blew over, and it was a bit of a battle. But no one gave up!! And that is the risk of plein air, right? You never know what is going happen! 

The value study was designed to help students learn about atmospheric perspective... to see how values diffuse in the distance, and to learn to incorporate that change to give depth to their paintings. We started out mixing a range of grays... 

5 mixed values plus white and black

(We mixed a rich black with ultramarine and burnt sienna.)

First came a sketch of the scene.

I looked for layers going into the distance.

Next came the grays... 

 Working dark to light...

The sky (where the lightest lights are) comes last.

In the finished value study...

Notice how each plane lightens and softens as it gets farther away.

The foreground has darkest darks and greatest contrast.

In the distance, values come together and contrast goes away.

Below are pictures of my students, hard at work! 

Many thanks to all, especially to Judy and Jocelyn for sharing your photos!