Maitai valley in spring

Really I don't know what possesses me at times. Spring is a difficult season at best, and to choose to paint back lit foliage, contra jour, is simply asking for trouble.
As it happens, it all worked out in the end, but mainly because I was lucky in that the declining sun gradually spread a lovely translucent shadow over the shingle banks.
Oh well, that is what happens sometimes when you are out painting. All,the little ducks line up in a row. (Don't look for ducks in my painting. It's a metaphor) grin.
However, I think I'm going to have to add lemon yellow to my palette if I'm to continue to paint back lit willows in spring.


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Why I don't like to paint from photos

This is the tree I painted. Too much irrelevant detail, not enough soul.
In all honesty, I much prefer my painting, and in a funny sort of way, it is more "real".


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Our orange tree in spring

After all that colour mixing last night I found this orange tree in bright sunlight irresistible. After all my recent travels it was a pleasant change to find inspiration in our back garden.


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Neutral colour chart

This was the chart that they were working from. It is based on three simple primaries: cadmium yellow pale, alizarine crimson, and ultramarine blue.

From these the secondary and tertiary colours are mixed. Then the three primaries are mixed to produce the perfectly balanced neutral in the centre circle.

The ring of colours surrounding the central neutral are the primary and secondary neutrals, eg between red and the central neutral is the red neutral.
The ring is comprised of red, purple, blue, green,yellow, and orange neutrals.

So why bother?
Because it is about training the eye and the hand through experience.
Remembering the old proverb,"knowledge is the awareness that fire burns. Wisdom is remembering the pain of the blisters."

It is one thing to know that yellow and blue make green, but only by constant mixing can one become aware of the huge range of potential greens available even from such a simple palette.

Now that this post is finished I'm going out to tackle the lovely spring greens in our valley.
Cheers.


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Mixing neutrals

Last night my class were mixing neutrals. This is a group of experienced painters who are preparing themselves to paint en plein air this summer.
The demands of direct painting out doors are challenging. Not the least of which is being able to mix the correct colour quickly and efficiently, without thinking about it. I have found over the years from personal experience that working with a limited palette where you know the colours intimately is both very effective and reassuring.
I know that this colour mixing is very useful, but I was also delighted to see how much they enjoyed the exercise. Total concentration on the task at hand.



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Posting photos

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Ok. It's done. I'm now sitting up in bed with a cup of tea, and after a couple of hours sleep. Finally found out the problem. Basically blogger will not enable you to post photos on iPad. You need a special app. Which I have downloaded.
So reassuring that it is not operator incompetence. I hope that subsequent challenges in the year to come are sorted so readily.
The photo was taken on location above the Cobb Valley. The first serious plein air painting after I returned from the UK. Our country is so beautiful but so different from ye olde England.


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Location:Maitai Valley Road,Maitai,New Zealand

The daily pleinair challenge

This blog has come about rather as a surprise, at least to me. I have been travelling away from home a lot this year. Both down South and in the UK. Every day I travelled I painted. I enjoyed it so much, I began to wonder why it is that I don't paint every day at home? I have decided to spend a year painting every day. Starting today, but my actual year will be from January 1 to December 31 2015. This gives me about six weeks to get used to the idea of painting and blogging every day, and frankly, to see if I can actually do it. Living at home with all the distractions and obligations of daily living, and still managing to meet the challenge.

At this stage I feel very confident, but I'm also realistic enough, and have lived long enough to realise that life is never that easy. Stuff will happen, things will go wrong. Methods will evolve, and equipment will change, and I will adapt.

The first challenge of the day has emerged: how to add an image to this post. Hmm.

I'll get back to you later today. This is altogether to complex for 4.30 am. Need to sleep on it.

Cheers.