Going Light

So between treatments I'm going east to paint, relax, and explore, 8 days.  Gotta go light.  Can't walk too far and have to sit to paint.  Oh well, do what you gotta do.  Cut the chair, shorten the paint supply etc.  Here is my total kit.

About 4 pounds

Roll of paper towels, 5 brushes in protective tube (Flat Hogs Bristle, #4,#6,#8x2,#12), dippers to hold mineral spirits for cleaning, palette knife, small bottle mineral spirits, pencil, grey view finder, sketch book, 10 canvas boards in two sizes - 8x10, 11x14.  Six tubes of paint.  And my Traveller paint box and extension by Good Omen.  Works great!

Top row are my primaries for this trip;

Alizarin Crimson - RGH Paint

Cad Yellow Medium - Blue Ridge Paint

Ultramarine Blue - Michael Harding Paint

These paints limit my high Chroma colour mask.  Landscape is primarily low chroma.

These paints will broaden the high chroma colour mask.  I can always dull them down.

Cadmium Orange Deep - Blue Ridge Paint

Viridian - Rembrandt -  I use this weak tinting green as another blue, mix with ultramarine.

I start my palette with the primaries.  If I need more cool colour I add the viridian - beauty greys with alizarin.  If I need more warm add the cad orange deep - beauty greys with ultramarine.

Titanium White - Michael Harding Paint

Last Minute Decisions

I decided to replace the Cad yellow with the less intense Yellow Ochre also by Blue Ridge. Save me some mixing and I don't expect to see much intense yellow.  Then I decided to take this travel tripod that folds up like a robot.  Adds a couple of pounds.

Soon see how all this works.

Algonquin Trip III

With the passage from snow to mud and stick and all the way past the delicate greens Algonquin is fading from memory.  But one last instalment.   On one morning we actually did paint inside the park.  After paying tribute to Tom Thomson at the Canoe lake put in we decided to move on.  That lead us quickly to Smoke lake.  Here the ice was rotting aroung the perimeter of the lake.

Smoke Lake - Distorted Water Colour.....

The sun actually appeared and tempted me to chase it from my setup.

Start Under Gray Sky

But no, it didn't last long.  I stayed with my double complements of Viridian + Alizarin and Yellow and Violet.  Beautiful Grays.  Then the problem is how to make the image interesting.  

Smoke Lake Breakup

Here she waits for an energized eye and some final paint, and a composition change.

All the paintings from the trip have been in the studio receiving attention and getting closer to finished.  Happens this way on a trip filled with painting.  The exception is the quick 8x10s.  They are immediate.  Can't take that from them.  The most difficult painting is based on the falls on Hollow River.  There is a lot of drawing involved and ditto for simplification.  I thought I was further along in the painting.  Now the memory is fading.

Algonquin Trip II

We had a special treat provided by Ron M. the owner of the local art shop.  He 4 wheeled us in to the Oxtongue River Rapids.  The morning was misty and heavy overcast.

AY Jackson site on the Oxtongue River Rapids

So, close values, no shadows, not much vibrant colour.  The birches and other trees had a certain Group of 7 mystique.

A bit of foreground colour

I set up here.  A lot of mist but changing fairly quickly.

A Start

I used a pair of complements, alizarin and viridian (cool greys), and Ultramarine and Orange.  The others were deep into it.

John's Perspective

The mist was rising so I had to paint from memory.  Keeping the values close with some foreground clarity, I took this back to the studio.

Wolf Tracks, 16x20, Oil on Canvas on Board

Notice how clear the subject looked in this photo.  The mist and light had changed considerably.  Less mystery.

Studio Touches, Studio Light

Back from Algonquin

We had a great trip to Algonquin.  Ground still snow covered, beginning to rot the ice around the shore of some lakes.  Spring melt in progress.  It was around 4C most days.  We got back before all the flooding and apparently we had better weather than at home in the south.

Oxtongue River Bend

We were told by local artists that this was the site of Tom Thomson's iconic Norther River.  So we had to paint it upon arrival our first day.

Grey Day Version

Here is my effort part way through the session.  John Presseault swears he stood in Tom's very tracks.  

Site Overgrown

Now most of our time in the area was under overcast skies.  Challenging to paint, values close, colours subdued.  How to make this interesting?  Chroma control, subtle greys, interesting composition.  That requires a lot of design and installation of elements.

From this site we hit the Oxtongue Rapids.

Stunned by the Colour

Totally stunned by the colour.  For some reason I have not painted in Algonquin park till this year.  We hit the peak of the colours.  Walls of colour.  Odd colour - wild purple, loud rose, every red in the book and a few more.  Excited.  We drove for near 250 kilometers looking for something to paint.  Harold screaming to just sop and paint.  Brain on overload.  Finally we started looking for small patches of colour that might tell a story.  A wall of brilliant hots just doesn't do it.  The human eye with its large field of view sees the large sweeps of colour in context with complements, structures, greys etc.  So we looked for chunks that would stand on their own.  We ended up on the outskirts of town (Whitney).  Set up on a dirt road.  Middle of the road!

End of Day Light

Using the Stapleton Kearns fingers trick we determined that we had about 30 minutes till the sun disappeared below the tree line.

Some Structure

The odd person driving along, creeping, thinking moose or who knows what, didn't get upset with characters set up mid road.  It got us painting instead of driving.

The next day we woke up still stunned.  We faced walls like this.

No Justice with Photo

So we settled in to a spot without hordes of picture snappers.  Quiet and beautiful.  Paintings in every direction.

My Studio

Chunking down I settled on a scene with greens and violets dominant.

Massing In Shapes - Big Brush

A quick wash, a thumbnail sketch to determine shapes and values and wait for the wash to set up. First, the complements to the final layers of colour.  Then....

Stand Back

This time we decided to use chairs to help with stamina.

Perfect!

Winterlude and the Gatineaus

Our friends Claire and Robert Chartrand invited us to Ottawa and their cottage in the Gatineaus.  Skiing and eating French Canadian cuisine was the central focus.  We added a side trip to Ottawa's Winterlude to see the canal filled with skaters and then to the ice sculptures.  I was desperate to take my paint and easel, but decided to avoid any conflict with my good wife.  So I took the camera and the sketch book to fend off my addiction.  But I don't like to paint from photo reference.

Waking up to this raised my pulse.

Lac McGregor

But off skiing we went.  That kept the addiction at bay.  Great day.  Sun and -16C.

Camp Fortune

I studied the pearlescence of the snow and the values of the deep shadow and the open shadows.  I probably would have started with cobalt and permanent rose.  Two days of this torture laced with fine food - Pot en Pot, Tortière, and maple sugar based Beans with Onion.  Lucky we were skiing!

One afternoon we visited le Parc Gatineau.

Open Water

We went through Wakefield on the way home.

A Classic

Then I saw.....

A Barn

These barns have no obvious foundation.  The board seems to go straight to the ground.  So don't use this reference then tell your teacher you painted it in your locale.

Finally Robert pulled up to a favourite scene of his.

Les Cascades de Robert

I'll paint an impression of this in the late afternoon sun.  Thank goodness I have painted similar scenes from life.  Then I can use the reference primarily as a composition tool.  My many snow paintings from life will be invaluable.  We'll see how it goes.

Then in Ottawa at Winterlude,

The Winner

Sublimation had already set in, but this was incredible.  It would make a good painting exercise.

On the canal.....

John Alexander Day

This reignited the addiction.  Three things of note.  Bare hands.  Arctic boots, the real thing.  The Andersen Easel.  This easel is excellent for painting big outside.  For years it has been called the Glouchester Easel.  It is available from Take It Easel in Maine.

Canal Reference

Honfleur With Boudin

Boudin was born in Honfleur and convinced the young Monet to paint outside.  This is one pretty town.  She has been painted many times by any number of painters and a few artists.  She escaped damage in the second world war.

Honfleur Inner Harbour - Reflections

A few plein air artists set up daily around the harbour.  There are so many paintings there, never mind the rest of the town.  People watching at its finest.

A Pretty Scene on the Harbour

So, I had to set up.  Remember I get an hour, so set up time is critical.  And the wind was gusty.  I chose a bollard to put the little box on.  Just got into the painting and a gust........

Blown Down in Honfleur

By this time I was thinking about modifications to the little box.  It wasn't to blame, but a more substantial easel would be welcome except for the weight.  One tube of paint was punctured, bummer.  I did get a sketch with indications of all the architectural detail at least suggested.  I personally don't care for all that clutter, but I find it difficult to get past it quickly, on site, and wanting a memory.  To help with that, I use big brushes, a short palette, and a value shape plan from a small thumbnail sketch.  This quickens the pace by getting big coverage with each stroke of the big brush, placing the stroke and leaving it alone until treating the edges, and by decreasing the decision time given the few colours to choose from.  For the short palette to be an assist, one has to be able to quickly mix the tones required.  I practice this in all my plein air work unless I am on a different mission.

Giverny with Monet

You can sense the energy.  Our day in September was awash with colour in the gardens, a visit in flower high season (May June) must be incredible.  We arrived early, but bus loads of mostly Americans were already on site.  The grounds are quite large so the crowd at this stage was well dispersed.

A Few Flowers

All ages, sizes, and shapes were viewing the gardens in fall colours.

Start Young

And of course the lilly ponds and Japanese bridge.

Caption Required

We left Monet's grounds for a stroll through the village.  It is beautiful and quaint.  Could paint here for some time.  It began to rain and I was getting itchy to paint, so.....

Hotel Musardiere Window with the Little Box

And voila, we gets..........

And the Sun Shone on Cue

Montmarte and the Artists

You just have to visit Montmarte when in Paris.  The community is built on the highest hill in Paris.  About 400 feet of elevation.  The famous Sacre Coeur church dominates the skyline in its beauty.  The streets leading from the church are narrow and winding.  They all lead to the square where all the artists paint or seek portrait commissions.  There must have been 50+ wandering looking for someone to sketch on their pads.  Ensconced around the perimeter of the square are the painters, more than 100 of them.  They are in the same spot where we saw them last visit.  Tourists mingle everywhere.  (Just put up with it and enjoy)

The Square

The French easel dominates.  Many are half easels.  They multi task as easel, store front, storage, restaurant outer wall, and protection from the crowds.

Back to the Crowd 

"Watch me paint".  Look at this palette!  Whatever works.  And the colours are clean.  A preponderance of palette knives.

Back to the Restaurant

Monsieur Walles faces the crowd as if to say "look at my work, I'm back here painting."  This is classic knife painting.  He was shown around the world but now prefers to do his thing at home in Montmarte.  We bought one of his paintings.  He uses a half easel, morphed as you can see.  Another beautiful palette.  Arm motion.  His brush work is also exquisite.

Restaurant Wall

It would be like eating in an artist's atelier.  I saw nothing resembling a new easel.  It was a study in repairs, patina, and modifications.  Lots of paint indicating the miles of canvas covered.

Store Front

It is buyer beware.  A few pretty good, many not so much.   Seems to be room for all.  After lunch at the square watching the show, we wandered down hill on a self conducted walking tour.  You can see where the likes of Renior, Monet, Van Gough, "Too Loose" Lautrec and the the rest once did their trip.  Its changed but somehow that energy remains.

Half Way Down

Review and Catch Up

Ok, so the internet system I am using was not to be transmitted from France.  Naturally I didn't bring along pass words etc to send from the server.  Oh well, it was a fantastic trip.  Hot and sunny every day but one.  Cool nights - a must for me.

We visited Paris, then Giverny, then Normandie, and then a few more days in Paris.

For what it is, the little box worked well.  However, a return to a supported easel where arms length brushing can be used, was a welcome home.

After a nap, I got down to the Seine for a short sketch.  The idea was to spend an hour a sketch.  Keep the peace.  Get something that can be finished later.

Pont des Invalides

Here I have the box set up on a wall.  Not too bad.  The round surface gives a bit of instability, so I used one hand to secure both the box and the painting.  Usually that other hand hold brushes and a paper towel used to wipe the brush.  This keeps me in close to the painting.  Something I try to avoid.  You can't see it here but I carried 3 brushes (4, 6 and 10 flats) and 7 tubes of paint (White, Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Alizarin, Viridian, Yellow Ochre, Red Oxide).  Most of the time I did not squeeze all of them out.  Helps with the time constraint.  Sold this painting wet on the spot.  A lot of people traffic.  How did they manage a wet one?  This painting was an 8x10 on linen on board.  I did others on loose oil primed lined in 11x14 format.  These worked well.  The boards are too heavy if you are travelling light.

We stayed in a French area on the Left Bank.  So we made a picnic and walked in the city of light.

Glitter and Glow

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Final practice yesterday for the tiny pochade.  Painted again from a post top.  The new elastic held canvas elevator works well.  Less of a paint covered thumb, and I can get to the bottom of the canvas much easier.

Tilt - almost a studio

This was almost too easy.  It is what it is.  Here I did a 10x12, the largest I plan on going in France.  I have 9 8x10 linen panels, and 10 9x12 linen pieces in a pad.  Still lots of room.  Maybe I should take a clean pair of socks.  Good painting rags.

Just before packing a few minutes ago, I printed off boarding passes.  A warning caught my eye.  Under "restricted material", paint caught my eye.  I called Air Canada.  As you would expect, I got caught in the "press 1 for" merry go round.  Never did talk to a person.  They are hiding.  I did get it from a "reliable source" however, that oil and acrylic artist paint tubes are allowed in the check in baggage.  They must be in an absorbant material and inside a leak proof container.  Large zip lock bags work well.  So we are ready to go.  The chauffeur (my daughter) just blew in the door.  So here we go.  I'll let you know what we forgot.  We travel light with a back pack.

Later in the Test

I am deploying the concepts I have been developing in my townscape series here in the landscape.  Not too evident yet in this one.

Distilled - in process

I plan on using the approach in Paris and Normandy.  Stay tuned.

Getting Ready for France

All that plein air stuff just has to get simplified for a long trip full of walking.  To that end I built a small box.  But, you have to get used to the minimalist approach.  My first practice session was yesterday at Scotsdale farm.

On a Fence Post

No tripod.  Too heavy and bulky.

All in One

Holds a lot.  3 brushes, #4, #6, #8.  Medium cup.  11 small tubes shown here.  A palette, removable.  2 wet or dry 8x10 boards.  I am using oil primed linen boards.  I also will paint on 11x14 loose oil primed linen that I clip to a board.

Nearly Packed Up

Since this is small I can walk about with it in a small day pack.

Handy

In the past I have painted with the box on my lap, on a garbage can, on a stone wall, on a pick nick table etc.    It is best to practice.  The fence post painting was not a real problem once I got going.  I got used to painting without a free hand.  Lots of paint on me, but that will get better as I gain experience.  Hopefully twice more before I head to France.

The light was flat from the overcast condition at Scotsdale.  A good way to practice a local tone painting - no shadows or hi lites, just the local tones/colour and value, at least three tones, interesting unique shapes.

Breaking Out, 8x10, Oil on Board

Looks a bit bright and chromatic here.  Less in reality.  The colours are changing.  Fall is well in the way.  Green still dominates.