PLEIN AIR

A WORKSHOP FOR THE TRAVELING PAINTER

Robert H (Bob) Shackles SCA CSPWC

want to know how?

‘Many of us enjoy painting and extended breaks from the cold. When I travel, I don’t leave home without my plein air paint kit. I paint on beaches, in the village square, in parks and beneath skyscrapers or mountains.’

Join Bob Shackles for a full day Plein Air Workshop on Saturday, September 9th, 9am-4pm

This is a one -day workshop, on Saturday, September 9th, 9am-4pm, begins at 32 Park St downstairs studio with painting to follow at Fulford Mansion Grounds (tentative). The participant will learn how to successfully paint “En plein air”. The workshop will cover materials (kit) and methods and practical application in the field.

  • The instructor may paint with oil and or watercolour.

  • Skill level: Intermediate to advanced. Beginners may find the

    content challenging but are encouraged to try.

  • Product: 2 or more painting(s)

    Safety

  • Safety first: be safe, set-up where you can be seen, preferably in the shade. Leave valuables at home. If its hot: hydrate and wear sunscreen. If its wet bring an umbrella or shelter somewhere dry.

  • Respect people’s private property.

  • Wear sunglasses, sunscreen.

    Painting Material List - Materials to Bring (I use a knapsack):

  • sketch book and drawing materials,

  • small paper or canvas for painting: 12 inches on the long side or smaller

  • paint/brushes/paper towel, water

  • board and tape if support is required.

  • Lawn chair, folding stool, optional easel or optional pochade box.

  • Garbage bag, snack, drinking water.

    Useful Palette choices for this region:

  • Palette One: Prussian blue, burnt umber, cobalt orange, quinacridone red, gamboge, sap green, burnt sienna, neutral tint, white.

  • Palette Two: Cerulean Blue, ultramarine blue, pyrrole red, rose madder, sap green, gamboge, burnt umber, burnt sienna, neutral tint, white.

  • Palette Three: Cobalt Blue, cobalt orange, pyrrole red, rose madder, sap green, gamboge, burnt umber, burnt sienna, neutral tint, white.

Plein Air Kit in a knapsack (carry on)

Plein Air Kit: Optional Easel, umbrella and folding stool

Scout

  • Scout for a scene: look at relationships specifically values, shapes, planes, intersections, cast shadows and highlights. Is there an anchor?

  • Move around, keep the sun on the side of your face if possible: the lit side and cast shadows help define form and create depth.

  • Scout with a sketchbook open and pencil in hand.

    Sketch it

  • If you see “shape relationships” that interest you, then do a 2-minute thumbnail.

  • Limit your sketching to 5 main shapes and 5 values (think postcard). Locate the horizon

    and center of interest.

  • Eliminate unnecessary detail: move objects around if it tells a better story.

  • Your painting should start 30 feet in front of you (John F Carlson)

    Set-up

  • Get comfortable for several hours of painting:

  • Check all supplies and kit before you leave home.

  • Fill your paint tray.

  • Shade, easel, stool, palette, pigment, brushes, water, paper towels.

  • Photograph the scene for reference.

  • Check the scene against your thumbnail and refine the sketch if necessary for

  • Cropping, format (landscape or portrait), center of interest (COI), shapes, values, sun

    (colour and direction), the dominant shapes and features?

Curacao beach scene plus a mojito

Plein Air Example: “Window 1PM” WC 11x15

#1 Scout

The window reflection and building shadows attracted me specifically the plant inside and below a cathedral ceiling. I looked at several windows but came back to this even though I had no shelter from the sun.

#2 Survey scene for a COI, Light and Atmosphere

Choose a Center of Interest
I chose the flower in the window. Not the bird house, not the vents or the gardens. I want the highest contrast and most complexity at the COI

Describe the day:
Time of Day: its 1pm, the light is cool, the shadows and highlights are warm.
Atmosphere: dry or humid? It’s humid so my painting will be soft and my colours muted. If it was dry my edges would be harder and my colours more intense.


Describe the light patterns:

I see shapes: lit sides, shadow sides and cast shadows (or I will in 30 minutes, or if I move 20 feet).

I see values: white soffit in shadow >V5. I see dark green plants in sunshine V<5.

Describe the colours you see:
Colour: I see red, beige, blue, greens; the local colour of plants, and building materials.
Colours are more intense farther away from the light source.
Reflected light from nearby surfaces effects the colour of shadows and halftones. I see green in the soffits.

#3 Sketch it

The thumbnail sketch took 2 minutes. I chose to leave out the bbcue and building parts to the right. I focused on cast shadow patterns and COI darks/lights.

#4 Line Sketch/ Block-in

I use a light burnt umber and brush to draw light and dark shapes.

  • Draw in the horizon and a vertical line, COI, and the shapes surrounding it.

  • I draw the garden as one shape with a jagged outline.

  • I draw the cast shadow shapes from soffits, siding, flashing.

  • I draw the open window shapes (bright white) and the house plant with red leaves at the

    COI.

  • I draw the distant sky shapes and jet trail.

  • I draw the COI: jagged edges, heart shapes flowers.

    #5 Choose your Palette.

  • I chose Palette three. Gamboge yellow cooled with neutral tint for the local colour of the siding.

  • I matched that with a warm purple: cobalt blue and rose madder; greens Sap G and Vir plus BU, BS and FUB for darks and foreground stone. I also used CO to grey my blues.

  • Color Corner: 10 Artists Share What’s on Their Palette - OutdoorPainter #6 Paint

    Most importantly I painted the light and dark shapes as opposed to I painted building or garden elements.

  • Use reflected light tints in the shadows and the half tones.

  • Paint more intense colours the further you are from the light source.

  • Sky, ground, verticals: the values of each of these features must be different.

  • Yellow and red disappear with distance. More distance hues are less intense than near

    hues.

Copyright Bob Shackles 2023, please do not reproduce or share without permission

want to know how?

‘Many of us enjoy painting and extended breaks from the cold. When I travel, I don’t leave home without my plein air paint kit. I paint on beaches, in the village square, in parks and beneath skyscrapers or mountains.’