Cross-posted at dailykos.

This posting was inspired by the wonderful gardening diaries regularly posted at dailykos on Saturday mornings by frankenoid.  Of course, my subject will be landscape painting with acrylic paints.  I do hope to make this a regular or semi-regular posting here, if there is any interest.  Tell my what you think in the comments below.    


First, a little bit about me.  I’ve been using acrylics for more than 20 years and have learned things along the way that others will hopefully find interesting if not useful.  I am self-taught with only a few limited instances of class training.  Several years ago I did actually exhibit with a now defunct local art group.  Oh, I’ve been a user here for a couple of months, posting comments and diaries during that time.  

My subject matter has been almost exclusively the landscape.  I find it by far the most interesting choice.  I have found that painting from photographs is best for me.  Plein air painting, working outside at the actual site, is appropriate for quick works or studies that will be amplified later on in the studio.  I find that I need some time to ponder my subject.  The problem is that as time passes at the site the light and shadows can change dramatically.  If you’ve ever seen time lapse films you’ll immediately know what I mean.  A photograph always remains the same but for some, the on-site immediacy is lost.  By the way, I have no studio and usually just paint in a bright room.  I do not use an easel preferring to hold the small canvases which I usually use.  I tend to paint on smaller canvases (usually just 8×10) because of my limited time.  I have a young child and would prefer to devote more of my time to him rather than to finishing a large canvas.  Usually, small canvases are completed in a period of hours over a number of days.  Even using small canvases I only manage to complete a few paintings a year.  I’ve been asked to estimate how long a painting would require but have no sense of the total time.  Some require a greater investment of time but after a certain point there are diminishing returns.  Sometimes a painting just isn’t working and you have to move on to the next project.  

Now for my big revelation.  (Drum roll, please.)  I am partially color blind.  Yes, I have a penchant for choosing pastimes for which I am not especially well suited.  (But I’ll spare you tales of middle-aged snowboarding for now.) My color choices may, at times, appear a little funky but, if needed, I will check with someone who has full color vision.  Usually this is Mrs.boran2 or sometimes the 6 year old boran2 boy, when I can get him to stand still long enough.  As I always say, the family that checks color together stays together, or something like that.    

I’ve included a photo of a painting completed a couple of years ago.  It is a scene in southeastern Utah, from one of our many trips to the four corners area.  I take many photos while there for just this purpose.  (Yes, I sometimes vacation in red states. <gasp!>)  The western scenery is my favorite amongst landscape types.  The lower Hudson valley scenery at my home in New York is beautiful too but just not as striking.  Note that the photograph hasn’t reproduced the colors in the painting exactly but it’s close enough for the purposes of this diary.  The scene includes striking lighting effects and shadows as well as dramatic scenery.  This will be the point, and I do have one, of today’s installment.  The light (or lack thereof) is really the subject matter.  This scene would appear dramatically different at noon.  The shadowed areas would be considerably less prominent and the painting would have much less impact.  I would always suggest painting a subject as it is seen early in the morning or later in the afternoon.  The late afternoon sun yields areas of intense light and contrasting dramatic shadow areas.  At noon, the sun is directly overhead and the light is evenly cast upon the subject.  Shadow areas are few and/or smaller.  The drama just isn’t there.  There is nothing like the long late afternoon shadows for visual impact.  So choose your subject carefully both in terms of the scenery and the time of day.  

If you do have an interest in trying this for yourself, I have included a photo of the few items you will need to get started.  Supplies can be had for less than $30.00 total with restrained shopping.  Start with perhaps a half dozen tubes or so of paint.  Get white, red, blue, green, yellow and brown.  It is not likely that you’ll need black but get it if you feel you need it.  These should be ordinary quality paint at $3.00 to $4.00 each.  A sectioned pallet to mix paint is helpful and a typical version is depicted in the photo.  It’s probably not more than $3.00  but you can use an ordinary plate if you wish.  (Acrylics clean up with water, so there will be no harm to the plate.)  Get a couple of paint brushes suitable for acrylics, two different thicknesses.  These should not cost more than a few dollars at most.  You need not have a very narrow one.  (Try to stay away from painting the tiny fine details that such a brush would enable.  see below.)  A small prestretched canvas is also only a few dollars.  I use a spray bottle for water when thinning or mixing the paints.  All of these items are available at craft stores.  

As to the aforesaid tiny details, here is a story from my childhood.  Many years ago my older brother painted a scene with tree-covered mountains.  I remember that he stayed up most of the night painting each tiny tree with a tiny brush.  There were literally hundreds of trees.  The result was a tour de force of detail but also a very amateurish painting.  Suggest details without actually painting each tiny part.      

I’ll be back next Saturday with a new installment when we’ll spend more time on the mechanics and graphic considerations of painting.  <Cue the music and closing credits.>  Hopefully, I’ll see you then.  Happy Painting!