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Date: July 6th to 7th, 2013
Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm
Cost: $140
Instructor: Sheree Jones
Information:
Learn to paint outdoors with oils, a fun and simple approach.
This workshop will provide you with the basics of drawing, colour mixing and composition. Through demonstrations, handouts and group discussion, you will learn techniques used by plein air painters around the world.
Explore your own backyard – the “North Shore” and discover new vistas, while painting en plein air in the luscious medium of oil.
Registration: Call Sheree at 604.980.0855
“Notes from the intrepid plein air painter in North Vancouver..”
by Sheree Jones
Saturday morning dawned rainy with expected showers and more rain throughout the day. While not the ideal conditions for painting outdoors, more than fifty hearty souls showed up to sign in at my local Opus Outdoor Painting Challenge. Mingling with friends outside the store, we shared our ideas about locations while keeping dry.
I had scouted the area earlier and planned to paint three yellow school buses at the local high school. Big yellow buses on a gray day would be perfect! And it being a Saturday, surely they wouldn’t move. Well, so much for that idea.
Rule number one- don’t count on moving objects as reliable subject matter.
I carried on towards the water, entered the dog walking park and nestled somewhat under a birch tree for shelter. Two umbrellas, a camping poncho and gore-tex pants were my companions. As I always work in oils, the rain took quite some time to compromise my palette.
After two hours, I began to periodically pick up my palette and pour off the collecting rainwater.
Rule number two- when painting in the rain, find a really big tent (or make friends with someone who has one).
After about two hours, my friend and colleague Lorn Curry came by to take photos of me and some of the other painters scattered throughout the area. Some people set up tents, others parked themselves under a pedestrian overpass while many simply braved the wet with as much individual rain gear they could carry.
Being in the dog park I met many new furry friends and their owners. Lots of dogs were quite curious of me, sniffing around my gear wrapped in plastic on the ground.
Rule number three- Keep your roast beef sandwich out of reach of canines in a doggy park.
Painting on the shoreline with a view of the city was quite a challenge for me. I usually paint greener, more organic landscapes, so buildings and barges were really new to me. I usually only give myself two to three hours on any one plein air study, mostly because of fast changing light, but fast changing dampness was my time factor that day. Fortunately, the barges in my view did not move, nor did the city’s iconic skyline.
In talking to fellow painters later, some felt an advantage in working with watercolour and created some beautiful work. Others working in acrylic felt challenged by the extra moisture, but also created some amazing pieces. Mostly though, this extremely hearty group were exhilarated by the challenge and rose to it with gusto.
Opus North Vancouver had just moved their location, so the day was also for celebrating their new location with a “Grand Opening” party. At 5pm everyone gathered to see each others paintings, and to share in food, beverages and music. There was also a giant raffle with many incredible prizes.
The jurying was completed by Sandy Waters and Andrew McDermott.
The winners are as follows:
1st: Dimitry
2nd: Rene Gourley
3rd: Norm Vipond
Honourable mention: Ruby Gourley
Well done, everyone, for your unwavering participation in the Opus Plein Air Challenge 2013!
One again I participated in the Opus Outdoor Painting Challenge in Langley. I arrived at about 9:30 and there was already a line up to get your 8×10″ canvas and be officially counted.
Line up
For some an 8×10″ canvas is a good size and was actually the size I started painting on, but now after working much larger, 8×10″ seems so small, postage stamp size almost. I understand the rational to provide the 8×10″ size, but for next year I hope they can bump it up to at least an 11×14″ canvas.
I had previously scouted out my area before so I wasn’t in a rush to get out the door and explore. As I left Opus, I chatted with a few artists I knew, then walked to my car to gather my gear. From there I took a two minute walk across the street to the Langley library, on the corner of Douglas Crescent and 204th, to my subject for the day, a sculpture of two men portaging with a canoe. I was lucky to have a large flower pot next to me for my umbrella to stick into and keep my work area dry. Below was my setup for the day.
I usually try to paint a plein air piece in an hour or so, but since it was a cloudy day with light rain and I didn’t have to worry about chasing the light or watching any shadows change, I decided to take my time. At about 45 minutes in you can see the stage I was at.
45 minute mark
Just after I took this picture a group of young adults came by and politely asked if I would mind if they smoked some weed in the alcove I was painting in. Who says the younger generation isn’t polite? :) I said, “Sure, no problem.” and continued to paint. You just never know what is going to happen when you’re painting outside.
One thing about cloudy days is it is brighter than you think. Although I was focused on the sculpture, I was adding my own background to the painting as the urban scene didn’t interest me. I filled the background in with a stream, a row of rocks with trees further back. Outside, the contrast between the subject and the background seemed decent enough and I called it quits about two hours in. Seeing the piece hanging in the store however, the values looked too close for comfort and everything melded into each other. Lesson number one learned… Push the values.
Complete Work with Palette
After dropping off my painting at Opus, I went down to Sendall Gardens where my friend Denise Maxwell was just finishing up painting. We walked into the park and came across a large cache of artist painting. One group was very prepared and brought a large tent with them. Very smart. Another was tucked underneath an arbour, one nested into a forest of trees and some others tucked under the boughs of a cedar.
The story that emerged was hearing of one lady who was painting in water soluble oils and was devastated when the rain started to wash away her painting. When Denise and I had reached the far corner of the garden she was setting up a second time, ready to repaint what she had. However, all the artists in the immediate area thought the piece she originally painted, with the drips and water spots, had turned out very well and that she should enter it the way it was. As you can see below it was a nice piece that captured the mood and weather of the day. As we were leaving for a late lunch, we hoped she would enter the piece she had.
The washed out painting
Returning to Opus at about 3:45 all the pieces were hung up and on display. Talking with the staff, there were over 100 artists preregistered, 85 signed in at the beginning of the day, with only 65 paintings returned. One being the painting that was soaked.
The kids paintings were whimsical, cute and brought a smile to my face. The pieces ranged from elegant to impressionistic with some being in a class of their own. Below are the 65 entries to Langley store.
The jurying was completed by Murray Phillips, Dianna Ponting and Bob McMurray with the winners being:
1st: Kim Stepney
2nd: Kendra Yoshizawa
3rd: Rosie Fyfe
Honourable Mention: Shane Molina (last year’s 1st place in Langley), Bryan Coombes (last year’s 2nd place in Langley)
The third place winner was the lady from the park with the washed out painting. That just made a great end to a long day. Congratulations!!
That is lesson number two of the day… Be objective of your work and don’t get invested when painting outdoors, you might just end up with a winner.
Kudos to Opus for organizing another Outdoor Challenge and I hope to be participating again next year.
Opus, a BC art store, has written an article that brings together BC plein air painters to answer various questions about painting outside.
If you have ever wanted to paint outside or have at least given it a thought, their article will most likely answer some of your questions regarding plein air painting.
If you happen to have any additional questions, put them in the comments below and we’ll answer as many as we can.
