Needless to say it has been way too long since I posed on my
blog…..but I promise to try to do better. Actually, I have been painting
and gathering “inspiration” for my paintings and have been too busy to sit down
and blog.
Last fall, I spent a week at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN participating in a plein air painting class. During this
time, a group of fellow artists went up into the mountains and painted trying
to capture the subtle changes in the sun and shadows on the canvas.
I usually paint in watercolor, but for this trip I chose to use acrylic paints. This was an interesting change for me which I enjoyed immensely. The painting above is one that I painted plein air with my easel set up by the side of a mountain stream.
In this blog, I’ll discuss the challenges in plein air painting as compared to painting in studio.
Where to start?
Distractions:
1. People
Actually,
painting in plein air in a national park, especially one as busy as the Great
Smoky Mountains, is not easy. Fall is a popular time of year for the park
for leaf viewing as some of the most beautiful mountain vistas in the world
bring millions of visitors every year. And, the novelty of an artist
painting a landscape right in front of the tourist is a distraction that most
tourists can’t ignore. The artist’s time is limited and most
tourists would like to talk about the painting…..not to mention, the one or two
that would like to learn and ask to add a brush stroke or two to the
painting. (This one surprised me!) However, I am an
outgoing person and enjoyed the interactions, but had to keep painting and not
stop to talk. On the positive side, tourists are for the most part very
complimentary - which gives a great boast to the ego. Some of my fellow artists did run into one or two tourists that saw
themselves as art critics.
2. Climate
We
ran into numerous weather changes – sun, rain, wind, cold, heat….all in the
same day! We were prepared to dress in layers, but the rush of battling
the elements when sudden rainstorms hit was quite a chore. It never
seemed to fail that as soon as we got to a location, set up and started
painting, the weather would change. Rain caused problems with all of the
paints. Wind caused many of us to hold tightly to our easel with one hand
and the paint brush with the other. Once a strong gush of wind blew over
one of our artist’s easel and he chased it down - almost falling over the
side of the mountain. He said that he had worked too hard on his painting to let blow
down 3,000 feet – at least not without an effort to catch it.
3. Bugs
Insect
repellent works great and we all used it to keep the mosquitoes and flying
insects away. But, we could not spray our paintings and it was
common to look up and see a gnat or some crawling bug working his way across
the canvas of wet paint. It did add some interesting designs.
4. Portability
Easels,
paint and canvases: we had to carry everything we needed with us
including water, etc. for clean up. All the equipment, no matter how
pared down one thought they were, was heavy! Boy, were we tired by the
end of the day!
5. Wild animals
Although
the Smoky Mountains are known for black bear spotting, we never ran across one
while out painting. However, we did find bear footprints on the
windshield of our van one morning. We were serenaded by a bull moose in
the North Carolina side of the mountains one day.
The
glare of the sun, rain and wind, biting insects or worrisome wild animals, as
well as interruptions caused by fellow humans, all add to making what should
seem like a delightful experience -- drawing or painting in the fresh air --
into a battle of wills.
It
was a memorable experience and one that I would do again!
Below is a short description of Arrowmont. They offer all kinds of classes and the experience of classes there is unforgettable!
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is an arts and crafts center located in Gatlinburg, TN. The oldest craft school in Tennessee, Arrowmont offers workshops in arts and crafts such as painting, woodworking, glassblowing, photography, basket weaving and metalworking. The campus contains the oldest buildings in Gatlinburg and comprises two historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Karen
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