Indian Lake Park

8x8 oil on panel

Painted in the studio from photos I took yesterday at Indian Lake.

First Plein Air Outing for 2015

Indian Lake Park

6 x 9 

10 x 16

 Yesterday the temperature was supposed to be 35 F but at Indian Lake with an approx 20 mph wind it was definitely colder.  The problem with pastels is that when it is cold it is like painting with ice cubes and you can't wear gloves.  Still it makes me work faster which often is a plus.  I stayed near my car so I could warm up before my fingers got frostbitten.  Love those heated seats! It was fun, though and as the sun went down the wind dropped so I took a nice walk and got some good reference photos to work from. I felt pretty pleased to have my first plein air session of 2015 done by mid January.  I am awaiting delivery of my new Open Box M oil paint box.  At least you can wear gloves when oil painting! Tom Gilbert said he got out yesterday, too so I hope he'll post his painting. All DCPAPA painters are welcome to email any winter paintings (they don't need to have been painted outdoors) to me or Tom and we will happily post them on the blog.

Front Seat Painting

Because it is much too cold to paint outdoors I decided to paint from a watercolor sketch I painted last year (sitting in my car) along the Wisconsin River near Sauk City.  I was out looking for eagles.  My camera does not photograph the colors accurately for oil paint.  (Does anyone know why this is?) This does not seem to happen as much with pastels or watercolor.  Neither oil painting is as successful as the watercolor sketch.  Partly I guess because I am not painting from life as I was for the sketch. But it was an interesting exercise and I remembered sitting in the car and painting very clearly.  It always amazes me how drawing and painting from life fixes places and experiences in our memory so well.  Also pictured is my "new" palette that I made by taping a 16x20 inch piece of glass to a larger piece of plexiglas with a sheet of grey paper in between.  I was using disposable palette paper but I like this much better. 

Virtual Paint Out

Here's some possible help for getting through the winter ... a virtual substitute for plein air painting. I've added a link labeled "Virtual Paint Out" (see right side column) that goes to a blog created by the painter Bill Guffey.  Every month Bill provides a location for painting.  This month it's Philadelphia. Last month it was Rome, Italy.  Participants can then go to Google Earth and use the Street View feature to find a scene to paint.  Paintings can then be submitted to Bill Guffey and he posts them on his blog.

Obviously it's not the same as actual plein air painting but I found it fun.  I did do a Rome painting (with Roman ruins in it, of course) and I'm currently working on a painting of the downtown Philadelphia skyline.  Check out Bill's blog for a more detailed explanation and instructions.

I haven't got out for snow painting quite yet (this coming week may be promising) but I did recently re-paint an old painting and am posting it below.  This is the Rutledge Street bridge across the Yahara River in Madison.

Tom Gilbert

Mary Diman and Chuck Bauer Paintings

Happy Thanksgiving to DCPAPA & Friends

Happy Thanksgiving to DCPAPA. Above is a plein air pastel sketch I painted last month at the Clearing in Door Co.  For those of you who know the campus I was sitting on the bluff behind the Schoolhouse facing Green and Ellison Bays.  It is a beautiful place where they have week long classes mostly in arts & crafts and nature study from May thru October and where I took my first watercolor class in 2004.  Their website is www.theclearing.org. The other photo I took yesterday in the UW Arboretum where I had a close encounter with these guys while taking reference photos for snow paintings.  Too cold for me to paint outdoors.  Bill Hosner is a pastelist who paints only outdoors; he paints beautiful winter paintings and says he has gotten frostbite at least twice.  When it's cold enough to get frostbitten I opt for the comforts of the studio.  Happy Holidays to everyone and feel free to email me or Tom any winter paintings you would like posted on the blog.  Stay warm!  Pat

Winter Painting

Last Monday we had our last scheduled group outing at Olbrich Gardens and had some fairly decent weather.  Seems like were mostly lucky this past year with the weather.  I'll contact the group members again next spring to schedule more outings.

Although we won't have scheduled outings during the winter I encourage everyone to use our member distribution list if you're planning on an outing and wish to invite others for company.  It would also be nice to keep some new posts going during the winter and invite all of you to post your winter paintings.  If you're not sure how to post it yourself simply email your image and any associated comments to Pat Wafer, or to me, and we will post it.

I want to thank all of you who came out and painted and made 2014 a successful year for the group.  And things look even more promising for 2015 with a few of you talking about retirement and being able to paint more often.  I personally appreciate the friends I've made and how they've helped me better understand my painting and how to improve.  And I'm not just referring to the details of technique, but, more importantly, how to think constructively and positively about painting.

To get us thinking about winter painting I'm posting four paintings by some of my favorite artists.  The top painting is by George Sotter who is famous for his many snow scene paintings.  The second is by Richard Thompson, a Wisconsin resident and a painter who I consider to be rather under-rated.  Then two paintings by living painters.  The stream scene is by Peggy Root.  I just recently discovered her paintings and have been quite impressed with how she seems to use a very distinct color scheme for every painting.  In other words, her paintings don't all look alike.  The bottom painting is by Mark Boedgers.  Just an exceptional painter who reminds of Richard Schmidt.  Mark has been at the Door County Plein Air event the past couple years.

Happy Painting!

Tom Gilbert

Indian Lake

I painted this last Monday afternoon at Indian Lake.  Probably the last day with temps in the 70's for a long while.

Lodi Ice Age Trail October 23, 2014

Here's my painting from our ice age trail outing. (6x12", oil on board). I knew what I wanted to capture and didn't have a lot of time. I laid down the basic components while I was there and added paint in the studio. I remember my impression of the scene was of bright greens, oranges and reds so that's what I added. When I look at the photos I took that day they look very beige. Also, there wasn't much going on in the sky so I added the clouds. A lot of artistic license, I know, but then, that's why we paint, right?

Lodi Ice Age Trail Outing

I'm attaching my painting from last week up near Lodi.  It seemed like a lot of the foliage color had faded but still some nice landscapes up there.  This is the same hill I painted last year at this time.

Tom Gilbert

Plein Air Paintings @ Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee

Seeing the LightWisconsin Plein Air Painting
October 17 - January 11, 2015

Opening Reception
Friday, October 17
6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Members Only Preview 5:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Seeing the Light explores Plein Air painting through the works of nine prominent Wisconsin artists. Each artist demonstrates their ability to play with light in their own unique way while painting outdoors. Focusing on architecture, street scenes or landscapes, these nine artists celebrate the beauty found in Wisconsin. Join us for a contemporary look at Wisconsin Plein Air painting, by our very own. Seeing the Light features the work of Lori Beringer, Matt Holt, Shelby Keefe, Tom Kubala, Darron Lillian, Kyle Martin, Mary Ulm Mayhew, Tim Nachreiner, and Bonnie Paruch.                                                                                                                                                                                                             ( I met Bonnie Paruch at her Door Co. studio last Saturday and she told me about this show at the Charles Allis Art Museum in Milwaukee.  Looks like a great show for Wisconsin plein air painters.)

Theodore Robinson and Sugar River Events

A good number of painters from our group just finished the Theodore Robinson Plein Air Event in Evansville this past Saturday.  The weather was a bit on the wet and cloudy side but we had eight days to paint so we did catch a few days (or partial days) of good weather.  And the country side fall colors were great.  Three best of show awards were awarded by the judges.  Congratulations to Jan Norsetter who won first prize and Diane Washa who won third.  Many quite beautiful paintings were produced.  I'm hoping those of you who participated will post some of your paintings.

I'm also attaching a notice for the "Seasons of the Sugar River Back Roads and Backwaters" show coming up in Monroe.  I have one painting in that show which I'm also attaching (since they somehow failed to put it on the poster ;-)

Tom Gilbert

Plein Air Study

This is a detail from a small pastel study I painted at Holy Wisdom Monastery this weekend.  Cropping can be very instructive.  Love the red of sumac in the fall.

Curtis Prairie - UW Arboretum

Plein air pastel I painted a couple weeks ago.  Lots of prairie flowers blooming esp purple and white asters.  Such great weather for painting this fall!

What Exactly is a Plein Air Painting?

I was going back over my blog posts and noticed how in nearly all cases I've taken my plein air efforts home and worked on them further to varying extents. So then are these not plein air paintings?  There are the purists who say a plein air painting must be done entirely on location. Others view plein air primarily as studies to use in studio paintings.

In the November issue of Plein Air Magazine Eric Rhoads weighs in on this this debate and says: “We must get beyond these arbitrary restrictions and focus on the important facts: Plein air paintings are those that are started outdoors on location and reflect the sense of a scene as well as the colors of light, shadow, atmosphere, and form that cannot be seen in a photo. Whether it's a study or a landscape painting executed in the studio that started en plein air, what matters is the end result: quality works begun – and, in many cases, completed – on location.”

One of my guiding principles (that I picked up from the advice of various master painters) is to never knowingly leave a painting with mistakes in it.  If you see a problem, fix it.  Always striving to work up to, at least, your own judgment or standard of quality.  This isn't always easy and often there's the debate of whether one should risk worsening a painting by trying to fix something.  But for the developing painter (not burdened with needing to sell paintings) I think it's better to err on the side of fixing mistakes.  So when I get a plein air painting home I don't hesitate to work on it further if I feel it needs it.

I can also the understand the purist's viewpoint.  I had a particularly good painting day last summer where I got into “the zone” and had a very enjoyable painting experience.  When I finished I felt like the painting was the trace of a great experience and I didn't want to change anything.  Almost as if I would be disrespecting that experience if I touched up the painting.  Of course, my more typical painting experience falls somewhat short of “great”, and I may not hold a resultant painting in such high regard.

These are my thoughts, and others may have different, and valid, ideas on some of these matters, but I do think Eric Rhoads is on the right track by emphasizing that what matters is adherence to the authentic spirit of plein air painting.

Tom Gilbert

Cam-Rock County Park

We had a good turnout, great weather, and a preview of some fall colors painting at Cam-Rock Park yesterday.  I wasn't, however, very inspired by the painting I did, so instead, I'm posting a painting I did last Friday at Door Creek Park that I'm more excited about.  I was really happy with how the overall texture of this one turned out.  -  Tom Gilbert

Cherokee, too

© Jan Norsetter - 9.11.2014, oil on panel, 8" x 6"

Ok, Cherokee was a bit of a challenge. I had to wear my winter outdoor gear to keep warm. The temperature was in the 40s and the wind was strong! I tried to capture the grey sky, greyer water and the look of the greens as they begin to take on autumn.
Lunch at Marla's was fantastic. Well worth the windy torment of the marsh.

Cherokee Park

Last Thursday we painted at Cherokee Park on Madison's north side.  This was after the previous day's rain and it was cloudy and surprisingly cool.  But we were able to warm up after painting with a very nice lunch at Marla Brenner's house, who lives nearby.  Combined with the steady breeze off the lake I wasn't able to get very far with painting but am posting what I finished at home.  The wind was enough to flip the lily pads up sideways which I tried to capture (you might have to look close).

Tom Gilbert

Art Show September 21st

This show features a couple artist friends, Jim Miller and Nan Zindars; definitely worth a look.  

Evansville Plein Air Painting Event

The site for info for this event is: http://www.ecp-wi.org/theodore-robinson-plein-air-competition.html