Our Towns Exhibition

This TED lecture by James Howard Kunstler shows how postwar city planners sold us on dead-end dreams that have filled our world with blank malls and suburbia.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSqIROgAWJIuMkT9NvOd_DgUX_dPNi4-HcztVLbameYVIXs045CBCV-UtoO0I7B493DyxpEZ44rjshg4w5t5BOgbcxdRNWLHWa_aMmJLggTR3qwZMRNXc6_mncE9a1T3VDucI0crVHU/s1600/MillStreetLoft.Gurney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q1ZeXnmDZMQ" width="480"></iframe><br />Thinking about such things makes me search my motives when I look for townscapes to paint. Am I just looking for nostalgic visions of the human-centered places that hardly exist anymore? Is the plastic franchise landscape worth painting? <br /><br />For me, the answer is yes to both questions. What interests me most is time—how changes in human thought play themselves out in layers of architecture. I’m fascinated by odd juxtapositions: mom-and-pop stores next to mega corporations, or commercial and residential spaces butting up against each other. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSqIROgAWJIuMkT9NvOd_DgUX_dPNi4-HcztVLbameYVIXs045CBCV-UtoO0I7B493DyxpEZ44rjshg4w5t5BOgbcxdRNWLHWa_aMmJLggTR3qwZMRNXc6_mncE9a1T3VDucI0crVHU/s1600/MillStreetLoft.Gurney.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSqIROgAWJIuMkT9NvOd_DgUX_dPNi4-HcztVLbameYVIXs045CBCV-UtoO0I7B493DyxpEZ44rjshg4w5t5BOgbcxdRNWLHWa_aMmJLggTR3qwZMRNXc6_mncE9a1T3VDucI0crVHU/s400/MillStreetLoft.Gurney.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Tomorrow, the <a href="http://millstreetloft.org/2011/05/%E2%80%9Cour-towns%E2%80%9D-juried-fine-art-exhibition-opening/">Mill Street Loft</a> will open a group exhibition called “Our Towns: the Cities and Towns of the Hudson Valley.” Nearly 30 artists in various media will be participating. The juror was <a href="http://makebetterart.blogspot.com/">M. Stephen Doherty</a> of <a href="http://pleinairmagazine.com/editor/">Plein Air magazine. </a><br /><br />I’ll have four oil paintings in the show, three of which are plein air pieces. If you’re near Poughkeepsie, New York tomorrow, Saturday, May 21, please come by the opening reception, which is from 4-6 pm. I’ll be there, and I’ll also be doing a gallery talk on Thursday, June 9 at 6:00pm. The exhibition will be up through July 15, 2011. For more information, call 845.471.7477 or visit <a href="http://millstreetloft.org/2011/05/%E2%80%9Cour-towns%E2%80%9D-juried-fine-art-exhibition-opening/">Mill Street Loft's website.</a><br /><br />Reminder: Mill Street Loft’s other exhibit on Hudson Valley landscapes is still accepting submissions through <strike>May 23. </strike>     <span style="color: red;">Extended to May 31, 2011.</span><br /><br />Related Previous Posts:<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/powers-market.html">Powers Market</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/06/dalleos-deli.html">Dalleo’s Deli</a><br /><strike>All</strike> Three of the four paintings are reproduced in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0740797719" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />

Our Towns Exhibition

This TED lecture by James Howard Kunstler shows how postwar city planners sold us on dead-end dreams that have filled our world with blank m...

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Wilson’s sky blending method

Michael Anderson of <a href="http://peabody.yale.edu/">Yale’s Peabody Museum</a> has published a new online chapter about the diorama background painting methods of <a href="http://archive.peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter6-the-african-hall.html">James Perry Wilson</a>. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4wt6zYoGTktXk4-DhcQE8jP397A2ouQdZnB0EZ0x2uD_UbnSxmZAuwo-LVpWaVQG5XLyqw3m9kzurkHsa_PdU4aJOK9fTKnnFshsKBkdjgOEN-i2HBIyI6CU7UjbSfKvRMicPbPztM8/s1600/Libyan_Desert_Perry_Wilson.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4wt6zYoGTktXk4-DhcQE8jP397A2ouQdZnB0EZ0x2uD_UbnSxmZAuwo-LVpWaVQG5XLyqw3m9kzurkHsa_PdU4aJOK9fTKnnFshsKBkdjgOEN-i2HBIyI6CU7UjbSfKvRMicPbPztM8/s400/Libyan_Desert_Perry_Wilson.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />According to Mr. Anderson:<br /><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIde8a5UXOILPeuCJjUmPGyGFUhGGLgAWFaV1llR3x52vAvTsjNJgKquM9MyCtQSR8zjq1PvIiiQIB_kP5fEFRah3R53O7MhAe7tt-ivYvL6VLNc8ycWdl5emVSMryFvXCbYUMvAyZatE/s1600/13_bands_diagram.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIde8a5UXOILPeuCJjUmPGyGFUhGGLgAWFaV1llR3x52vAvTsjNJgKquM9MyCtQSR8zjq1PvIiiQIB_kP5fEFRah3R53O7MhAe7tt-ivYvL6VLNc8ycWdl5emVSMryFvXCbYUMvAyZatE/s200/13_bands_diagram.jpg" width="200" /></a>“Wilson developed a rigorous method for painting skies in his large scale dioramas that had its roots in his plein air paintings.  While painting outdoors, he would carefully blend progressive tints of his three main colors, the horizon, mid-sky, and upper sky, into a graduated, light-filled sky color.  <br /><br />“In a typical diorama, Wilson carefully planned the sky colors and usually painted with thirteen bands of color.  These colors were pre-mixed to the determined quantity so there would be no color matching midway through the painting of the sky.” </blockquote>In Wilson’s own words: <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWchBPIbmmovrugZ70yj9HCFLnW03nqj6URcnmZatHXKXSsvqeNBkcN4jGpnMvl6y-1jlTqaBI3yYVbIHCDj5AWj2IKz5MzRGM3_i6UcP0vQN_FaV-o0aJMiOyKZePN9waw5__kIJM7E/s1600/klip_test_strip.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWchBPIbmmovrugZ70yj9HCFLnW03nqj6URcnmZatHXKXSsvqeNBkcN4jGpnMvl6y-1jlTqaBI3yYVbIHCDj5AWj2IKz5MzRGM3_i6UcP0vQN_FaV-o0aJMiOyKZePN9waw5__kIJM7E/s320/klip_test_strip.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><blockquote> “A typical fair-weather sky, especially at high altitudes, graduates smoothly and evenly from a deep blue (cobalt or ultramarine) overhead, to a clear and much lighter blue, usually a turquoise hue, at perhaps one quarter of the distance from the horizon to the zenith.  Below this level the tone usually lightens still more, but the blue color is modified by ground haze.  <br /><br />"The hue may be somewhat greenish, in very clear weather, or purplish, on hazy days, especially at low altitude.  These three tones—upper part of the sky, clear turquoise band and horizon color—may be considered as the key colors for the entire sky.  If they are carefully prepared, all the intermediate tones may be obtained automatically by mixing these.  This will insure a smooth, even gradation.  The process of repeated subdivision naturally results in 13 bands, as the following diagram will indicate."</blockquote>Libyan desert diorama (top) is in the <a href="http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dioramas/gallery/">American Museum of Natural History</a> in New York.<br /><br />Read the new chapter of<a href="http://archive.peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter6-the-african-hall.html"> Michael Anderson's biography of James Perry Wilson </a>

Wilson’s sky blending method

Michael Anderson of Yale’s Peabody Museum has published a new online chapter about the diorama background painting methods of James Perry W...

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Lady Gaga, steampunk vampires, and fair weather painters

Last week, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134666365/a-new-tool-for-u-s-intelligence-google">National Public Radio reported</a> that the FBI has been reassessing its investigative methods after failing to anticipate the unrest in the Arab world. Instead of using just covert tools, they’re now turning to Google Trends, checking, for example, when Egyptians started searching the word “Tunis.”<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZVK89GdrBE7lWhc9papJDOzIcl0UeckjRVPyMgxrpMpxFyVzExpp36jJwd6UXrGRTWMdox7vc0KxDqYfcvohyphenhyphenwMNPDVXJ6UYbAHWelMwNGKV8BxWN80ZAJFch4g_4RPLvBn0r3qBIYc/s1600/Madonna_Eminem_Lady_Gaga.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZVK89GdrBE7lWhc9papJDOzIcl0UeckjRVPyMgxrpMpxFyVzExpp36jJwd6UXrGRTWMdox7vc0KxDqYfcvohyphenhyphenwMNPDVXJ6UYbAHWelMwNGKV8BxWN80ZAJFch4g_4RPLvBn0r3qBIYc/s400/Madonna_Eminem_Lady_Gaga.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Google Trends gives you a rough idea of what people are thinking about, based on how many times they search a topic. If you compare the graph of search volume for pop stars, it’s clear that “Lady Gaga” (orange line) has quickly risen far above either “Madonna” or “Eminem.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWk7CpnaBHePXZYuYyRs2C52yabXcfvWD30PO9ff6VukFeTo7vyXNi_tvy6uIIJrF2fjakxoscDxg6OthE-EXQNba-Ik9OY_eOtYWUwFkNFrSGNfzaFxEmAE9lB5smFQl2zrAE_ore2g/s1600/Vampire_Robot_Zombie_Fairy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWk7CpnaBHePXZYuYyRs2C52yabXcfvWD30PO9ff6VukFeTo7vyXNi_tvy6uIIJrF2fjakxoscDxg6OthE-EXQNba-Ik9OY_eOtYWUwFkNFrSGNfzaFxEmAE9lB5smFQl2zrAE_ore2g/s400/Vampire_Robot_Zombie_Fairy.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />All sorts of fantastic beings are hot right now, especially, “vampires.” <br />“Zombies” came back from the dead a few years ago, gobbling up “fairies.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5D2yM3bFac7CT1_2XtDb4DIF32Pp7Pvu2-BQcvzxtVANRJSzINlJraCbTzNErbiqpZWZ_mHvC6GHejI2L0YudKuuMQncABfC4s4NR81mteeNLljmuwg6mH59muroLC0rDhCjY8QvCNV4/s1600/Plein_Air_Trends.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5D2yM3bFac7CT1_2XtDb4DIF32Pp7Pvu2-BQcvzxtVANRJSzINlJraCbTzNErbiqpZWZ_mHvC6GHejI2L0YudKuuMQncABfC4s4NR81mteeNLljmuwg6mH59muroLC0rDhCjY8QvCNV4/s400/Plein_Air_Trends.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />“Steampunk” is chugging steadily ahead. People run hot and cold on “plein air” painting, depending how nice the weather is outside in the Northern Hemisphere. <br />----------<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/trends">Google Trends</a><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134666365/a-new-tool-for-u-s-intelligence-google">NPR report</a>

Lady Gaga, steampunk vampires, and fair weather painters

Last week, National Public Radio reported that the FBI has been reassessing its investigative methods after failing to anticipate the unres...

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Kalalau Valley

One of the most secluded and magical places in the USA is the Kalalau Valley on the island of Kaua'i, It's the basin visible at the base of the sheer cliffs in this 8x10 inch plein-air painting from 2000.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMB_br_caoJmzU-QlR48s8nVGLe-6V7zpyWhz-E2sJtlUxptsXsD_ELN2F9b35v7LfoYws9qIvQQUf_IdQcYrhH3AINphUeilETTdVWpB5lb7-slWBB8PYoyGBzxciu6MHVlOqWOPWAa4/s1600/Kalalau.Valley.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMB_br_caoJmzU-QlR48s8nVGLe-6V7zpyWhz-E2sJtlUxptsXsD_ELN2F9b35v7LfoYws9qIvQQUf_IdQcYrhH3AINphUeilETTdVWpB5lb7-slWBB8PYoyGBzxciu6MHVlOqWOPWAa4/s400/Kalalau.Valley.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />No roads lead to the valley. You reach it by getting a permit and and hiking in along the narrow Na Pali trail, which follows the coast.<br /><br />The mountain walls rise up almost vertically from the valley. It’s inhabited by wild goats and chickens, and a few campers. At times in its history it’s been the home of a small society of people living entirely off the grid, beyond the reach of law and custom.<br />----<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMB_br_caoJmzU-QlR48s8nVGLe-6V7zpyWhz-E2sJtlUxptsXsD_ELN2F9b35v7LfoYws9qIvQQUf_IdQcYrhH3AINphUeilETTdVWpB5lb7-slWBB8PYoyGBzxciu6MHVlOqWOPWAa4/s1600/Kalalau.Valley.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Wikipedia on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalalau_Valley">Kalalau Valley </a><br /><a href="http://christianschlierkamp.de/hawaii_sf_09_auswahl_kl_49.jpg">See a photo from the same spot </a>

Kalalau Valley

One of the most secluded and magical places in the USA is the Kalalau Valley on the island of Kaua'i, It's the basin visible at the ...

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Answers to your questions on "Moving Out"

Thanks, everybody for your interesting comments about the recent post “<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/03/moving-out.html">Moving Out</a>.” It was a little experiment in form, combining a plein air study with fictional story. Sometimes I paint a house and think of it as a stage where a million private dramas are played out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG41sb6IBCfsIHgvwLlJHDlZZNUVBJvi_-oL17kaEh0zzy1qLYykxBENNs9F2_g7zeSUSE4Q7VJdCy493sSzd4BOh0xpHgSrOMlE3rgHOMP5rmSPcAcs2yJ9jIOBatoLX9g_8Jj2e3604/s1600/Moving_Out_Steps.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG41sb6IBCfsIHgvwLlJHDlZZNUVBJvi_-oL17kaEh0zzy1qLYykxBENNs9F2_g7zeSUSE4Q7VJdCy493sSzd4BOh0xpHgSrOMlE3rgHOMP5rmSPcAcs2yJ9jIOBatoLX9g_8Jj2e3604/s400/Moving_Out_Steps.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/04770238579550226268">Tom</a>, as far as the technical details, it’s in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, so it’s about 5 x 7.5 inches. I started with a pencil drawing and laid in an ochre undertone for the sky. I was going to going to come back with a blue wash, but forgot to, and liked it better warm. <br /><br />I laid some color down over the whole surface of the paper, saving out the shining tarp and the little bit of snow by the fence, which were the lightest notes. In some of the early passes, I floated the dark tones for the windows onto wet paper to let them bleed into the surrounding tone.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CEs3tskuK3YWqq6tAXuqiYDtqRP40qqsntO4TLlkxLS-WHX72tPRgzRyODDo8reWtPosIYVrlKRBWhY3Vu1nkU-MRMgoXKIgQZFLv2XLiAoitUXE-bX0qqeRq_fInCXSFjG8dp3HfzU/s1600/Painting_Moving_Out.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CEs3tskuK3YWqq6tAXuqiYDtqRP40qqsntO4TLlkxLS-WHX72tPRgzRyODDo8reWtPosIYVrlKRBWhY3Vu1nkU-MRMgoXKIgQZFLv2XLiAoitUXE-bX0qqeRq_fInCXSFjG8dp3HfzU/s200/Painting_Moving_Out.JPG" width="200" /></a>Even after the first pass, the house needed to be “dirtied up” to look old. The truck was an ultramarine blue underwash with a semi-opaque light red laid over.  The tree branches are mostly drybrushed, with branches added in pencil. <a href="http://mariozara.blogspot.com/">Mario</a>, some of the fine lines (clapboards and wires) are drawn in with a Caran d’Ache colored pencils.<br /><br />The whole sketch took about an hour and a half. In the composite at the top of this post, I stuck a photo of the subject at the right so you can see how the camera saw things. The far semi tractor-trailer in the photo was in motion during the photo. And the pickup really did leave halfway through, so I had to rely on memory to finish it up. I did all the work on location; I almost never work on a study after returning home because I feel unplugged from the inspiration.

Answers to your questions on "Moving Out"

Thanks, everybody for your interesting comments about the recent post “ Moving Out .” It was a little experiment in form, combining a plein ...

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Moving Out

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxDCJAfgEaU9HP-g2QrBmonyL1NWZr-TPg57V2Wnj2f9BVu2jJ7MKkM1a_Eiid4w20zcAuPJ4Zo2xAMupC7RJwScft55VG8BYCy2qTMhJfuZKwPEDv7irryj5J5BnY_KmaI0aoOrnvXU/s1600/Moving_Out.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>The old house stood beside the railroad tracks. A satellite dish turned its ear to the dead sky. Some of the windows were covered over with clapboards, like blind eyes. A freight train rumbled by, screeching and grinding. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EQD_cJcYMzlujsW4QzbeidyMsxXq7SPh3PIupwhm9U5KobEe0rNgBCl5-T-74HJ1fgDFJkgoS5EJprcObHPEbhMIGzErLL7XQlHYTmQqmOuKoehXdPvnrZKpUOBBMgbNv3iqXQRK4H8/s1600/Moving_Out.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EQD_cJcYMzlujsW4QzbeidyMsxXq7SPh3PIupwhm9U5KobEe0rNgBCl5-T-74HJ1fgDFJkgoS5EJprcObHPEbhMIGzErLL7XQlHYTmQqmOuKoehXdPvnrZKpUOBBMgbNv3iqXQRK4H8/s400/Moving_Out.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxDCJAfgEaU9HP-g2QrBmonyL1NWZr-TPg57V2Wnj2f9BVu2jJ7MKkM1a_Eiid4w20zcAuPJ4Zo2xAMupC7RJwScft55VG8BYCy2qTMhJfuZKwPEDv7irryj5J5BnY_KmaI0aoOrnvXU/s1600/Moving_Out.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />A man came out of the house. He lifted a TV into the back of the pickup. Then he loaded in a chair and a table. He stretched a black plastic tarpaulin over the load and tied it down, jerking the rope and muttering. The black tarp shimmered in the March sunlight. <br /><br />A woman leaned her head out of the door. “Get lost,” she yelled. “I don’t care if I never see you again.” The door slammed.  A turkey vulture circled overhead.<br /><br />I sat on the sidewalk across the street, painting quietly. Cigarette butts were scattered beside my feet. <br /><br />The man got into the truck and started the engine. The train passed and the crossing gates lifted. The truck roared across the tracks. <br /><br />A half hour later the woman came out, wiping her eyes with her sweatshirt sleeves. She walked by, pushing a baby carriage, slowing down a little to see what I was doing.<br /><br /><i>(Note--I did this painting on location last week, and parts of it happened--the action of the truck and the train and the vulture, but the human story was imaginary. Sometimes I can't stop my mind from overlaying a story onto a scene, and I'm attracted to sketching in bleak neighborhoods because of the strange glimpses of human existence I encounter there.) </i>

Moving Out

The old house stood beside the railroad tracks. A satellite dish turned its ear to the dead sky. Some of the windows were covered over with ...

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Blending Into the Background

Thin channels of snow linger in the tractor ruts on a clear March day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KTYxjuxuE_zMuZoSHexetjnWofnW_Xs8azuK62QFsyolUAwlw20Lx0noqC1tSzj2dVuxMlpVqFs1jJstk416K_QfN5SwK4GGJi523wCr2L6_ZQj8fRNI3q6TemO8n1r2mH6rTXQZRLI/s1600/Image-Reality.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KTYxjuxuE_zMuZoSHexetjnWofnW_Xs8azuK62QFsyolUAwlw20Lx0noqC1tSzj2dVuxMlpVqFs1jJstk416K_QfN5SwK4GGJi523wCr2L6_ZQj8fRNI3q6TemO8n1r2mH6rTXQZRLI/s400/Image-Reality.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />After I painted the scene on location, I set up the painting in front of the scene itself, angling the painting to try to match the light levels. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie041gRgzqOCTZoqVjmYiBwxKWsXNzsmWG694u1BZE3-h8OgesTSlWDRnq797OL_ZQCtOnggW7KjsX2MQHGP6N9htXYEWHZ0uYRj2ipfOiDMteLPH6e1mHen8euj-pkWzMFfpiLUF_Rbc/s1600/Domela_Glass_Shot_Matte_Painting.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie041gRgzqOCTZoqVjmYiBwxKWsXNzsmWG694u1BZE3-h8OgesTSlWDRnq797OL_ZQCtOnggW7KjsX2MQHGP6N9htXYEWHZ0uYRj2ipfOiDMteLPH6e1mHen8euj-pkWzMFfpiLUF_Rbc/s400/Domela_Glass_Shot_Matte_Painting.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Trying to match a painting up with a camera view was the challenge faced by pioneering movie matte painters. One early technique, called a “glass shot” involved painting part of a scene onto a pane of glass positioned vertically in front of a camera. That way you could place a castle or some other structure in the scene adjacent to the filmed action.<br /><br />If you want to play with this idea, it helps to have a panel that’s a little wider than the easel (in this case an 11x14 panel on an <a href="http://www.openboxm.com/">Open Box M </a>pochade easel). <br /><br />Also, the illumination on the painting has to be just right. My painting is shown in direct sunlight, but I often use a white umbrella to diffuse and control the light on the painting, especially when painting contre jour (facing the light source). In any kind of observational painting it really helps in color mixing if you can match illumination levels as much as possible.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ve-3-yDYOuM" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />And speaking of blending in, check out how this Chinese artist does it.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie041gRgzqOCTZoqVjmYiBwxKWsXNzsmWG694u1BZE3-h8OgesTSlWDRnq797OL_ZQCtOnggW7KjsX2MQHGP6N9htXYEWHZ0uYRj2ipfOiDMteLPH6e1mHen8euj-pkWzMFfpiLUF_Rbc/s1600/Domela_Glass_Shot_Matte_Painting.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>--------- <br />The second photo is of Paramount matte painting veteran Jan Domela setting up for a glass shot. You can read more about Domela at the blog<a href="http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com/2010/07/jan-domela-intimate-portrait-of.html"> Matte Shot </a><br /><br />Previously on GJ:<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/white-umbrellas.html">White Umbrellas</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/contre-jour-lighting.html">Contre Jour Lighting </a>

Blending Into the Background

Thin channels of snow linger in the tractor ruts on a clear March day. After I painted the scene on location, I set up the painting in front...

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American Artist’s Plein Air Painting Issue

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvx4nSSyCcnnTM0gCCOF3-pUz3Z_3OMxWMD9HNsrZPsF9r6PZ9nJtllhVWJebvLOlHlQx7-8Hh3wFHMsFhwobyX31IrvXjazy99ox6WLfxp7p2p5z7ly-MPgZ6gYfIDCHWOHXvHCiPH8/s1600/Plein_Air_Painting.American.Artist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvx4nSSyCcnnTM0gCCOF3-pUz3Z_3OMxWMD9HNsrZPsF9r6PZ9nJtllhVWJebvLOlHlQx7-8Hh3wFHMsFhwobyX31IrvXjazy99ox6WLfxp7p2p5z7ly-MPgZ6gYfIDCHWOHXvHCiPH8/s320/Plein_Air_Painting.American.Artist.jpg" width="243" /></a><br />Spring is here. Get out your paints!<br /><br />American Artist’s new special issue featuring on plein-air painting has just arrived on the newsstands.<br /><br />The emphasis is on landscape painting from observation. There are articles about Scott Christensen, Clyde Aspevig, Chris Blossom, Clark Hulings, and others.<br /><br />They asked me to adapt material from the <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html">Color and Light </a>book for an article about sources of light, so I covered direct sunlight, overcast light, window light, candlelight, incandescent, fluorescent, and streetlight.<br />--------- <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvx4nSSyCcnnTM0gCCOF3-pUz3Z_3OMxWMD9HNsrZPsF9r6PZ9nJtllhVWJebvLOlHlQx7-8Hh3wFHMsFhwobyX31IrvXjazy99ox6WLfxp7p2p5z7ly-MPgZ6gYfIDCHWOHXvHCiPH8/s1600/Plein_Air_Painting.American.Artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div> <a href="http://www.interweavestore.com/Art/American-Artist-Magazine/Plein-Air-Painting-Spring-2011.html">American Artist’s Plein Air Painting Issue</a>

American Artist’s Plein Air Painting Issue

Spring is here. Get out your paints! American Artist’s new special issue featuring on plein-air painting has just arrived on the newsstands....

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A Distraction

Roger Bansemer, a plein air painter and videographer from Florida, contends with a first-rate distraction in this short video.<br /><br /><object height="285" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J9B2mbe-4Rs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J9B2mbe-4Rs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="285"></embed></object><br />-------<br /><a href="http://www.bansemer.com/">Roger Bansemer's website </a>

A Distraction

Roger Bansemer, a plein air painter and videographer from Florida, contends with a first-rate distraction in this short video. ------- Roger...

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Plein Air at North Bennington

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJTuy_UgcaFUghjxtee3_JqDnlDuzUjWpEt7RiB7pa3XihKUsHFMx_Fr4IMZWy6hKFZZDtYNWarJFVP_UW8I-LCkr7QYelDZTLPMfh3UwpD5ivK6_rZ42VJzcVAv7-NViXp-wdOicxPB7/s1600/Powers_Market_Buick.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJTuy_UgcaFUghjxtee3_JqDnlDuzUjWpEt7RiB7pa3XihKUsHFMx_Fr4IMZWy6hKFZZDtYNWarJFVP_UW8I-LCkr7QYelDZTLPMfh3UwpD5ivK6_rZ42VJzcVAv7-NViXp-wdOicxPB7/s400/Powers_Market_Buick.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>On view through December 31 in the Center Gallery of the Bennington Museum in Vermont is an exhibit of eight paintings from the North Bennington <span class="ajaxSearch_highlight ajaxSearch_highlight1">Plein</span> Air Quick Draw Competition, including "Powers Market" and "1938 Buick."<br /> --------<br /><a href="http://www.benningtonmuseum.org/grace-greylock-niles-queen-of-the-moccasin-flowers.html?searched=plein&advsearch=oneword&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+ajaxSearch_highlight1">Museum press release </a><br /><a href="http://pleinair-northbennington.com/">North Bennington Plein Air Compeition </a><br />Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/powers-market.html">Powers Market</a>, and<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/quick-draw.html"> Quick Draw painting of 1938 Buick</a>

Plein Air at North Bennington

On view through December 31 in the Center Gallery of the Bennington Museum in Vermont is an exhibit of eight paintings from the North Bennin...

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Gumball Machine

Let’s face it: laundromats and oil painting don’t mix. But there I was with my paint kit, a beautiful gumball machine in front of me, and three hours to kill.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoAwkz34EUJWM_zJnuLqOp3v5fbNHaa3LsZld4no4eZ2L_1ijdoeiI-Q_Xr2u5DU-BajK6h3-m6dBXAE0MDUR22UjJbwg8JWHRFrRlncXhkXQ0zRlyMd2Z07DiNcutjieCpikByu23Ysw/s1600/Gumball+Machine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoAwkz34EUJWM_zJnuLqOp3v5fbNHaa3LsZld4no4eZ2L_1ijdoeiI-Q_Xr2u5DU-BajK6h3-m6dBXAE0MDUR22UjJbwg8JWHRFrRlncXhkXQ0zRlyMd2Z07DiNcutjieCpikByu23Ysw/s640/Gumball+Machine.jpg" width="518" /></a><br />I set up my easel and my folding chair next to a washing machine, which is visible in the right of the painting. I left just enough floorspace for people to squeeze past me with their laundry hampers.<br /><br />It took a while to draw in all those darned colored gumballs. As I painted them, my worst fear was that someone would actually buy a gumball and mess up the arrangement.<br /><br />Sure enough, a kid snuck up behind me and jammed a quarter into the slot. He spun the handle before I could say anything. Each time he cranked it, all the gumballs shuffled around inside. <br /><br />“Hey, my still life!” I protested weakly.<br /><br />He popped the gumball in his cheek and narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?” he said, between chews. “You an artist?”<br /><br />---------<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This painting is reproduced full-page in <a href="http://www.dinotopia.com/dinotopia-store.html"><i>Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter.</i></a> (in the context of "local color.") </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thanks to Dan Dos Santos of the blog "Muddy Colors" for recommending Color and Light in the <a href="http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-art-books-of-2010.html">Top Ten Art Books of 2010.</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">By the way, I’ve been filling all your mailed-in orders, and I just want to compliment all of you wives who are giving the book as a gift to your husbands—and vice-versa. That’s really nice of you! <br /><br />If you mailed in an order and are wondering when it will come, I’ve been turning them around within 24 hours after receiving them. Today I mailed out orders that were postmarked between November 30-Dec.3 and received yesterday.</span>

Gumball Machine

Let’s face it: laundromats and oil painting don’t mix. But there I was with my paint kit, a beautiful gumball machine in front of me, and th...

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Specular and Diffuse Reflection

In specular reflection, light rays bounce off the surface of an object at the same relative angle that they approached it. In diffuse reflection, light rays bounce off in many directions. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfKxN2q0YiCZAvb9jgeUemEgyl7E9i1fz2IJZEiLtwznsQkLh9V7inNd8oUAdWDCcKlJVmQw1idcsWqMNuo-LqC3rAzFb-7HFsa6mo-KYOsBTJPvSoY1qHATCHODz9lAbQIQUa4wVG_X-/s1600/Diffuse-Specular.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfKxN2q0YiCZAvb9jgeUemEgyl7E9i1fz2IJZEiLtwznsQkLh9V7inNd8oUAdWDCcKlJVmQw1idcsWqMNuo-LqC3rAzFb-7HFsa6mo-KYOsBTJPvSoY1qHATCHODz9lAbQIQUa4wVG_X-/s400/Diffuse-Specular.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />For example, under normal conditions a rooftop has a matte surface which reflects the light diffusely. The rooftops in the painting on the left show diffuse reflection on a dry, sunny day. The sketch on the right shows slate rooftops after a rainstorm. The thin surface of water remaining on the rooftops now reflects the light more specularly.<br /><br />“Speculum” is Latin for mirror; the rooftops in the second sketch do act more like a mirror, revealing reflections of the dark chimneys.<br /><br />Many surfaces are a combination of specular and diffuse reflections. When you polish a shoe or an apple, what you’re doing is increasing the relative proportion of specular versus diffuse reflection. <br /><br />Whether you’re rendering digitally or traditionally, you can think of the specular pattern as a separate layer added on top of the usual form-modeling factors that you would use to render a matte object. In the 3D realm, surface modelers have to consider the normal modeling factors that you would study on a plaster cast<i> plus</i> the specular effects.<br />--------- <br /><a href="http://www.huevaluechroma.com/021.php">More about specular and diffuse reflection on David Briggs' Huevaluechroma.com</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_reflection">Wikipedia on specular reflection</a><br /><a href="http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln/u13l1d.cfm">"The Physics Classroom" on the comparison, with diagrams</a><br /><br />Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/12/shadows-vs-reflections.html">Shadows vs. reflections on water.</a>

Specular and Diffuse Reflection

In specular reflection, light rays bounce off the surface of an object at the same relative angle that they approached it. In diffuse reflec...

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True to Nature

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5QU2o_2c52CJMtxRTSNaA3CY8iF1mL5DYRbzLIoep5ORltbRGUirAYD3Ucopupk7JXjGh-eftCnxD_OqAAQDn1NamRi4wPj66EleA9E9496uyALhjf3mpQkg-R9RDaVa_Psm3wvJQlk6/s1600/William-Trost-Richards-Rock-Cliffs-and-Cove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5QU2o_2c52CJMtxRTSNaA3CY8iF1mL5DYRbzLIoep5ORltbRGUirAYD3Ucopupk7JXjGh-eftCnxD_OqAAQDn1NamRi4wPj66EleA9E9496uyALhjf3mpQkg-R9RDaVa_Psm3wvJQlk6/s1600/William-Trost-Richards-Rock-Cliffs-and-Cove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5QU2o_2c52CJMtxRTSNaA3CY8iF1mL5DYRbzLIoep5ORltbRGUirAYD3Ucopupk7JXjGh-eftCnxD_OqAAQDn1NamRi4wPj66EleA9E9496uyALhjf3mpQkg-R9RDaVa_Psm3wvJQlk6/s400/William-Trost-Richards-Rock-Cliffs-and-Cove.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />A<a href="http://www.amazon.com/William-Trost-Richards-Drawings-Watercolors/dp/0856676780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287938562&sr=1-1"> new book</a> about American landscape painter William Trost Richards describes the artist’s tribulations while painting the sea from life. Richards says: <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>“I watch and watch it, try to disentangle its push and leap and recoil, make myself ready to catch the tricks of the big breakers and am always startled out of my self possession by the thunder and the rush, jump backward up the loose shingle of the beach, sure this time that I will be washed away, get soaked with spray, and am ashamed that I had missed getting the real drawing of such a splendid one, and this happens twenty times an hour and I have never got used to it.”</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaNfE-QdMddFpsLFEfc42Ud8ZlWdaF8tFXWrGfu3EL6u5jHCVqZgKR6jJ6L1g7G5fr_uvzjoQB3jo-bUW6-WLdDPTFTbTUCiM-FL_8ojQ5t-DrGdh0W1wr6_VitrqPHomDdC7vAafnJgY/s1600/William-Trost-Richards-Trees-and-Rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaNfE-QdMddFpsLFEfc42Ud8ZlWdaF8tFXWrGfu3EL6u5jHCVqZgKR6jJ6L1g7G5fr_uvzjoQB3jo-bUW6-WLdDPTFTbTUCiM-FL_8ojQ5t-DrGdh0W1wr6_VitrqPHomDdC7vAafnJgY/s400/William-Trost-Richards-Trees-and-Rocks.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><br />The book was produced by the Cantor Arts Center of Stanford University in California, based on the sizable collection of WTR’s studies inherited by his youngest son in 1905 and donated to the museum in 1992. <br /><br />The 9.5 x 11-inch book has over 204 pages, with 250 color reproductions documenting the entire collection at Stanford. It includes his Ruskin-influenced early pencil studies of plants, his Adirondack landscapes, and his seascape studies in gouache and oil. Trost Richards was the king of gouache landscape, often working on toned paper to capture transitory atmospheric and aquatic effects.  <br /><br />The emphasis is on his small plein-air studies, which rival those of Frederic Church, Peder Monsted and Ivan Shishkin for impeccably accurate observation. Because Richards worked in this mode well after it was fashionable (he called  himself a “fogy”), he is not as well known as he deserves to be.   <br /><br /><br />---------<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/William-Trost-Richards-Drawings-Watercolors/dp/0856676780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287938562&sr=1-1">William Trost Richards—True to Nature: Drawings, Watercolors, and Oil Sketches at Stanford University,</a> by Carole M. Osborne. <br /><a href="http://museum.stanford.edu/index.html">Cantor Arts Center’s</a> recent exhibit ended September 26.<br />Previous GJ posts on Trost Richards: "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/02/outer-limits-of-pencil.html">Outer Limits of the Pencil</a>," "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/12/trost-richards-watercolor.html">Trost Richards Watercolor</a>," "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/09/called-away.html">Called Away</a>,"<br />Thanks, Margaret!

True to Nature

A new book about American landscape painter William Trost Richards describes the artist’s tribulations while painting the sea from life. R...

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Panel Roo

Jason Daniel Jackson has come up with a simple and lightweight way to store wet oil panels, two at a time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkrQyAoAS30LEocC6hNQilxkwnx7ptXsdEt0tsiH-Ob6FeD6UlHWyi63j_HFpyCbrTikLJtTxrbfL3ER23RsD6ro9T6JHAFx11mO27QhmDbg2-SpiKAXOVqD2YnFNapOMxKcVV9GXZi0v/s1600/PanelRoo.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521633259328335874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkrQyAoAS30LEocC6hNQilxkwnx7ptXsdEt0tsiH-Ob6FeD6UlHWyi63j_HFpyCbrTikLJtTxrbfL3ER23RsD6ro9T6JHAFx11mO27QhmDbg2-SpiKAXOVqD2YnFNapOMxKcVV9GXZi0v/s400/PanelRoo.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" /></a>It's called "PanelRoo," and it's made of wood molding with four spring clips on each face, which hold each painting facing into the middle. They're available in most standard sizes on his website, but he can also make custom sizes.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jasondanieljackson.com/gallery.asp?WebsiteID=23489&PageID=186854&AssetID=211755&FFS=1&IF=1">PanelRoo</a><br /><a href="http://www.jasondanieljackson.com/">Jason Daniel Jackson</a>

Panel Roo

Jason Daniel Jackson has come up with a simple and lightweight way to store wet oil panels, two at a time. It's called "PanelRoo,...

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Plein Air Winners

Yesterday I had the privilege of announcing the winners of the North Bennington Plein Air Competition.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dKB1FSTWZcGDxe0UN6Mqz8-D-661F0nvgqnRch9pvjtHGWbKosJpTqM1-eETtbbJR169p6xppcR0UHJe8OskhLisoDGJOWbq2zy214al21WWDHBTgQvolvroKIgRQ_-D6pycrtax-fC-/s1600/Chong_Ramsey_Orr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516456536308092578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dKB1FSTWZcGDxe0UN6Mqz8-D-661F0nvgqnRch9pvjtHGWbKosJpTqM1-eETtbbJR169p6xppcR0UHJe8OskhLisoDGJOWbq2zy214al21WWDHBTgQvolvroKIgRQ_-D6pycrtax-fC-/s400/Chong_Ramsey_Orr.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" /></a>From left to right, they are Hiu Lai Chong of Maryland, Jane Ramsey of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Orr of Vermont.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuemi1w6xqqoOINtaj30pgr8nIHq1kpTVuLYB_GsDUVZoGjzapqF8_j48Mm4AvsyuJi2vB6Zbw6sQxCnBfIQqAzJTSrhETKcIhXbsQvXgSP2SZ_ZyeH3nMiyod8tFdFxQB2ujspXBVwjY/s1600/Storm_Watch.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516456556609580466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuemi1w6xqqoOINtaj30pgr8nIHq1kpTVuLYB_GsDUVZoGjzapqF8_j48Mm4AvsyuJi2vB6Zbw6sQxCnBfIQqAzJTSrhETKcIhXbsQvXgSP2SZ_ZyeH3nMiyod8tFdFxQB2ujspXBVwjY/s400/Storm_Watch.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" /></a>Ramsey’s first-place watercolor, “Storm Watch” depicts the roofline of the barn that formerly served as the studio of painter Kenneth Nolan. It’s now part of the Taraden Bed and Breakfast, one of the hosts and sponsors of the event. The artful cropping gives a fresh revelation of a familiar motif, with cool reds and rust colors contrasting with the blue-greens of the slate shingles.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitntV-luI3EDWYPwSuYcfmC6qknJ_prWPJ9TWL3PTrkpXCb5qp2OK_oeeKFwLM6J4l-2LAnTxaw1-8vu8osllg4XmFeIkueq9FmUKsrFm4Rxo_gm9HhiUCOC2jH2bUVmdHL8nzcSlf63P0/s1600/Orr_Andrew.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516456545871556242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitntV-luI3EDWYPwSuYcfmC6qknJ_prWPJ9TWL3PTrkpXCb5qp2OK_oeeKFwLM6J4l-2LAnTxaw1-8vu8osllg4XmFeIkueq9FmUKsrFm4Rxo_gm9HhiUCOC2jH2bUVmdHL8nzcSlf63P0/s400/Orr_Andrew.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" /></a>Orr won second place with “Breaking Light,” one of four landscapes he exhibited showing the Vermont countryside near the town of North Bennington. In the painting, the clouds come and go across the far hills, with a variety of crisp and soft edges. His adept handling of chiaroscuro—light-on-dark and dark-on-light—dramatizes the scene.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PL7Rlt2eNk6BsIhZC3E8jbkMDzDFFhbMq1FyTN2wsTdwwkjyOux54xt0B2GhvFiDK8NujYNSMIxZrPT8tSqVaeNE5BUbVOypZslx4mqi-dxn4lGJP7u-Kmvfxmi3Ry_HCGqAwj3BsiI1/s1600/Yard_Work.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516456576893459394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PL7Rlt2eNk6BsIhZC3E8jbkMDzDFFhbMq1FyTN2wsTdwwkjyOux54xt0B2GhvFiDK8NujYNSMIxZrPT8tSqVaeNE5BUbVOypZslx4mqi-dxn4lGJP7u-Kmvfxmi3Ry_HCGqAwj3BsiI1/s400/Yard_Work.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" /></a>Chong’s third place oil “Yard Work” captures the close color harmonies in the train depot, with strong compositional lines leading into the design. She simplified what must have been an immense amount of detail of white gravel and cross ties in the foreground.<br /><br />Congratulations to all who participated, and thanks to the organizers, sponsors, and volunteers who made this a very successful event.<br />-----<br /><a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/">North Bennington Plein Air Competition</a><br /><a href="http://www.taraden.com/">Taraden Bed and Breakfast</a><br /><a href="http://marybyrom.blogspot.com/2010/09/north-bennington-vermont-plein-air.html">Post with lots of pictures on Mary Byrom's blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.janeramsey.com/">Jane Ramsey</a><br /><a href="http://andreworr.com/">Andrew Orr</a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Hiu-Lai-Chong/1301560341">Hiu Lai Chong</a>

Plein Air Winners

Yesterday I had the privilege of announcing the winners of the North Bennington Plein Air Competition. From left to right, they are Hiu Lai ...

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Quick Draw

Frank Costantino, one of the organizers of the North Bennington Plein Air Competition, explained the rules for the Quick-Draw event to approximately 40 participating artists.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd17e8TTX8zD642sGcnSpXYuyLEBTiFG5OBlWI-O1MP2iEJcX5ZRpbR84R6NV1EiiK-4qAmdZsvLHwNpgEwT1OoWHiQv3KL7Ci-dSyOymPLDxfALAe29KgapN9OpZjBabGIpl42CceZzR/s1600/Costantino_QuickDraw.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996317139099874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd17e8TTX8zD642sGcnSpXYuyLEBTiFG5OBlWI-O1MP2iEJcX5ZRpbR84R6NV1EiiK-4qAmdZsvLHwNpgEwT1OoWHiQv3KL7Ci-dSyOymPLDxfALAe29KgapN9OpZjBabGIpl42CceZzR/s400/Costantino_QuickDraw.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 237px;" /></a>Paint anywhere in the grounds of the historic Park-McCullough House, start when you hear the bell at 1:30, and stop two hours later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholhEnqJS0DwhBoaLXRGF-Hvu-sPBGVlwKxSBdemx3btgb0w8IQnztyggvMOMlhtIPTJ2RTSJhd6vZH1wMPIToFIXbJTVCpLiT3pbY4uOj-ZOFBQ2p2BYgh2_ICAmvJ40WJOiOKKXSMypp/s1600/Painting.BuickPickup.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996807436133714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholhEnqJS0DwhBoaLXRGF-Hvu-sPBGVlwKxSBdemx3btgb0w8IQnztyggvMOMlhtIPTJ2RTSJhd6vZH1wMPIToFIXbJTVCpLiT3pbY4uOj-ZOFBQ2p2BYgh2_ICAmvJ40WJOiOKKXSMypp/s400/Painting.BuickPickup.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 335px;" /></a>I was attracted to a 1938 Dodge Pickup. Besides being a gorgeous old truck, I liked the chiaroscuro: light-on-dark on the front end, and dark-on-light on the rear end to the right. I also wanted to feature the reflection of the illuminated grass on the shadow side of the vehicle.<br /><br />In preparation for the bell, I premixed batches of color with the palette knife to save time later (that was legal).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFFhc521i9me1p4Wyms6vUAf1Vjf6YHedFRfAKZkdjEkA_18viztVt_yuHakGdivAcQOV2EJA778yJv20TGTxVALzssGvyhVn8ZW6bWpPeRUnZj-Za6G1wRr4R7oqMVbs7Bqsj3qCGrUw/s1600/1938_Buick_Pickup.1.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996297408362962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFFhc521i9me1p4Wyms6vUAf1Vjf6YHedFRfAKZkdjEkA_18viztVt_yuHakGdivAcQOV2EJA778yJv20TGTxVALzssGvyhVn8ZW6bWpPeRUnZj-Za6G1wRr4R7oqMVbs7Bqsj3qCGrUw/s400/1938_Buick_Pickup.1.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" /></a>One half hour into the painting, I drew in the big shapes with a bristle brush and blocked in the grass and background.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK12SaKtD8wkyBDi_AYA48g283MLF4y8pLYNlgATks_4u3Gd4HSBcYWSc0BJ5j2-gwihK3a3PQDc8cTbPNiQKug-MChrZPGj0BpNUC_ISJo-yCuLtTXTDa7xkZVXA5JBACuGysCrch1Mo/s1600/1938_Buick_Pickup.2.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996303164925394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK12SaKtD8wkyBDi_AYA48g283MLF4y8pLYNlgATks_4u3Gd4HSBcYWSc0BJ5j2-gwihK3a3PQDc8cTbPNiQKug-MChrZPGj0BpNUC_ISJo-yCuLtTXTDa7xkZVXA5JBACuGysCrch1Mo/s400/1938_Buick_Pickup.2.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" /></a>Halfway through, I knocked in the basic shadow color of the truck and the building. I was really sweating it at this point, thinking “I’ll never finish!”<br /><br />I tried to look for similar planes, muttering to myself such things as “upfacing planes in the shadow of the truck.” The goal is to hit all of those similar tones at the same time when I had that color on the brush, rather than wasting time going back with the same thought.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCL-g675IFdlolRYYYUKJZcjoJOnygFickcK6D78njzr2T8tsbIgO8MhyzqPiZ_6JBNqeo5VlVR_2hYK_LnHAKBPs6a4vAY1W9cuL7tHclAluEG8bV0zkjBM4DWrBi_3itK5mYewMLgn0/s1600/1938_Buick_Pickup.3.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996308807668370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCL-g675IFdlolRYYYUKJZcjoJOnygFickcK6D78njzr2T8tsbIgO8MhyzqPiZ_6JBNqeo5VlVR_2hYK_LnHAKBPs6a4vAY1W9cuL7tHclAluEG8bV0zkjBM4DWrBi_3itK5mYewMLgn0/s400/1938_Buick_Pickup.3.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" /></a>Only a half hour left, I softened some edges, such as along the hood and the top of the cab.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBl6dZG_lVOvhs5fVrIgVsS4vtxTLAlixkQwXDC58MO7qGvDb6qDBbHptlgXK4qtejQc1MHQs97O04ZsEgIfytx7p0NjHIX5vS43aBZroOUe2jb3DvavJ8JPC7BZQr4eCKbkt8-A_nYON/s1600/1938_Buick_Pickup.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996311486843458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBl6dZG_lVOvhs5fVrIgVsS4vtxTLAlixkQwXDC58MO7qGvDb6qDBbHptlgXK4qtejQc1MHQs97O04ZsEgIfytx7p0NjHIX5vS43aBZroOUe2jb3DvavJ8JPC7BZQr4eCKbkt8-A_nYON/s400/1938_Buick_Pickup.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" /></a>Here is how it looked as the bell rang, with final details: highlights, headlights and hubcaps. Two hours went by in a flash; it’s hard to believe that’s the same amount of time as watching a movie.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNj-puJ6_fsLZsU9gFdrGPkcsrWfRBGMGUpD5F9tJNbW0vrUPHqAPlr1aqbQD1_LKaPBfCqt4lS6Qw95jkiDuO8aTz6iekKfy7FpIixP-MJOmQCs-KzjwfiBTef3CJzBtVkFtjUhIUz_J/s1600/Vcevy+Strekalovsky.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515996815473974098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNj-puJ6_fsLZsU9gFdrGPkcsrWfRBGMGUpD5F9tJNbW0vrUPHqAPlr1aqbQD1_LKaPBfCqt4lS6Qw95jkiDuO8aTz6iekKfy7FpIixP-MJOmQCs-KzjwfiBTef3CJzBtVkFtjUhIUz_J/s400/Vcevy+Strekalovsky.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>Breathing a sigh of relief, we all put our results on easels. Here is Vcevy Strekalovsky, who did a gorgeous painting of the house. I was really inspired by everyone else’s work, and would love to come back again and paint the gardens or the carriage house.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/quick-draw-information/">North Bennington Plein Air Competition Quick Draw</a><br /><a href="http://www.fmcostantino.com/">Frank Costantino</a><br /><a href="http://www.southstreetgallery.com/Vcevy%20Strekalovsky.html">Vcevy Strekalovsky</a><br />More about the<a href="http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1938-dodge-rc-pickup.htm"> 1938 Dodge </a><br /><a href="http://www.parkmccullough.org/">Park McCullough House and Estate</a><br /><a href="http://marybyrom.blogspot.com/2010/09/quick-draw.html">Many more pictures of the Quick Draw at Mary Byrom's blog</a>

Quick Draw

Frank Costantino, one of the organizers of the North Bennington Plein Air Competition, explained the rules for the Quick-Draw event to appro...

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Powers Market

The North Bennington Plein Air Competition began with a motif tour for the artists. We rode around town on a wagon pulled by draft horses.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1A31yZSbpxpc5GsTlU1LbKz4YjIjC0nT3Oe3Vl2WRv8p67v1hVeZ0B1hdF3EUjYSqGouitT9vMe6ixEWPOxGQkZrSd8WfaucN9fPUc6eURwB1jSgxhboiCM8ecLq9xu1bu_BLD1QsNVvQ/s1600/American_Cream.sm.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515553575361502658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1A31yZSbpxpc5GsTlU1LbKz4YjIjC0nT3Oe3Vl2WRv8p67v1hVeZ0B1hdF3EUjYSqGouitT9vMe6ixEWPOxGQkZrSd8WfaucN9fPUc6eURwB1jSgxhboiCM8ecLq9xu1bu_BLD1QsNVvQ/s400/American_Cream.sm.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>The horses were a rare breed called American Cream, with amber eyes and pink skin.<br /><br />About two dozen invited artists fanned out through the small town of North Bennington, Vermont. They set up on grassy hillsides, beside ponds, and in back streets.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLAd_41MeVSy7yY0x8KfyI8xhaIBd8s9LHzGaZpiV36AQa4KEUsnmpKRqfnSLg9ZJ0ImwYYCujehD2UZTjRUObbLWxVny2Wl-GQaYFM4_8IgL7q3XsSZG9xSLpjA-FYpN_kAyam3Nn8Lb/s1600/Painting_Powers_Market.sm.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515553584841955522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLAd_41MeVSy7yY0x8KfyI8xhaIBd8s9LHzGaZpiV36AQa4KEUsnmpKRqfnSLg9ZJ0ImwYYCujehD2UZTjRUObbLWxVny2Wl-GQaYFM4_8IgL7q3XsSZG9xSLpjA-FYpN_kAyam3Nn8Lb/s400/Painting_Powers_Market.sm.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 355px; height: 400px;" /></a>Jeanette and I looked across to Powers Market, a Greek Revival building that served coffee and sandwiches, and conveniently had wi-fi and a bathroom.<br /><br />My foot is on the C-stand<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> to keep the white umbrella from blowing over (because I forgot the weight bags to hold it down). I'm using the umbrella not for rain but to cut glare and to diffuse light into the work surface.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG4wQcso4PVFVxfX24yWUjfXHiv1_h2rT89Ofi6bAo6vxERAZ92cvn4iV1MBFQgk4smItER_HhEW2-eUYyDhEWPP385mNsiuHSkyQ6_tXOlVCfR-lAtb2VoKXYSRS5Cw9PDNFWmPIF5GW/s1600/Powers_Market.steps.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515553596450536258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG4wQcso4PVFVxfX24yWUjfXHiv1_h2rT89Ofi6bAo6vxERAZ92cvn4iV1MBFQgk4smItER_HhEW2-eUYyDhEWPP385mNsiuHSkyQ6_tXOlVCfR-lAtb2VoKXYSRS5Cw9PDNFWmPIF5GW/s400/Powers_Market.steps.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" /></a>I laid in the painting with a bristle filbert using burnt sienna oil paint. It was forecast to be cloudy, and I expected to be working with a lot of gray tonalities, so I wanted those warm colors to peek through in a few places in the finished painting. After stage 2, I drove into Bennington to buy the tube of white, which was missing from my kit yesterday.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPc70NCMf6JWvbcT8getNML1AJT7vW819eq6HiZ6Upm5l3B-8i2X0b9N0BE_wn3pPyI2oF3sr6bTccDNoFOkrpH8ZgVsMH4gTupnmgbR_iRyS3af095h8H_T0CfPDeDeY6KJP7ajvUQMua/s1600/Powers_Market.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515553589548473650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPc70NCMf6JWvbcT8getNML1AJT7vW819eq6HiZ6Upm5l3B-8i2X0b9N0BE_wn3pPyI2oF3sr6bTccDNoFOkrpH8ZgVsMH4gTupnmgbR_iRyS3af095h8H_T0CfPDeDeY6KJP7ajvUQMua/s400/Powers_Market.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 316px;" /></a>That building in the back is a lawn mower repair shop, and the wood structure is leaning wildly, a fun contrast with the straight regularity of the market.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGGw43OQFDLy36AO1ygb5e4JdAAsqeioLq5_u8FtL7GXVVYypn9usLbHgw_FE_XDie0NzHYR4hVUibBl6lRikO0b2e3t55cvzI7QSRCe0c-7q6bZ04KYB8DgLq_fshY5Ljnlwq8eCWTgs/s1600/Ron_Nadeau.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515553580233554674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGGw43OQFDLy36AO1ygb5e4JdAAsqeioLq5_u8FtL7GXVVYypn9usLbHgw_FE_XDie0NzHYR4hVUibBl6lRikO0b2e3t55cvzI7QSRCe0c-7q6bZ04KYB8DgLq_fshY5Ljnlwq8eCWTgs/s400/Ron_Nadeau.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" /></a>The owner of the lawn mower shop, Ron Nadeau, came over to tell us the history of his building, which used to be a blacksmith shop. He described what the town was like in his father's day, when there were working factories here that made hand mirrors, shoes, and rocking chairs.<br /><br />EVENTS TODAY!<br />Come today (Saturday) to the Park McCullough House in North Bennington, Vermont, for the <a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/quick-draw-information/">Quick-Draw event </a>between 1:30 and 3:30. Anyone can join, and there are over $500 in prizes. Also, there will be an exhibition of works tonight and tomorrow at the <a href="http://www.taraden.com/">Taraden Guest House.</a><br />------------<br /><a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/">North Bennington Plein Air Competition</a><br /><a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/quick-draw-information/">Quick-Draw Event</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Cream_Draft">Wikipedia on American Cream Draft</a><br /><a href="http://www.taraden.com/">Taraden Guest House</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-Stand">C-Stand on Wikipedia</a><br />Previously: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/10/white-umbrellas.html">White Umbrella</a>, <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/03/traffic-cones.html">Traffic Cones</a>

Powers Market

The North Bennington Plein Air Competition began with a motif tour for the artists. We rode around town on a wagon pulled by draft horses. T...

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Uh-Oh! Forgot Something!

I opened my paintbox yesterday, ready to start out in the <a href="http://www.pleinair-northbennington.com/">North Bennington Plein Air Competition, </a>when I had a horrible sinking feeling.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dSo9KEc7574_Zj3AgtHZTgUrXQ_bugVCwdC0BJmr4olM8CdwzXxfiLlhsALevAdfViMZpq_wFrh8QCIqbcfmvDMnFvqEU40wbSout6mhQiFUWNDke8VtiaKqVJY5pHlr9tpQPsrqbr3f/s1600/Gurney_Paintbox.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515241462446866274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dSo9KEc7574_Zj3AgtHZTgUrXQ_bugVCwdC0BJmr4olM8CdwzXxfiLlhsALevAdfViMZpq_wFrh8QCIqbcfmvDMnFvqEU40wbSout6mhQiFUWNDke8VtiaKqVJY5pHlr9tpQPsrqbr3f/s400/Gurney_Paintbox.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 329px;" /></a>Something was missing! It was a "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamestoppers.html">gamestopper</a>." Can you guess?<br />---------<br />Addendum: The answer was white paint! (I had the turps, medium, and rag in another part of the kit).

Uh-Oh! Forgot Something!

I opened my paintbox yesterday, ready to start out in the North Bennington Plein Air Competition, when I had a horrible sinking feeling. Som...

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Casting Long Shadows

Cast shadows can help show the surface changes in a landscape. In this small plein-air sketch, the tree shadows define the curve of the hills by wrapping around them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb896PahE3b2Az-T7ThSydCuxUCWRrrWGvClwkqeqXZNtzlHOsSIdLiVuFnpEWgy-j8ANPPoPMSs-ueVL-GtlkNW-qHmQlZLcBLnYrVPRyb6JqmRJP9Kl8VmRzsXNojkQ83ws9sDcQ8dZ0/s1600/Cast.Shadows.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513405474100720434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb896PahE3b2Az-T7ThSydCuxUCWRrrWGvClwkqeqXZNtzlHOsSIdLiVuFnpEWgy-j8ANPPoPMSs-ueVL-GtlkNW-qHmQlZLcBLnYrVPRyb6JqmRJP9Kl8VmRzsXNojkQ83ws9sDcQ8dZ0/s400/Cast.Shadows.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 238px;" /></a>The three shadows get progressively narrower as they go back, which helps suggest depth. Sunlit figures are arranged to stand out in front of the darker tones.<br /><br />Watch for these long cast shadows late in the afternoon or early in the morning. The shadows cast by trees and utility poles can really help you define the contours of roads, sidewalks, and buildings.

Casting Long Shadows

Cast shadows can help show the surface changes in a landscape. In this small plein-air sketch, the tree shadows define the curve of the hill...

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Landmark Hotel Implosion

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoP8Spbh_1eLWzHUkBJbG_PEWxklxPinyLXe_tVA6qGZjmcgk12JaPQJkNhdWVxg49A9uqAE-AXzyHR6MHTGmGAnxlv4zYG2KQgsusjd_ogK-wL5jTy053jK6drOiRcyt3FXipOrGu4ch/s1600/Vegas_Tower.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513071689258487602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoP8Spbh_1eLWzHUkBJbG_PEWxklxPinyLXe_tVA6qGZjmcgk12JaPQJkNhdWVxg49A9uqAE-AXzyHR6MHTGmGAnxlv4zYG2KQgsusjd_ogK-wL5jTy053jK6drOiRcyt3FXipOrGu4ch/s400/Vegas_Tower.sm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" /></a>In November of 1980, I did this plein-air gouache painting of the Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas.<br /><br />At the time, I never would have guessed that less than 15 years later, it would be demolished. The event happened at night and was featured in Tim Burton’s 1995 movie “Mars Attacks.”<br /><br /><object height="345" width="430"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m9CVFozqqvc?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m9CVFozqqvc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="345" width="430"></embed></object><br />In this 3:40 minute video, you can see the hotel and its collapse (no sound).<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SiNeuuQXmM&feature=related">Another video of the collapse on YouTube</a>

Landmark Hotel Implosion

In November of 1980, I did this plein-air gouache painting of the Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas. At the time, I never would have guessed that ...

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