Sunday, July 28, 2013

Plein Air - Sunflower Fields

                                                                      Acrylic Plein Air, 8x8"

This painting needed me to go out in the field two times to complete it.  The first time poured buckets on me before I even finished my block-in!  I went last Sunday and finished this past Wednesday.  It has taken me until now to find time and good weather enough to get a photo and blog it for you.

I may have bitten off more than I could chew on this one, and I may have overworked it, too.  However, it was a very good experience for me in that I had to deal with lots of people seeing me paint publicly for the first time.  The way I was set up, though, was next to a road, so people could only see if they were driving.  They could slow down, but they couldn't really stop to watch for long, so how self-conscious could I really get?  I was able to practically "paint like nobody's watching."  One woman did turn her car around, asked to take my picture while I was painting, and told me she thought the painting was beautiful, so that was tolerable!

My favorite part of painting this one was doing the brushstroke in between the tree trunks!  That one made me so happy!  That occurred the first day of painting.  I had the foresight to take a photo of my stage one, because I liked the block-in enough that I was afraid I would ruin it by going back to work on the painting.  So, for the first time, I can show you the bones of one of my paintings.  Not quite a step-by-step, but the closest I have come so far:

                                                                First step, plein air acrylic

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!




8 comments:

Linda Nickles said...

Very nice, Meredith! I applaud you for getting outside to paint at this time of year.

Meredith Adler said...

Thanks so much, Linda. I guess now's the time. Just have to keep looking for opportunities...

Susan said...

Lovely painting Meredith. Great to see the early step. Sunflowers are so fun.

Cathy Engberg said...

I love seeing the 'bones' of your painting. I find that fascinating to see how you progress. Thank you for sharing that.

What a wonderful view this is! Turned out great! It's so funny to hear you talk about that brushstroke between the trees! It's amazing how we can love a stroke like that. It really is a good one!

I would love to go plein air painting with you some day. I need to just watch you for a while.

Meredith Adler said...

LOL, Cathy! I would love to go paint with you someday, too, but I think you would be the teacher! If you all want to see why I am laughing, go check out how great a painter Cathy is at www.cathyengberg.blogspot.com. It is funny how the little things can make us so happy in a painting, though, isn't it, Cathy?

Thank you so much, Susan, I appreciate your comment and your stopping by!

Sharon L. Graves said...

I'd love to go with you both. Great painting Meredith. Great light.

carol edan said...

Mazal Tov [congratulations] on overcoming the fears of on-lookers in plein air painting. I doubt if I would ever find the courage... Thanks for the blocking step... love to see how a painting develops... Love the rhythm and flow!!!! Love your open narrative!!!

Meredith Adler said...

Thank you Sharon and Carol and all my other dear blogger friends. I wish we could all go out and paint together. Maybe someday we can have our own paint-out. Carol, if you are ever traveling here, please let us know!!

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