Fisherman in the Mist

C1553

“Fisherman in the Mist”

(Muddy Lake, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

With additional coat of Rublev Lead Primer

5" x 7"

SOLD

After several days at the Lost Lake section of the New River ACEC, I returned to Muddy Lake to work on a “misty dawn” painting that I had been thinking about.  My intent was to capture the feel of pre-dawn mist rising across the lake from the observation hide, and include the Great Egret almost hidden in the mist, fishing where he is often to be seen.  I began by making a small drawing of the proposed composition in my smallest sketchbook, and then took the bull by the horns and dove into the Oil Sketch.

Because I wanted to use some brighter colours than I have been using on most of the posts thus far, I went to work straight onto the white ground of the linen panel, without laying down the usual imprimatura of earth red.  I painted in the sky and the lake with Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Pale, and Rose Madder (Genuine), mixed with Titanium White (all W&N).  I chose this white as it is the brightest white, although it has to be used with care, since it is such a cold white, opaque and can ill you colours.  The dark tree and its reflection to the left, was painted with the quieter earth colours of Yellow Ochre & Venetian Red, and Ultramarine for the Blue.  Here, when I needed white in the mix, I used Cremnitz, since it isn’t a “colour- killer.”  In mixing the colours for the lily pads I used a mixture of Cremnitz & Titanium for the white.  Thus the palette for this painting was composed of two colour triads: the more traditional with the earth colours, and the other using the more modern and brighter pigments, plus the whites.  I would also point out that the sky colours in the original sketch are a bit more subtle than what I'm seeing on my screen; monitors being what they are, what you are probably seeing on yours will be different from what I am seeing anyway, but I thought I'd mention it.

The Great Egret is hidden in the mist a can be seen in the detail of the painting seen below.

Lost Lake Idyll

C1550

“Afternoon on Lost Lake”

(Lost Lake ACEC, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

with an additional Priming Coat of Rublev Lead White in Oil

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

Last post I was telling you about discovering the New River ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern), and Muddy Lake in particular.  I thought Muddy Lake could not be improved upon, but I was wrong; Lost Lake ACEC is idyllic in a wilderness, not a pastoral, sort of way.  Being from Minnesota, Lost Lake is really more of a long narrow pond to me, but that gives it a more secluded personal feel.  There are three points along its length where the water’s edge may be accessed, and the third of these is the best.  I spent four days painting here. 

I viewed the different directions from the small area of shore and decided on this view to the north; the Ocean would be to the left several hundred yards away, out of the trees and over some sand dunes.  I set up my painting gear and proceeded to lay down a Venetian Red imprimatura, and then a block-in of the major shapes of the composition with Ultramarine Blue mixed with a touch of Venetian Red.  Over this I applied a colour layer on the simple shapes of the block-in, so that there was now a simply modeled colour composition, with little detail.  The next afternoon I refined and corrected these shapes, and added details, bringing the painting to a satisfactory conclusion.  I use the term detail advisedly since there is no detail compared to many of my Watercolours, and being ware that for many Plein Aire painters, it will be too detailed; it is the direction I am striving for, as you will be aware having read “The Journey” tab.  The rest of the colours used were Cerulean, Cobalt & Ultramarine Blues, Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, and Cremnitz White, with a very little Cadmium Yellow & Cadmium Yellow Pale for the brighter greens.

The whole time I was working there were about a half a dozen Cedar Waxwings flitting from tree trunk to tree trunk, catching insects, sometimes almost hovering like hummingbirds in their attempts to capture them; I was unaware of this habit since those that I had seen in Oklahoma over the Winter before last, mainly fed on berries, it seemed.  A pair of Kingfishers also did their Kingfisher things, and a noisy Wren scolded me on occasion; the odd Turkey Vulture rode the wind overhead, reminding me that the coastal “breezes” were still there, and why I was here.  Other wildlife including Dragonflies and Damselflies went about their business.  I am always amazed at what appears when you are quietly painting away in the woods; it felt like Eden.

Discovering some Forest Lakes

C1549

“Afternoon on Muddy Lake”

(New River ACEC, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel

with an additional Priming Coat of Rublev Lead White in Oil

5” x 7”

SOLD

After months of preparing to launch this blog, and finally doing so, and sending out an old fashioned mail-shot, by snail-mail, and then testing and tweaking it and Daily Paintworks for a couple more weeks, last week I was able to finally return to painting full time; of course I have to prepare these posts and spend time at the library posting them via their free Wi-Fi, but I’m back to the plan.  Summer weather here on this stretch of Oregon coast is usually in the 60s Fº (65º F is about 18.5º C for you in the rest of the World), but with a chill north wind prevailing and making it feel much colder; and I thought Cornwall was windy! 

Biding my time for and waiting for those days when the wind might lessen, I discovered the New River ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern), series of four parcels of BLM land (Bureau of Land Management), along the New River a few miles south of Bandon.  The wind here, just a few hundred yard from the open beaches, is much reduced and so more manageable.  The New River parallels the coast separated from the Pacific Ocean by a few hundred yards of sand dunes before it empties into the sea.  On the landward side of the New River, lie several forest lakes situated in the various New River ACECs; two of these are Storm Ranch and Lost Lake, and what a discovery!  I’ve spent several days painting at both.  Muddy Lake at the Storm Ranch ACEC is depicted above from the observation blind.  With the Summer weather the lake level is dropping and so the lily pads are sticking up out of the water; perhaps this annual occurrence is why it is called Muddy Lake.  There is a certain amount of birdlife here including a resident Heron and a Great White Egret, both of which tend to work the opposite side of the lake, as they seem to be aware of the occasional viewer at the blind.  There are several other trails through other types of terrain at the Storm Ranch ACEC, but so far I’ve been side-tracked by the Muddy Lake; if the wind on the beaches continues to be a problem I may get to sample them, provided the lake doesn’t intervene.

Over the years as I’ve met other artists and the various patrons who have acquired my work, questions arise such as inspiration, materials used and such.  Generally this journal is written with them/you in mind, and is why I end each posting with a mention of the materials used, and sometimes a bit more of how I proceeded on a particular work; it also provides a bit of a record of what pigments were used in any particular work.  I am painting these sketches, studies and small paintings in Oil, on commercial panels, usually made of an archival hardboard, some of which are covered in a linen canvas, and then coated with layer of a white priming; this primer may be of an acrylic gesso or an oil based primer of titanium pigment.  I have also been adding a final layer of a traditional lead in oil primer, as was used by the Old Masters, when I have time o do so; this must be done in advance by several weeks for it to set up properly.  The priming layer is also known as the ground.  Over this white ground at the beginning of the day’s work, I many times will lay down a thin transparent layer of pigment, and this is called the imprimatura; as a landscape artist I tend to use an earth red pigment, such as Burnt Sienna or Venetian Red.  These colours add a warmth to the following paint layers, and if there are spots that are missed by the ensuing brush strokes the warm earth tones showing through just add to the interest of the painting, and being a complementary of the prevailing green of a landscape allow those greens to sing instead of being too overpowering.

And so, Techies, the imprimatura was Burnt Sienna (alkyd), with the pigments used were Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Cobalt and Cerulean Blues, & Cremnitz White, and just a little Cadmium Yellow Pale was used for some of the brighter greens.  I worked o this over two successive afternoons.  The first day the colours seemed a bit too slippery beneath the brush, and I’m thinking it was the Alkyd Burnt Sienna imprimatura that I had applied several days earlier and was thoroughly dry.  Alkyd is a synthetic resin that was developed in the 1930s, I believe, and is compatible with Oil Paint, and dries quite rapidly, compared to Oil; I will have to keep this in mind in future to see if this is true.  The second day the first layer, which was really just a block-in at this stage, was just a little tacky and so took the paint quite nicely and I rapidly finished it off.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did painting it … well the second afternoon’s work.