Large-Format Easel

One of my goals this summer is to paint bigger paintings outdoors. My French easel works pretty well up to a certain size, but the drawer doesn't hold the French Companion (or "Mistress") very well, and the large canvas, which catches the Maritime wind like a sail, can tip the easel over. The solution is the Gloucester easel:

This easel was used by Gloucester painters, most notably Emile Gruppé. Its two benefits: It is extremely stable in wind, and it can hold a very large canvas. There are a couple of improved versions of the easel available today. One is the "Take-It-Easel," sold by pastel artist Rosalie Nadeau (www.takeiteasel.com), and the "Beauport," sold by some of the online art supply merchants.

I got my Gloucester easel this week. I took it out a couple of times to work out the system. This is always important when you get new gear. My first time, I didn't venture any farther than the front yard, where I could hide behind a rose hedge. I didn't want to be seen by the neighbors as I wrestled with setting it up. Set-up went pretty quickly, but I had a problem with the cross-bars. They kept slipping down, and the "platform" they are supposed to make didn't seem at all steady. In fact, it collapsed, sending my French Companion tumbling into the dirt! I fixed the problem with a Bungie cord to my satisfaction.

Another issue was my little Wal-Mart chair umbrella, which has a clamp that is too small to fit on the easel's leg. I did try my Julian umbrella, which has a monster clamp but is heavy. Gravity caused it to twist and fall away from the ideal position. I'm not sure what to do, other than to have a second tripod for an umbrella. (Some of you may have ideas, and I'm happy to hear them!) One final issue was: How do you carry wet panels or stretched canvas? I'm planning on working in a larger format than is available for the plein air panel carriers. I don't really want to throw an unprotected painting in the back of the car, since I travel dirt roads, and a good deal of dust blows into the car, and thus onto the painting. (I can use ideas for this, too.)

I went out the next day to a good painting spot. I took only a 9x12 panel with me; I was more interested in making a second test of the easel rather than making a big painting. (The easel can take up to a 4-foot canvas.) I was very happy with the day, even without a working umbrella or a way to carry wet paintings. The easel does everything it's supposed to do. I even had a stiff wind blowing!

Here's a photo of the easel at work at Upper Duck Pond on Campobello Island. Yes, I know -- that little painting does look mighty funny perched way up high!

And here is the painting:

"Duck Islands"
9x12, oil, en plein air
SOLD

Workshop Survey Results

I had over 70 responses to my survey - not bad for just a couple of days! I thank everyone who participated. I'll use these results to fine-tune my painting workshops.

I had some surprising results and some not so-surprising. Here is a summary, looking primarily at the biggest numbers.

• A 56% majority preferred workshops shorter than 5 days. (No surprise - people still working full-time might find it hard to commit to 5 days.)
• No one wanted a workshop of more than 5 days. (Surprise - I thought at least some people who are retired or are full-time painters might want a longer, in-depth workshop.)
• A 60% majority preferred workshops that run Monday-Friday. (Somewhat of a surprise - I thought people still working might like to take fewer days off from work and include weekends.)
• A 77% majority preferred full-day workshops rather than half-days. (Somewhat of a surprise - my half-day workshops have been quite popular in recreational areas.)
• For the minority that wanted half-day workshops, 53% preferred the hours of 9-1. (No surprise - no one gets up as early as I do!)
• A 51% majority preferred workshops in just one medium. (Somewhat of a surprise - I find it enlightening to see another medium in play.)
• 48% preferred a workshop size of 5-8 students. (No surprise - who wants to fight for attention?)
• 37% said they would hike up to a quarter-mile to paint. (A delightful surprise - I didn't know so many were interested in hiking for a better painting spot.)

As for what months respondents preferred for a workshop, the data points create a two-humped curve like the back of a Bactrian camel. May and June are the first hump of popular months, followed by September and October. Surprisingly, July and August are only a bit more popular than the winter months. (Big surprise - I thought most people still working would want to take workshops during the summer vacation months.)

Predictably, painting locations were all over the map - literally! I'll hang onto this list and look into workshop possibilities. If you're interested in sponsoring a workshop in coming years, let me know. I have details of my requirements here: http://www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com/html/wanttohost.htm.

Final New Hampshire Report & Master Pastellist Status

Rain moved in for our final day in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. This wasn't the mist, drizzle and spotty rain we'd had earlier in the week, but an ongoing, soaking rain - a gardener's delight. We gathered on our host's screened-in porch beside Lee's Pond, where I demonstrated working with a complementary underpainting in pastel. Although this technique can be overused, it was quite appropriate for all the green that surrounds the pond. Hemlocks, birches, white pines - we were in the thick of it! I started with many different dark reds and oranges for the vegetation and moved to lighter oranges for the water, sky and distant trees.


I loved the "repoussoir" effect of the trees that bracketed the view. Their dark shadows seemed to evoke a sense of mystery lying outside the picture frame. If you hear the rain dripping from the branches when you look at this painting, then I've met my goal.

Later, we went back to the Moultonborough Historical Society to finish up. Some worked on paintings done earlier in the week that needed adjusting; others painted scenes through the window; and two painted a still life. To round off the week, we talked about final matters - harmonizing your painting, framing, exhibitions, and the business of painting.

It was a great week, and I really enjoyed my visit to the area. I'll be back, because there's plenty more to paint!

I'm home briefly to tie up loose ends before heading for Grand Manan Island next Sunday. (Workshop will be 15-20 June.) I'll have limited Internet access that week, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post. At the worst, I'll have a full report for you by the end of the workshop week.

By the way, I just received news today that Pastel Artists Canada has awarded me Master Pastellist status. This is quite an honor, and I'm very happy!

New Hampshire - Continued

Rain drove us indoors on our workshop's third day. This gave us an opportunity to work on a variety of projects. At the Moultonborough Historical Society, which is our backup studio, I set up a simple still life with the assistance of students. Although in the past I've had students paint from photos on rainy days, lately I've been encouraging them to paint from the still life. Even though this is a landscape workshop, I feel it's more important to paint from life - even if it's apples and bananas rather than trees and ponds. Still, I don't force this on anyone. Some painted from photos or "tweaked" work done earlier in the week.

The day before, I demonstrated how I paint quick (30-minute) 5x7 studies to capture the essence of the scene. With the following sketch of two boats at Squam Lake, I pointed out how more important it is to capture light and color in this kind of sketch. Details, such as the precise angle of mast to hull or the position of one boat in relation to the other, are something I would rather capture in a drawing without color. My goal isn't to create a finished painting with these, but to observe and record.


On our rainy day, I continued with another of these quick sketches, this time with the still life:


Both of these were done on Belgian Mist Wallis Sanded Paper with Polychromos pastels. I used no underpainting or wash but went right in with the pastel.

On the fourth day, we went to the Remick Museum in Tamworth. Even though we had drizzle, mist and spotty rain, we were able to find shelter when necessary. The Museum has some beautiful old barns and outbuildings to paint, along with pigs, cows and goats. I demonstrated under an attached shed that had a pair of barn swallows flitting in and out as they tried to build a nest beneath the roof. We painted to the bleating of kids that were being weaned off their mothers.

New Hampshire - Again!

I'm back in New Hampshire again, this time to teach a plein air workshop in the Lakes Region. Our home base is Moultonborough, right on Lake Winnepesaukee. Although the apple trees are just starting to bloom back on Campobello Island, here it seems that summer has arrived early. Birches are a full and deepening green, and the flower gardens of my host's home are beautiful with blooming rhododendron. Blackfly season seems to have passed, but the mosquitos swarm at dawn and dusk. Daylight hours are bite-free - perfect for outdoor painting!

On the first day of a workshop, I always like to stay close to home so I can gauge the level of my students. My host's home and "base camp" for the workshop is on Lee's Pond. This is a mill pond with a broad view of Sandwich Mountain up near Conway and a glimpse of Mount Chocura's sharp point. All day long, puffy clouds drifted over the mountain tops. I always like this kind of scene, full of horizontal bands. I stack clouds over mountains, mountains over trees, and trees over water. You can see this in the pastel demonstration I did:

"Lee's Pond" 9x12, pastel, en plein air

This one was painted on white Wallis Sanded Paper using my Heilman pastel box loaded with Polychromos pastels and Mount Vision pastels. I used a Turpenoid wash to scrub in my underpainting before finishing up with more pastel. (See the recent demo in my Backpacker Painting blog for an example of how this works: www.backpackerpainting.com.)

For our second day, we went to Squam Lake. "On Golden Pond," the 1981 Oscar-winning film that starred Katherine Hepburn and the Fondas (Henry and Jane), was shot on the lake. For our adventure, the Squam Lake Association Resource Center in Holderness granted us permission to paint from their property. We had close views of boats, long views out of a cove toward the broad lake, and the occasional loon calling.

Rain was predicted for later in the day, so we thought we had plenty of time to work, even despite the rather threatening-looking clouds. I set up to do an oil demonstration first thing, but about 10 minutes into the painting, the rain began. Oil paint, of course, can stand a certain amount of rain, but it began to bead up heavily on my palette and on the painting itself, plus the students were getting quite wet. I finished the demonstration under the eaves of the SLA Center's porch.

"Rainy Day at Golden Pond" 8x10, oil, en plein air

For this demonstration, I showed how I use thin, transparent paint to create an underpainting and follow with more opaque layers. I didn't use any white in the first layer but saved it for the opaque passages. This is one of two methods I will talk about in the new book. Equipment used here was a 9x12 Guerrilla Painter box plus Gamblin paints, Turpenoid and Silver Brush Ltd. "Grand Prix" flats. My palette was a split-primary (Cad Yellow Lt, Cad Yellow Med, Cad Red Lt, Alizarin Crimson, Ultra Blue and Phthalo Blue.)

Wouldn't you know, but I was the only painter that day who had to deal with rain. Soon after I finished my demonstration, the clouds broke, the sun came out, and the day turned beautiful!