Plein Air Watercolour Studies

15-11-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Waiting for Harrys school bus to arrive

Daniel Smiths Raw Umber Violet watercolour studies in daily journal

I got really sloppy and soaked the study on the right, the paper buckled but the surface stayed in tact and it did not bleed through to the back...Pretty impressive! The book was closed when dry (which was quite some time) and left on my studio desk overnight. The paper is now quite flat again...I did not put weight on top of it either.

These DR Ebony books take ALOT of abuse!

Houghton Mill

7"x12" - Ink & Watercolour - Plein Air

Another piece for my upcoming exhibit

Sketching On Canvas

My Parents House - Acrylic ink on canvas - Plein Air

...With a dip pen and acrylic inks, I then used a brush to add tonal washes.
The ink is black and white so I have no idea why the hedge is showing as blue?

Plein Air Painting

This morning I got together an acrylic plein air kit in a small bag, grabbed a primed canvas and a travel easel and packed my car to go painting. Being my first plein air trip out this year and about my 4th plein air trip with acrylics ever...I decided I shouldn't go far in case I had forgotten something, so I drove to Benwick and set up in the old graveyard there by the river.
I took a limited palette and just one square brush.
I left the house at 11.30 am and was back in it with numb hands and a full bladder by 1.30pm!

This is the result of my wonderful 90 minutes, under a tree, painting the world away.
Lots I'd change about both my kit and how I approach the painting next time, lots to learn, but I finally got out with my easel, it's a start!

Plein Air ...of sorts

'Rain approaching Doddington' - Atelier interactive acrylic on canvas

'Of sorts' because I painted it from my studio window in real time. The only thing that could argue the 'plein air' aspect is the pane of glass dividing me from the scene.
Painting an approaching rainstorm is HARD. The sky changed every second and in turn so did the light, one has to work FAST! It was fun, though challenging, and when the rain did hit I was relieved to be in the shelter of my cosy studio.

Weekend In Wells - Day 2

Day two kicked in while I was still awake, as does every new day with me. Joan had retired for the night and was sleeping while I sketched the view from my bed in the cottage before going to sleep myself.

The following morning we drove to the beach and set ourselves up on our travel chairs. A quick sketch in my journal to loosen up...



Then I decided to take out an 11"x15" watercolour block and complete a plein air painting right there on the beach in under 30 minutes with a big brush and nice loose washes.



After my plein air painting, I moved back to my journal...



The dreadful sketches of people in the spread above gave me cause for some figure practice.



Much happier with those.

In the evening, after a delicious chinese take out, I decided to experiment with one of my sketches and used gouache on Canson Mi-Teintes paper. I plan to enhance what I ended up with below with some soft pastels some time in the future.

Speedy Sunset

The view from my studio is pretty fantastic throughout the entire day but the sunsets are simply spectacular.
Every evening a different show appears outside my window as the sun drops it's head beneath the Fen...I never tire of it.

I decided to catch one in my sketchbook, you don't get long and it changes constantly by the second but I wanted to capture the 'banding' on this particular showcase the other evening. I managed to make two sketches; one in mixed media (running inside like a mad woman to grab things from my studio table) and the second using Neocolor11 and a waterbrush.

Mixed Media Sketch

Benwick River, plein air sketch in large Canson sketchbook - Mixed media

Parked up at Benwick river again the other morning after the school run and sketched the bridge using watercolour and a little soft pastel.

Mixed Views

'Studio View' - 8"x6" mixed Media - ©Anita Davies

I'm dabbling with landscapes a little again this year.

For some reason recently I am feeling drawn to landscapes, a subject that has never really inspired me much before...Oh I love them, looking at them, living in a beautiful location myself of course I appreciate them...But, whenever I used to think of painting them, they all seemed so green, brown and blue in my interpretation, they lacked atmosphere and depth...So, I did what any decent artist would...I avoided them!

Then I started keeping a journal/sketchbook and began sketching and painting everywhere I went.

Since then I have expanded my mind somewhat and find myself enjoying the landscapes I sketch. I even took to painting plein air a little last year with acrylics...Which I loved!

Clarice House
Ely Palace
My Garden

...and a mixed media piece:
Barnsdale Gardens

I've decided this project will be my 'toy' for 2009.

As usual, with anything new, I seem to start a little 'tight' but I have alot of experimenting to do and plan to have fun. This is a project for me to truly play with, enjoy, mess up and learn from. Mostly I am hoping it will allow my creativity to unfold.

I'll be working fast, mostly on location 'plein air' (fingers crossed) the speed will hopefully prevent me from fiddling and becoming too precious...I believe my creativity flows easier working this way before the voice of 'Miss bossyboots' has a chance to get in the way and complain. Big brushes and experimental techniques will hopefully scare her enough to remain silent.

I also hope to make studies in my sketchbook that I later 'work up' or 'play with' in the studio...I have never created a painting from a sketch I have made before....I think it may be time.

Views of all sorts will become subjects, landscapes, seascapes, buildings, rivers.....a real mix!

This is one of the reasons I'll be calling the project 'Mixed Views', the other reason being that I will be dabbling with a variety of media and even mixing them up a little like I have here.

15 Minute Fen

This sketch was completed in 15 minutes, plein air, smack bang outside of my studio during two crafty cigarette breaks while completing a painting commission. It's not perfect, it's not particularly brilliant either but it did remind me that you CAN capture the essence of a place in a very short time, so there is never an excuse not to!
The Fens are constantly changing, I am grateful for that, the field infront of my studio has recently been ploughed over, changing the soft golden tones into deeply textured earthy browns.

The Old Palace, Ely

WIP-The Old Palace, Ely

On Wednesday my good friend Joan travelled from Coltishall, to spend a few days painting with me. The first location on our agenda was The Old Palace in Ely. The palace is currently home to Sue Ryder Care and on Thursday they were holding a fundraising event entitled 'Paint the Palace'

It was a beautiful location to paint and both Joan and I were pleased we had decided to take our acrylics along for the day.

I was a little adventurous with the palette choice on my interpretation of the palace door and my piece is unfinished but I found it fun and relaxing to work out of my comfort zone...Until I went to change my water...After that the two side of my brain (yes, I have one!) battled with each other and I found it difficult to move forward which offered another interesting insight to an already enjoyable day!

I have taken photographic references but have since decided I will finish this piece without them, hopefully this will allow the energy and creativity I started the piece with to return without having to battle with the realist side of my brain.

Clarice House Plein Air

4 April 2008 - Clarice House Grounds

Before I left for my trip I primed a couple of 10x12" canvas boards because I had noticed, when painting in the garden with Joannie, that they have a slight texture and worked better with a little base paint.

The one I decided to use while plein air painting in the grounds at Clarice was primed in bright yellow acrylic.

Here you can see the yellow base layer and my beginnings of a sky line.

I'm afraid I became lost to the universe over the next 40 minutes or so and totally forgot to take work in progress photos. Here is my painting near the final stages, just a few touches to add before reaching the finished image shown at the top of this posting.

This is just my second attempt at plein air painting with acrylic and I'm hooked, it feels so great to be in the middle of nature with my easel and paints.

An Hour In The Garden

By Anita Davies
This morning Joannie and I watched The Impressionists on DVD. This would be the first time Joannie had seen the BBC1 drama, me?....I've seen it over and over and I could watch it again and again!
All inspired, we decided to make the most of the sunshine and each took a canvas panel and some acrylic paints into the garden to paint plein air.

Plein air set up

We moved straight in with acrylic, no preliminary pencil sketching, just like the brave Impressionists had in our morning viewing. For one hour we were lost in light, colour and (believe it or not) ...silence! We played, we splodged, we dared and we had so much fun.

It always fascinates me how two artists can sit side by side and create such different works from the view before them.

By Joan Sandford-Cook

My Garden 2007