most recent late PM Plein-air

This is  a scene I see and study every day of the year, as its right here where I am fixing dinner, or doing ranch chores.  This road runs right past the old house that My significant other grew up in, his father before him, and his grandfather before that and so on.  Its above the Carson Valley, on the south end and as the sun goes west, huge shadows run down the face of the Mountains -  -in the summer, this can start early it seems.   The light can be just wonderful - --   -then its all shadow, reaching way across the valley toward the east.  Nice on summer days when its hot, but I also live in Dutch Valley, another smaller portion of the ranch, about 6 miles to the east of this location and much more Nevada-looking, and the sun goes down much slower. .   This is the Southern Range (end) of the Carson-Tahoe Range of the Sierra Nevada's.   I used White Wallis, 9 x 12, mounted to foam cor, and a watercolor under painting to help cover all that white and set the L/S  pattern.   Then finished with the pastel, trying to catch the color of the light I was seeing.  I am not sure I made it,  and I see things I would do differently next time.  Still, I feel its close, and I love doing this, and so will again!

Plein-air work is work

I have still been working on my plein-air work., and today a great painter friend from Carson City joined me.  He said he was rusty, so we needed to get out there and get warmed up for the event in June.,as he is  a part of that.  We walked this a.m. out in the field to the north of the house, and found a scene. Here is my tri-pod easel I am experimenting with, and Ray is setting up out ahead of me.  He likes to paint the house at the ranch, and I just like the mountains.  Dealing with the very green foreground is always difficult and as its Early summer, late spring, there is a lot of bright greens!!!    Dealing with that is a talent learned over many years of painting I fear!!








This one is mine, in about 2 hours time, size  9 x 12, on a dark blue support by Colorfix.  I thought the dark blue would be hard, but I hardly noticed.  That is Raymond Peak with the snow, and the little irrigation stream leads you into the  painting.   The foreground needs more work, and some green color adjustments thru-out.   It was a good lesson and I am not sure what I think yet. I won't show Ray's work, as its his and he wanted to Finnish at home later.  We did another at the other end of the ranch, and boy, its just too hot for this early in the year!!   I need to re-do mine, but it was a good place to paint.   Here's  a shot of 2 I did a few mornings ago on the hilltop to the west of us.  I have been trying to do a least one a day, compositions are so hard to learn!!

Plein- air painting is not always easy!

Today I am going to post what I have been doing for the last weekend, along with  a couple of friends who also love plein-air.     One of the ladies I know is a well-known, wonderful plein-air artist.  She recently told me about the Tahoe Group that likes to have plein-air Sundays, then a small critique  with an artist who teaches at the college up there. That is David Russo, a very nice gentleman who is very encouraging. So I phoned my friend Carole, from Dayton Nevada and we met the group down in the Carson Valley. Trouble is, we were a day early!!  No matter, her and I went ahead and painted, and Carole did a very nice painting this first day- - - -I rather struggled, trying to get all I could it seems onto the paper!!   The next day, the correct day, we were again there to paint with these PA folks, and Thaleia  Georgiades also was there.  She is a pastel artist from California, belongs to the Sierra pastel society and is also the lady who has brought very famous artists to our area for workshops in the past.  A real pleasure to paint with her!  Again, I didn't do so well, but want to show you the work my friend Carole did:

This one just seemed to glow in the shadows!


                                                                                                                                                                   
And this next one is the one Thaleia just whipped out in moments.  We were in the valley , but rimmed by the Carson range of the Sierra Nevadas', which are really high.

 I was so amazed by how she drew this , making the mountains appear very large, as they are, and to show scale, the trees below so much smaller.  A great lesson to be sure.   The critique session was fun, and I went home with a lot on my mind.  Did some more reading , looking and studying.  I read Carlson's and Paynes' books a lot- - - -and also now the new Plein-air mag, which is wonderful.   This morning, I ran out from my home and from 8:30 to 10 am, I painted this one. I believe I am very slow in learning all I want to learn!  But , its a great thing to be doing.  We are all so different in our response's to nature and our world.  Each day I will be painting something, or at least doing the Thumbnails in my sketch book.