The Secret

I often get asked, "What is plein air?"  I know it sounds like some Secret Code that artists use.  True, it isn't something you hear everyday.  It means in the open air.  It's a term we artists use when we are referring to painting outdoors.  And, not sure why we westerners insist on using the French term.  We don't use other French terms that much.  I guess it relates back to the Americans who went to France to learn the Impressionism style of painting  in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  They had heard or even seen paintings by these French artists thanks to Mary Cassatt bringing them over.  This was something new as far as art styles.  Loose choppy brushstrokes, high key color palettes, and painted outdoors? 
The French Impressionists weren't the ones who invented painting outdoors.  Certainly artists had been carrying sketchbooks outside for centuries.  And the British would tell you they were watercoloring outdoors long before Monet painted his "Impression: Sunrise".  It just happened that oil paints could now be stored in tubes as opposed to being handground in the studio where it was stored in pots.  Adding to that, artists were now painting on linen canvas which could be stretched over supports making it lots lighter than painting on primed wood.  Monet even used a boat as a floating studio to paint the populars next to the river bank. 

Painting Aspens at Lake Tahoe

Plein air painting can be as rugged a sport as you want to make it.  Some artists hike miles in the woods and mountains with their supplies on their backs just to capture their scenes.  You can paint in public or not.  You can carry large canvases or very small.  There just isn't a right or wrong way.  So if you see an artist outside set up with their easel and paints, you can say, "Good luck with your plein air painting." And they will know that you know the Secret.

Summer Treats

Small Treasures

Oil on linen

10 x 8

Brother and Sister

oil on museum quality board
6 x 6

Available

I don't know about you, but it has been really hot here this summer. Seriously, really hot!
My summer teaching stints are over for a now, four weeks of leading teacher professional development in parts of Alabama. It was really hot there too! So I am back in the studio and painting all kinds of happy memories from beaches. Most include children at the water's edge or people enjoying a lazy day of sun and reading. I've been to beaches from coastal Maine through the Carolinas to Key West and up the panhandle from Florida through Mississippi and Louisiana. I've been to the Pacific coast and twice to Hawaii. I have lots of beach memories! The painting of the little tow headed boy will be available for purchase at Tanner Hill Gallery in Chattanooga this Thursday night at the Arts & Education Council's annual fundraiser. The theme this year is "Found" and worked out perfectly for this painting in my series. I am posting the rest on my website: www.Durinda.com under the Coastal category. Hope these little pieces of beach memories remind you of a good time at the beach too. If you have a photo or a memory you would like painted, let me know! I am in the studio for the reminder of the summer!!

Stay cool!

Durinda

Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints

D & Barbara

Sandra, Susie, D, Ruth

D, Phyllis, Diane

This blog today is dedicated to the women painters I have met over the years. These are not your ordinary, paint in the studio and don't get dirty painters. They are the ones who paint on-site or outdoors in all kinds of weather and all kinds of conditions. We are Sisters of the Traveling Paints.
I have always drawn and painted. I can't remember not doing it. I carried pieces of paper outside as a child and drew what I saw: flowers, bugs, trees. I didn't know it was called "plein air". It was just something you did because you had to. You wanted to capture what attracted you on paper. Save it for looking at later. It was fun.

Today I count myself very lucky to have crossed paths with lots of women who share the same passion for painting outside. They come from many different backgrounds, many different locations, and many different personalities. Some are very representational painters, some are nearly abstract painters. Yet we all paint for basically the same reason: we have to. Along the way, I have come to know a few of these sisters and their families more in depth. It becomes like a network of friends that you hear from occasionally, but you think about more often than that. When one suffers a sickness or a loss, you feel it too. You know that while art is very important in their lives, so is their family. You also rejoice in their victories- awards, sales, new galleries, etc. And in the achievements or expansions of their families as well.

So, here's to you, my fellow Sisters of the Traveling Paints. You have made my journey into painting outdoors a lot more enjoyable by sharing it with you. A few of my oldest paint buddies:

Susie Covert, Bradenton, FL; Barbara Perriotti, Ormand Beach, FL; Diane Johnson, Cary, NC; Linda Blondheim, High Springs, FL; Ruth Cox, Myrtle Beach, S. C.; Phyllis Franklin, Thomaston, GA; Carly Hardy, Darien, GA; Marsha Savage, Smryna, GA; Sandra Babb, Ringgold, GA; Terry Mason, Sarasota, FL; and the many new sisters I have met: Jeanne Salucci, Long Island, NY;Priscilla Watson, Aptos, CA;Barbara Davis, Montgomery, AL; Barrett Edwards, Naples, FL; and others. Thanks for sharing your advice and your friendship.

May you always have your palette ready,
Durinda

Life Springs

Life Springs

oil on linen

12 x 9

private collection

Paintings tell stories. Some paintings tell us everything. Others make us guess. Still others lead us to come up with our own story. This painting was done last week during the Callaway Paintout and Sale at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia. Only this particular painting wasn't done at Callaway at all. It was painted on an estate in LaGrange, Georgia. LaGrange is a few miles west of Pine Mountain. But this place was more than a few miles apart in character from Pine Mountain. It was an ocean apart.

The artists in the paintout were divided up into two per team and shuttled to nearby cities to paint in private gardens on Tuesday. I was partnered with Robin Roberts from Ohio. We were met by a gentleman who drove us out to his castle, estate, er home for the day. Now imagine the sites and landscape along the way. LaGrange is a pretty enough town. It has a nice college there and lots of churches in the downtown area. The surrounding landscape is humble houses, small farms, and a few mobile homes sprinkled now and then. We drove through a large stone gated drive and down a long narrow road. Then before us appeared this "mini" Biltmore house. At least 3 stories with a English tudor styling that rivaled anything you would see on the Hudson or Long Island. Vast green lawns stretched forever with stacked stone walls lining them.

I expected Giles or Jeeves to come out and take our humble backpacks crammed with our supplies. Instead, we were shown around by the owner and then set up to paint where we pleased. I love painting architecture. But believe me, I was way too intimated by this place to paint it. No way. So I found a humble smokehouse in the back of a small (comparatively) perennial garden to paint. It was one of the remains of the plantation that once occupied this land.

After lunch, I went up the hill to this spot in the painting: a foundation and chimney left by a former dwelling on the property. The new owner had cleared the area, there were wrought iron chairs and tables nearby and had planted this native azalea. What appealed to me was the way the ruins were so cared for and left as they were. Certainly the owner could have razed the stones and naturalized the area. But here they were: a nod to the inhabitants of years gone by. A slave quarters? Tenant farmers? Gardeners house? And before it, a brightly lit orange azalea that seemed to say life goes on. So when you think about it, we all just pass through this earth. We create dwellings, clear the land, and plant our gardens. Nature really owns it. I think that's why God gave us springtime to remind us.

Happy Earth Day on Friday and Happy Easter to you and yours,

Christ died and rose again. Life Springs Eternal.

Durinda

Karen F. Rose - My Painting Journey: Lake Santa Fe Good Morning

Karen F. Rose - My Painting Journey: Lake Santa Fe Good Morning

Artists in the Gardens Weekend

Artists in the Gardens at Epcot this weekend!

I am so honored to have been invited back to paint during Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival 2011. This will be my fifth year to paint in the World Showcase. Last year I painted in jolly old England and really enjoyed the cottage gardens and English architecture. You can find me this year in Italy. The horticultural department goes all out with potted flowers and plantings in the different countries. The feature each year are the topiaries of the Disney characters that are scattered throughout Epcot. Having the artists painting on location just adds to the ambiance of the festival. Guests can watch us paint and even purchase a painting to take home. I would be curious to know how many vacation photos I have been in over the years!

It is so much fun to talk to the guests who come from all over the world. The children are the best with their innocent questions and comments. I end up giving away as many paintings as I sell when a child comments they like it!

This is plein air painting at its finest! Shade if you can find it, level ground, beautiful weather, no "real" animals to bother you, and beautiful surroundings to paint makes this a painter's dream. So I hope if you are making spring break plans, you will hop over to the Flower and Garden Festival this year. Just don't ask me the names of any of the plants, OK?

Ciao for now, will try to post a painting or two while there!

Durinda

The Diva Dilemma

Spring Divas

oil on linen

12 x 9

Available: www.Durinda.com

The Diva Dilemma. If you are a painter, you have surely faced it at least once in your painting career. If you ever sang in a chorus or acted in a play, you faced it. If you even like to decorate rooms, you have probably faced it too. What is it?

It is having more than one Diva in a situation. Like having to decorate a room and you say, "Well, here's a fireplace, a good focal point, let's put seating facing it." And then you see the window in the same room with the great view. "This is such a good view, let's put seating facing it." And then you have two Divas. When you enter the room, where do you face? The fireplace or the window? Maybe that doesn't bother you?

Have you ever tried to watch two performers on stage? In the olden days, Sonny and Cher? Hmm, who was the Diva? Pretty obvious there. You won't see two separate spotlights.

My watercolor mentor was Wayne Wu, AWS. He used to tell us, "There can only be one star. Everyone else is the supporting cast." In other words, have a focal point in your composition. There are several ways to create a central focus and they are not all so obvious. In a floral arrangement, choose one flower or a cluster of flowers to give more color and more detail. Play down the rest. We know they are flowers, let them be cast members. The same for a landscape. Where do you want the viewer to look? Try not to confuse us by having detail on everything unless you are Grandma Moses. Or as Jack Beal says, "Fruit basket painting."

I think the same applies to our appearance. Do you want people to notice your hair, your eyes, your clothes, or your jewelry? Play up your best feature and let the others support it. Wear clothes that compliment your eyes or hair, but if you want us to look at your clothes, fine. Wear something that stands out there. But don't be surprised if people say, "I love your outfit." and not, "Gee, you look great today."

We want viewers to look at our artwork and say,"I love this painting." and not "Gee, you did a good job with all this detail. It looks JUST like a photograph." Get it?

Now, go find your Diva!

From the only Diva in this household,

Durinda