Urban Flash Mob Painting - Toronto

Now this is where it gets interesting.

This painting (6 x 8 inches), entitled "The Weezer" after the local restaurant which is only identified by a "W" and is hence called the "Weezer" by local residents, was painted at the first Urban Painters Flash Mob event dreamed up by Gary Smith. Just prior to an event Gary would send out an e-mail inviting artists to converge on a particular neighborhood and paint for the day.

These events were written up in a blog by another artist Moshe Mikanovski.

In this painting I started to develop a useful but common technique of observing the scene in front of me and picking the one thing that either attracted me or seemed to be the most important element and then tried to not loose sight of that single feature throughout the painting and maintain that as the most important. This may or may not be consciously apparent to a viewer but it does give a cohesiveness to the design. In this case it was the piece of light hitting the sidewalk just where the buiklding turns into shadow at the right.

Don't Step Back!

This is the second painting which I did at the Cranberry marsh just outside of Toronto along Lake Ontario.

I is again small (6 x 8 inches), and in comparison to the previous painting I think that it is more successful. There is more of a concern with abstract shapes and less with detail.

In the next picture is one of the hazards of painting in the "wild." I stepped back to get a better look and fell over a log!

Painting on an April Day with Companions

This oil painting was done at Cranberry Marsh near Pickering (just east of Toronto) on Lake Ontario in April. I went out with fellow artist Gary Smith (http://www.escapewithgary.com). This is the first of two small  paintings (6 x 8 inches) that I did that day and is what I would call "simple minded," that is too much detail, with too little attention to large shapes etc.

The other image shows my critical companion.

This small painting (6" x 8") was also done in the early spring along the lagoon on Toronto Island. A wonderfully hot day in late April. I was standing out on a wharf with the thought in my mind that I might step back too far and fall into the water!

First plein air painting in oil

I have been a watercolour painter for the past few years, but I got interested in learning how to paint in oils just after the new year and began to paint "en plein air" in the Spring. Plein Air painting is as we all know is painting outdoors in the open air. Not only is it healthy to be outside it is also fun, usually (and by necessity) quick so there is little investment in time so if the painting doesn't turn out, the fun and the healthy part are not wasted although the painting might be. Another benefit is that it is also often done by a group. This adds to fun as well as being a chance to have others comment on your work. (I think that artists are used to this so that there is rarely any unkind remarks and most are helpful and encouraging.

This painting was one the first one that I did. In order to make things easier I used (and so far continue to use) only five colours; Cadmium Lellow light, Perylene Red, Ultramarine Blue, Viridian (green) and Titanium White as recommended by Bob Rohm in his book The Painterly Approach.

Until next time.