Pleinairapalooza

friday night lights, 11x14

Haven't posted in a while as I have been on the road doing more of the painters circuit. Couldn't use my wordpress app to post because I forgot my password..... again. Friggin passwords. The internet must think I'm a total moron. I used to use my "porn name", that's where you take the street you lived on and merge it with your mothers maiden name, mine was Nassau Johnson and I'm not making that up. But I've changed them enough that I can't remember what is what. So, anyway, first up was Easton and then on to New Hope, Pa. Both wonderful events which I will cliff note for you shortly, but they were both stupid hot. I kept thinking to myself that I would never in my right brain stand out in 100 degree heat with 80% humidity and no breeze and paint all day, but I was there to work.

port street, 11x14

As I was painting two and sometimes three panels a day for two weeks, I ended up with a lot of paintings, some good, one or two really good and a couple of bushels full of scrapers. My very first painting was so bad that it could have taken first place in the Eukanuba National Dog Championship. Werf. Nothing worse than starting on a low. One thing I have learned though is that I cannot define myself by my last painting, good or bad because the next one will be different. Besides there is something very satisfying about srapin em off. I've had many workshop students tell me how much they got from using this new technique.

body work, 11x14 sold

I will try not to bore you with all the paintings, I'll just toss up a few and see what sticks, the rest I'll pitch in the appropriate web page. This one with the cars was fun. The opening night we had a paint out at this nice elderly gentleman's place who boasted a modest collection of cars that was in the vicinity of 90 minty vintage convertibles. It was impressive, and of course, all the guys were in the garage trying to make sense of it all. I liked this odd little composition with one of the watercolorists tucked in between the machinery.

Billy Bragg in concert, 11x14

A few of us volunteered to paint during the Avalon theater's presentation of Billy Bragg in concert. I got the balcony view and had a book light. I tried to block in as much as I could and premix what I thought I would need before the lights went down. After that it was all guesswork. I liked the way it turned out and didn't touch a thing after the concert was done. Really fun to paint during live music.

The apprentice, 20x20 sold

I'll end with this one for now because I think it was my best painting of the two weeks on the road. It's kind of a redo of a painting I had done a few years back there but it's a bit more successful than the last one. I'm going to write a ton more tomorrow about why and also talk about the highlights of the trip (a hint, NC Wyeth). More soon.