A Walk in the Woods

I have a painting on my easel that I'm waiting to speak to me about where to go next. I looked and wasn't getting 'leadings', so did some art business work (warm by the woodstove!), then went out on a walk. This was just what I needed! It's been a month or so since I walked very far, given the serious cold, and troublesome footing (icy in places, break-through crusted deep snow in others), and now filled back up with natural wonders, I know how much I've missed it. Today I suddenly felt warm sun (despite cold air), and heard cheery songbirds- a turn towards spring! There were lots of animal tracks- deer, squirrel, rabbit, mice, opposum or skunk, and even a bear who had been searching along a hedgerow. I noted dirt-marked snow which gave away several burrows in a wooded hillside, and a place on a steep slope where a small animal had slid on its belly down the hill. Looks to me like animals are waking up, and all of this life was renewing for me!

Plein Air Painting: Interesting Question #1

Alice Kelsey painting at Spring Creek

I gave an informal talk/ show-and-tell about painting outdoors last weekend at the Bellefonte Art Museum, and really enjoyed the thoughtful questions offered by attendees. Many people were wondering about the experience of painting outside (en plein air), and the questions gave me a chance for fresh reflections on this mode of creating. I'll write about several of the questions and discussion in blog posts this week.

Do you remember the colors after you leave the scene?

Yes! I do, if I've managed to connect deeply with the scene, and engaged with it with some form of art-making at the scene. I've discovered that drawing or painting on location really helps me to harmonize with the scene before me, and see so much more..... there's something about getting my hand going making marks, even scratchy grey pencil touches, and my eye searching deeper, that centers me in the artistic process. Once I'm there, colors register somewhere in my being, and I can conjure them up later. With these color memories comes a sense of gratitude for having learned from nature about subtleties and combinations of colors that I wouldn't have dreamed up on my own. yet become part of me during the process of plein air painting!

Evolution of a Work - "Fisherman's Paradise - Early Morning'

'Fisherman's Paradise - Early Morning' by Alice Kelsey (finished painting)

I've just finished this oil painting of a famous trout stream (Spring Creek), and thought I'd share a bit about the experiences along the way. Here's some photos and descriptions of the pastel which I created on location, and the stages which the oil painting based on the pastel went through.

 

Initial pastel, created on site

It was early morning on a chilly spring day when fellow artist Jeanne McKinney and I arrived on the banks of Spring Creek at Fisherman's Paradise (between Bellefonte and State College). This is a well-know, hallowed place for flyfishermen, where large numbers of healthy brown trout reside year-round, and are pretty challenging to catch! This was among the first places where Jeanne and I painted in the year-long stream painting project which is culminating in an exhibition at the Bellefonte Art Museum which opens in one week (May 5)! Standing on the bank, I liked the arc of the stream in to the distance and the rhythms of the big tree shapes, set off with backlighting. I described the experience of painting this pastel in an earlier blog post (see the March 21, 2012) As I painted, a flyfisherman appeared along the distant bank, studying the water, and I added a suggestion of his form in the distance.

Initial oil underpainting of 'Fisherman's Paradise - Early Morning.

After returning to the studio, I liked the composition, yet felt a need for a larger 'scale' (size) to fit the feel of the scene. I chose oil paint, to be able to work with thick and thin paint, and transparent colors in capturing the atmosphere of this place- the feeling of the cool spring morning, and mystery of the stream moving away to the distance. The above photo shows the initial lay-in, where I 'm establishing the basic composition

Early workings of 'Fisherman's Paradise - Early Morning'

Next I started to lay in some color, searching out the lovely, fresh colors of early spring greens.

More color added to 'Fisherman's Paradise - Early Morning'

The above photo shows the painting about mid-way through, with basic shapes and colors established. The main alteration to the finished work (top photo at beginning of post) was lightening the foreground stream, and darkening the left background trees.

Initial pastel and final oil

And here they are together, the plein air pastel, and finished oil painting! The oil painting can be seen at my joint exhibition ('Water Ways- Paintings by Alice Kelsey and Jeanne McKinney') at the Bellefonte Art Museum. I welcome you to come to the reception (May 5, 1 - 4:30 pm), and would enjoy talking with you more about this work and others! See my website www.alicekelsey.com for info. about the show.