Plein Air Workshop with Josh Clare
This weekend will go down in history as the best Mother's Day gift to date (hats off to the tall, dark and handsome fella who took two days off work to hold down the fort!). I went to Paradise, UT for a plein air workshop with Josh Clare. It was the first time I've ever attended a workshop, and it was a blast. Paradise is all sorts of nestled-up-in-the-mountains gorgeous--sweeping purple-mountain views, larger than life clouds, and rustic, historic buildings every which way you turn (but if you're looking for a gas station, you're outta luck!).
Josh seems like a very down-to-earth, small town kind of guy with a darling little family. They live in a charmingly restored century-old brick home (I loved that the interior doors have windows above them so the light flows from one side of the house to the other). He paints in a small studio attached to the home (killer north-facing skylight, too!).
I've been admiring Josh's paintings for a while now online, and the very best part of the weekend was just watching him paint. He mixes colors with lightning speed and seems to be very intentional in the marks he puts up on his panel. It was refreshing to observe him work through problems as he went along. I have a tendency to become overly discouraged when I encounter a problem, and lack the confidence to know I can resolve it. I'm sure much of that confidence just comes with experience, but it was interesting to see how he approached and resolved those little issues that come up (especially when working in a time-sensitive, quickly changing environment).
Josh's mantra is value, value, value, value, value. He emphasizes having a strong tonal design, even if it means you have to manipulate what you are actually seeing to achieve it. As usual, simplification is key. "If I get the tonal design, I win. If I don't, I lose," he says. He quoted Andrew Loomis, who said something along the lines that having too many tonal contrasts in a painting is like walking into a messy room--immediately you want to either clean up or remove yourself from the situation. It just doesn't feel right.
And now for some pictures :)
Josh's demo from day one. There was a horse pasture just behind where we were standing, and one of those horses just couldn't resist my hair, ha! Also, it was freezing.
And my painting attempts from the afternoon. They're both about 4x6". I took some reference photos in case I want to elaborate later (sorry for the glare. I really need to check into circular polarizers for iPhones ;).
And my paintings from day two. After watching Josh paint that barn, I sort of forgot that I hate painting buildings and decided to paint a barn too, oops ;) The first one there is a 5-10-minute 4x6" sketch. I ended up liking it better than the one I spent two hours on (the bugs liked it too!). And there was just something lovely about that field of plowed manure (especially in the first sketch). The light was changing fast, and the the wet manure was drying and lightening as the sun came out and the afternoon warmed. I like the cooler, darker browns more.
Day 3: the skylight in Josh's studio. I want one (even though I do already have a north-facing window, which works pretty well too!).
And again, we painted in the afternoon. I did a quick little sketch of some nice greens. And I didn't get quite as far as I would have liked on the second one. Maybe I'll try to finish it later.
Josh seems like a very down-to-earth, small town kind of guy with a darling little family. They live in a charmingly restored century-old brick home (I loved that the interior doors have windows above them so the light flows from one side of the house to the other). He paints in a small studio attached to the home (killer north-facing skylight, too!).
I've been admiring Josh's paintings for a while now online, and the very best part of the weekend was just watching him paint. He mixes colors with lightning speed and seems to be very intentional in the marks he puts up on his panel. It was refreshing to observe him work through problems as he went along. I have a tendency to become overly discouraged when I encounter a problem, and lack the confidence to know I can resolve it. I'm sure much of that confidence just comes with experience, but it was interesting to see how he approached and resolved those little issues that come up (especially when working in a time-sensitive, quickly changing environment).
Josh's mantra is value, value, value, value, value. He emphasizes having a strong tonal design, even if it means you have to manipulate what you are actually seeing to achieve it. As usual, simplification is key. "If I get the tonal design, I win. If I don't, I lose," he says. He quoted Andrew Loomis, who said something along the lines that having too many tonal contrasts in a painting is like walking into a messy room--immediately you want to either clean up or remove yourself from the situation. It just doesn't feel right.
And now for some pictures :)
Josh's demo from day one. There was a horse pasture just behind where we were standing, and one of those horses just couldn't resist my hair, ha! Also, it was freezing.
And my painting attempts from the afternoon. They're both about 4x6". I took some reference photos in case I want to elaborate later (sorry for the glare. I really need to check into circular polarizers for iPhones ;).
Day 2:
This was a quick 5-minute sketch he did as a demo after finishing the barn.
And my paintings from day two. After watching Josh paint that barn, I sort of forgot that I hate painting buildings and decided to paint a barn too, oops ;) The first one there is a 5-10-minute 4x6" sketch. I ended up liking it better than the one I spent two hours on (the bugs liked it too!). And there was just something lovely about that field of plowed manure (especially in the first sketch). The light was changing fast, and the the wet manure was drying and lightening as the sun came out and the afternoon warmed. I like the cooler, darker browns more.
Day 3: the skylight in Josh's studio. I want one (even though I do already have a north-facing window, which works pretty well too!).
Josh's brushes are gloriously awful! Clearly his paintings are none the worse for it ;) And he uses his pinky to blend a lot, which is pretty fun to see (good thing he doesn't use lead white!). And yes, the clouds really are that big and billowy in Paradise!
He gave us a little preview of his Mormon Trail show that's coming up. It was breathtaking.
And again, we painted in the afternoon. I did a quick little sketch of some nice greens. And I didn't get quite as far as I would have liked on the second one. Maybe I'll try to finish it later.
And here we have the whole bunch of happy painters (so many cool people!). I'm in the red hoodie sweater (and don't ask me what I was doing with my hands (probably shivering? brrrr)).
Anyway, the whole experience was fun, informative, and got me all fired up to paint again. Off I go :)
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