Cacupe,watercolour; larger size

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Cacupe, early afternoon,watercolour, A2

Cacupe, early afternoon,watercolour, A2

Cacupe, early afternoon,watercolour, A2

I bought A2 paper, and this is the first in my efforts to paint on this size. 

The increased gestural freedom is wonderful.

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A drive further south 2: Gravatai; scale; priming

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Gravatai

 

Gravatai is a satellite town serving Porto Alegre, and not especially charming. It's untidy  and seems almost  completely over-run by the needs of cars. I sensed that it was quite polluted. There are few buildings of architectural interest, and it would be hard to find anything distinctive about it.

There was a cyclone here which shut down electricty and water in the neighborhood where I was staying for several days.

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, from a roof terrace, oil on card, 28 x 25.7 cm unavailable

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Gravatai, view up a little street, oil on card, 23.5 x 29 cm unavailable

 

 

Gravatai, view up a little street -  detail

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Where I stayed are runs of smallish suburban houses- in Brazil these are rather individualistic. Their excentric shapes make them difficult to paint.

 

Gravatai, a house, oil on card,34.5 x  27.5 cm-  -unavailable

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, a house- detail

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A bit bigger

 

  I think I'm now at the largest size (34 x 27 cm) that is comfortable for a number of reasons- the length of time I like to work in a session (up to two hours) - the issue of carrying wet paintings. 

With the former, I am limited by both my energy and the likelihood that the scene changes. 

With the latter, the issue is that the boards are not stiff enough not to bend a little and touch the sides of whatever they are being carried inside.

 

 

Acrylic priming

 

The texture of the acrylic primed surface was very dry, which makes it hard to manipulate the paint.

So, I will add another oil based priming to move the brush with speed leaving paint on the surface.

These experiments take a few months to be realised because of the time it takes for primers to dray and the time needed for the oil painted surfaces to dry.

 

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A bigger picture, a bigger palette

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Carrier and two supports

 

A bigger palette

B i g g e r !

I'm moving up again. I've primed these two cards with acrylic gesso. They are 34 x 32 cm: I hope to use these on my upcoming trip. Usually I paint my carriers, and perhaps I'll do that when I get back.

 

I've been gradually moving up for a couple of years: a bigger size allows more brush stroke variety and a fuller engagement with colour. it's nice to feel able to move around, to breathe.

 

 There are storage issues with unsold paintings, however, and of course transporting big pictures is much harder.

I'm using a bigger palette too.

 

A common mistake among beginners is to use those traditional wooden kidney shaped palettes: these are elegant but they don't allow much space to spread the paints out and mix colours. Additionally there is the constant problem of one colour polluting the rest. And, they are surprisingly heavy.

 

 Instead, I use these pieces of old cards from grocery boxes which I clip to a larger piece of cardboard. The printed sides  don't absorb too much oil- though I can use the unprinted reverses if I want a less liquid paint. I can unclip a card and put a fresh one down if I need a clean area for mixing fresh colour. I can close the larger cardboard and transport it without making a mess- something that is difficult to do with the wooden palettes.

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Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July

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Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July, oil on card, 30 x 28 cm  available

 

Lagoinha do Norte, morning, July - detail

 

 

 

 

 

The paintings are growing steadily larger and this means that colour effects- whether harmonious or otherwise- become more obvious. It makes me think my colour is very brash. But perhaps I am simply over-sensitive? At what point does bright become brash?

I love the freedom of movement that a larger format gives, especially with scumbling and other brush marks.

 

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 This camera, a Lumix DMC-1X7 is not good at registering certain contrasting colours. There's a peach colour in the picture that is not effectively shown here.

 

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Praia Moçambique; Manganese blue and Viridian; advantages of larger scale

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Praia Moçambique, paths, oil on card, 29.7 x 27.5 cm - available

 

Praia Moçambique, paths- detail

Today I started using a tube of Manganese blue, a warm blue, i.e., slightly greenish. I see this colour has been discontinued for heath reasons and is now Manganese Blue hue. I also used Viridian, a dark, bluish green. Both are quite lovely, and slightly outside my comfort zone.

They are easier to mix than I had imagined, not bullying the other colours or staining the palette as, say, Phthalo Blue so notoriously does.

I have about another ten new colours to try, all from Winsor and Newton's artists range and I shall work through these over the next few weeks,

A big advantage of working on a larger scale is that one can experiment more with colour, including by cross-harching or scumbling for a vibrant effect, and one can vary the textures used more too. I shall grow larger in the next six months or so.

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Praia Moçambique, looking inland, mid-afternoon

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Praia Moçambique, looking inland, mid-afternoon, oil on card, 27.5 x 30 cm - available

 

Photo

 

The camera- a Lumix DMX  - has certain baises, and dislikes certain colour contrasts especially where pinks meet greens. I messed about for ages in the editor and never hit the nailhead. Well, I think it is more or less right.

Painting 

 

I loved painting here. The sun was not too tyrannous, and I could perch myself on a little knoll above the sands.

I finished before the late afternoon light comes raking in sideways- quite glorious to see- and I shall return today to see if I can capture this. I usually avoid going the the same place on successive days (does that  make me sound rather like a serial killer?) as I benefit from  having a fresh impression but I shall, exceptionately, break this rule.

I have been working on a larger scale and this allows more spacious painting, with looser brushwork-  most enjoyable.

 

Black  

 

I have also re-introduced black to my palette. 

Thanks, in part to the Impressionists many painters plein air painters avoid black as the Impressionists  had argued that black doesn't exist in "nature" and they held fidelity to nature as a high value (as if painting itself exists in "nature"). 

But, I'd avoided putting out blacks for a long time not because of reverence to the Impressionists but becauses they so readily pollute other colours on the palette, and all the mixtures can become greyed out.

 I am trying to use it discreetly. 

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Houses near a canal, Lagoa

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Houses near a canal, Lagoa, oil on card, 26 x 28 cm - available

Here attempting to take advantage more fully of the greater freedom with brush movements and marks that a larger scale permits.





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Praia Moçambique, forest panorama

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Praia Moçambique, forest panorama

 oil on card, two panels 23 x 30 x 25 x 30 cm  NOT AVAILABLE

This is the piece in the double format with two joined card pieces

I lose finesse, but gain freedom of movement. It is certainly worth working like this from time to time.

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Pochade carrier with double pochade

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Carrier with double pochade

Two pieces of card support are lightly joined at the back to double. This doubles the surface area. These are clipped into place in a carrier so they can be painted. After the work is finished the two pieces will be separated and each carried home each in its own carrier so they don`t get damaged. They will be joined again later when dry.

If this experiment works I am on to creating much larger pictures when travelling. This will allow for more dramatic effects, variations in scale, tonality and gesture that at the moment are hard to achieve.

The main question is how well the carrier will sit on the paint box and easel set-up. But for every problem there is a solution, surely.

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Beiramar

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Beiramar, 6 May, 2019, oil on card, 27 x 24.5 cm  SOLD

A return to Beiramar after a few years to working here.  This time the scale is larger and the work can be more gestural.

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A view from a grove, Santo Antonio; little pictures

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A view from a grove, Santo Antonio
 oil on card, 17.3 x 14.7 cm  SOLD

On a smaller scale again- the intimacy of a smaller scale is  confessional, like whispering.

My satisfaction with this little picture is such that I feel minded to return to a smaller scale and work with that closeness again for a while. 

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Trees at Muquen

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Trees at Muquen, oil on card, 25 x 29.7 cm - availalbe

The first successful picture painted in Brazil this year. 

I moved up a little in scale as I want to be confident working larger when I go to the UK in August.

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My fourth Peruvian trip: Conclusions; Santa Catarina Road Trip/ Rio

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 Cabanaconde, mountain in sun (detail), oil on card, 24 x 21 cm

Six weeks in Peru

Peru is about as good as anywhere I know for a painter to wander around in. It`s fairly safe (at least in smaller towns away from the coast), the weather is clement, the people are pleasant and mostly respectful, it`s cheap and its very varied in terms of landscapes and historical sites. There are few cars in the rural places and you rarely feel that you are in a a big machine as is so often the sensation in developed countries. That is, in the west every place you go has a Visitor Centre selling tat, giving you directions and has signs all over sign saying things like Path may be slippery in the rain. Please use handrail, sufficient indeed to make you feel a piece of processed tuna at the the end of the visit (no thanks National Trust).

This trip was the longest I've done. Six weeks is a short university term, and enough time to exhaust some ideas and develop others. It`s enough time to develop a certain self-sufficiency too.

The main thing is I`m happy to be working on a larger scale now- however tricky that is for traveling around. It`s difficult to store pictures as they never quite dry completely. However, on a larger scale there is much more enjoyment in the physical manipulation of the brush.  And the final piece just has greater presence.

 So to this end I`m preparing larger supports and have built new carriers. These will be ready in about two weeks time. 

The next foreign trip in to the UK in August. Most likely it will be very different in tone as I`ll be meeting considerably more people, and having more conversations. As a confirmed misanthrope this isn't necessarily something to celebrate.

Santa Catarina Road Trip or Rio?

It`s necessary between now and then to plan something to break up my time here- most likely a drive in Santa Catarina, perhaps up to Videira, then to Xanxere  then to Passo Fundo in Rio Grande de Sul, a to cover corners of the state and of Rio Grande de Sul that are unfamiliar to me. That could be done over six days...or maybe it would be more fun to revisit Rio?

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Aguas Mornas: a landscape with trees and fields

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Aguas Mornas: a landscape with trees and fields, oil on card, 20 x 24 cm

This is the size I intend often to work in in Peru in January next year.

 It's not so large that you lose intimacy, or have to increase your working speed.

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Painting near Ingleses

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Landscape with distant houses, Ingleses, 11 x 13.5 cm, oil on card  - available

Sunny houses at a corner, Ingleses, oil on card, 10.5 x 13 cm  - available

Houses at a bend, Ingleses, oil on card, 12 x 14.7 cm  SOLD

View near Ingleses, oil on card 12.5 x 10.5 cm

These were painted from the old road just to the south of SC-403.

They`re all small. With this format and style, which involves very few layers of paint, the paintings are rapidly finished. It`s like  shooting a musket.  a match. You get  just one chance to hit your target.

Winter is beautiful for painting here. You get side light and spacial depth is enhanced.

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Valparaiso; Gran Bretaña; Painting in Valparaiso- conclusions

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Valparaiso, shops, Gran Bretaña, oil on card, 16 x 15 cm unavailable

Valparaiso,  Plaza Waddington, dog, man, oil on card, 17 x 16.5 cm unavailable

Valparaiso, garage, Gran Bretaña, oil on card, 17 x 17.7 cm- available

This picture has some brown spots

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Conclusions

I'd expected the trip to be good: I'd been to Valparaiso before and I knew that it would be a fine painting city. It was: it's safe, has variety of levels, nature, great architecture, few cars, sea and the people there leave you in peace. It's also quite cheap.

 The weather was perfect and I stayed in a great location.

Of the pictures, I would say that the pictures are almost all good, with two very good ones. I managed to push the method of Cloisonné (using thick dark lines to delineate forms and then filling them in, much as in Rouault's pictures) forward. It gives a rough effect which suits Valparaiso.

 Mostly, I managed to keep the colours and strokes fresh, and didn't meddle. I seemed to be able to act confidently with the brush. A sense of authority matters a great deal. One must accept that one cannot achieve all objectives. I have a lamentable tendency to say to myself when working "oh but why don't I paint that thing instead" ,or, "perhaps I should work on a larger scale",  for example. But to achieve one objective it is necessary to sacrifice others. In the aesthetic sphere, imaginative souls will always find themselves partly unsatisfied with the option they choose. 

One of the most common false criticisms is when viewers make category errors, in my case, "it is a pity it is small", which is like responding to a Chopin mazurka with "Why doesn't it go on for longer?". The mazurka's musical virtues and its concision are not seperable properties, any more than the small size of my picture is irrelevant to what I am expressing. 

I digress. Emboldened, I look forward to  Peru, in June.

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Annual Review: 2015: Flickr, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter

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Above Rio Vermelho, oil on card, 12 x 15 cm

I traveled well and happily, visiting Paris, London and Scotland on one trip, and New York on the another. I very much enjoyed my time in Glasgow, a beguiling place.

New York was also a success, I was blessed with near perfect weather and I painted steadily and pleasurably. Glasgow and New York seem to me to share an up-front directness, that translates well into painting. I intend to re-visit each. It is something to do with the nineteenth century and a certain boldness. I like the people in both cities. They are straightforward and take one as they find one. In both, the architecture is often grand, even self-important. 

Parade of shops seen from Flushing and Thompkins, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

 oil oncard, 16 x 18 cm    SOLD

Otherwise, I continued to explore Santa Catarina, specifically the parts close to the island, largely trying to capture much larger expanses than I had previously, usually from a height. I increased the size of the pochades to do this. 

Antonio Carlos, landscape, oil on card, 16 x 18 cm

I used the following sites to show work:

Flickr

Now I have 880 Followers, up from last year's 838, a modest increase.

Blogger

The number of followers went down from  83 to 82. I had expected an increase, But It could be that people follow without becoming a  registered follower.

Facebook

This remains a good place to make contact and show work: add me there if you wish.

Twitter

There are now 314 followers on Twitter from 42 in 2012.  This is because I made a specific effort to "follow" other members and hey rewarded me in return. But it is difficult to believe that this means anything much, as I have little sense of an increased engagement with my work from these followers.

Saachi

I sold nothing through this site this year. 

Plans, thoughts.

Travel, having become tiring appeals to me less and less. But, of course one has to do something. Spending all year on the island would be extremely dull. There is little season variation and, as each year passes, less and less novelty. I have an idea about going to Peru, but feel daunted by the prospect. The guidebooks enjoy emphasizing the risk of crime. Valparaiso again might be better, Chile being that bit more advanced and given that I already know the city, at least a little. 

I want to spend more time in the mountains here in the year to come than I did in the last.

 Painting remains a good, perhaps even  the best, instrument for exploring one's visual and subjective experience of the world, and a justification for travel. The logistics of this are the matter. Lugging the painting things around is a bore, but it does give one a certain Boys Own Paper sense of ones own heroism at the same time. .."vanity has played a part is every heroes downfall". 

 Paris, oil on card, 16 x 18.5 cm

Thanks

Many thanks to those who put me up and helped me in London - Lise, Felix, John, Alison and Fred; kind Frédéric in Paris and my parents for helping with exhibitions and J. Heald for his company in New York.

Forest, Canasvieiras, oil on card, 18 x 22 cm

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