A couple of "cool" ones ;)

Ok, it's been a while, so here are a couple of recent paintings, both done "en plein air". We are lucky this year, there isn't that much snow so it's pretty easy to get around. The temperatures are also staying quite mild, just below freezing. Perfect painting weather! (for crazy people like me, that is ).

The first is called "Feu de joie" which is the French expression for bonfire, or a fire just for the fun of it. The sky was stunning and really lit this pine up from behind. It wasn't easy staring into the sun, but there was a fine haze as it neared the horizon which allowed me to capture it without going completely blind! I haven't done a lot of sunsets en plein air for obvious reasons... the colours change so fast it's hard to capture. But conditions were right this time so I tried... one issue I am having is that my water-soluble (Artisan) white contains lead and is getting much too thick. You can see it in this painting. This scene is in the back of my property by the way, so it's not the first time I paint this pine. Still, it looks completely different each time. This may be one that I'd like to use as a study for a larger piece.

9 x 12 on stretched canvas, done in about 1 hr




This next one was done last Saturday. I stood on the ice over our little brook to paint the scene before me. Here is the picture of me (see Janet, I do look like the Michelin man!):



I decided to use some traditional oil white rather than my ws soluble white this time, so technically, this is not entirely done with ws. The other colours were all ws though. The reason for the switch: my ws white gets much too thick in cold weather. I think it may be just because of the lead in it, but for now, I am mixing other colours in my oil white. Once I use up my Titanium white, I may try to find a white that does not contain lead. Not crazy about lead in my paint anyway. I also discovered that my Cerulean blue also has lead in it after I mixed it with white and it thickened up again. So I went for the Cobalt blue in this painting and it seemed to work just fine, in fact, it was the right colour for those snow shadows in my opinion.

This is an 11 x 14 on mdf panel, done in about 1,5 hours outside, maybe another 30 minutes indoors to define those branches on the ground a little more. There is some glare on the upper left hand corner, pay no attention to it.

I don't know how you can paint bundled up like that. The only time I tried painting outside when it was just around freezing (2 weeks ago), I had to take my coat and gloves off to get anything done.
I like the texture in the first one, and the way you handled the scrubby stuff around the pine trees. Beautiful winter afternoon light in this.
The shadows and sunlit snow in the second one work very well to show the path of the creek. Well done!

Thanks Callie! Wow, pom poms, I never got those for a painting

At first it's a bit awkward to paint with gloves and mittens on, granted, but you adjust. I have taken to holding my brushes far away from my body and not holding them like a pen - it supposedly helps you to think more abstractly, tap into the creative side of your brain rather than the analytical side. I wear thin, stretchy gloves and glove-mitts over those (gloves without the fingers, but with a mitten flap that comes over the fingers if you get cold). The hardest part is squeezing the paint out of the tubes without getting it all over your mittens! I try to squeeze a bit out before I go out, at least some of the colours I know I will use.

I think both painting are great. You can really see the difference in how the white went on but it looks like you intentionally made moretexture in the sunset one. Don't apologize for using the regular oil white. There are no rules in this forum saying you can't.

As far as getting the paint out of the tube, I just bought some tube keys to help get paint more easily out of the tube. There were some expensive ones, but then there were the ones I bought which were $4.50 for 25 of them and they work fine.

Here's a picture of them.


Just thought this might save your mittens.

Judy

Thanks Judy! Never seen these before, I will be looking for them at my local art supplier tomorrow!

And yes, the white is obviously quite thick in the first one, but rather than fight it, I went with it and tried to play with it. Had lots of fun!

these particular ones are made by Masterson and I did get them at the art supply store.
Judy

OK. Smart idea and I will definately pick some up

Hope you both find them. You can probably find them in an art supply catalog, but they are so inexpensive, shipping would probably be more than they cost.

Judy

You did a great job of capturing the beautiful colors in the sky on the first one. Both paintings have wonderful color and brushwork.

I do see a certain likeness.

Yup, that's me alright

You never cease to amaze me with your out in the snow painting. Great colours and texture - you've got a good feel for your subject.

Thanks Sofie... yes, well I should have a good feel for my subject, I'm stuck in it 8 months of the year! As a plein air painter, I'd be pretty limited if I didn't paint in the snow.

8 months of the year!!! I know why I live on the west coast

And the other months we fight the mosquitos and black flies. but with the scenery in new Brunswick, it is worth it. Beautiful spot to live.

Well, 8 months might be exaggering a bit... more like 6 months of snow, but we CAN get it in those other months and frankly, I can only count on July and August to provide summer-like weather (and even then, there's no guarantee). Spring is a long, drawn-out, messay process which can seem to go on forever, dragging from March to June. Notwithstanding all that, I've travelled all over the world and can think of no place else I'd rather live. We are lucky to still have lots of wide-open spaces, no significant traffic jams, and a very low cost of living. The pace here is very laid back, people are friendly and stress levels are quite low.

Hey Chantal,

we should work for tourism New Brunswick

LOl, ya think? Mosquitoes and snow... I dunno... guess you have to live here to understand.

One day I'll have to visit in the summer . . .

Even though the weather is so much milder here on the west coast, you can't plein air paint all year round because of the rain. Snow scenes are much prettier than rain scenes too.

Have you considered taking along some improvised, heated shelter? See my post under " Topics for Discussion." They are just ideas, think about it. In your part of the world they must be using snowmobiles for rec, even for shores, in winter. You can easily use one to tow a sleig or tobbogan loaded with all you need or even use a horse to pull one, or one of your tractors . Hate to think of you freezing out there. Where there is a will there is a way.

Are you sure about the lead in your Artisan Titanum White. I just looked at mine and it says it contains a zinc derivitive but nothing about lead. Perhaps W/N has different formulas for different countries but I would think Canada had the same environmental restrictions on lead as the U.S.

My WN Artisan Titanium white also has a warning that it contains lead and I purchased it in the United States (near the Canadian Border)

Judy

This is very interesting. I would bet anything that it is illegal to either sell or use any kind of paint, containing lead in the U.S. And it should be in Canada too. It is possible someone got a a missdirected or missboxed batch. They might not even realize they got it. Why would they check?

I get mine at Hobby Lobby in Johnson County, Kansas. The tube I am looking at now is Series 1 Titanium White 644, Artisan brand W/M oil, mfg W/N, London, England. I can only read the English on it and it makes no mention of lead, only Zinc. I googled the question and came up negative. All entires I read mentioned only Zinc. The only white that contained lead was an odd white in traditional oils and I bet anything it would be illegal to sell or use it in the U.S.

I guess it is only important if the lead worries you or if you are a real serious environmentalist. I don't think it is dangerous as long as you keep it off your body and don't ingest it accidentilly. Some of us grew up breathing healthy doses of leaded gasoline every time we started the car. While in the Navy I worked six weeks in the battery locker. The acid in the air ate the shoes off my feet and two sets of dungerees. But I'm still alive. I wouldn't worry about it but I might ask the source about it.

Mine is the same as yours except about the warning about the lead. I have had it for probably four or more years, so that might be the reason.

I usually apply Gloves in a Bottle lotion before painting. It helps to keep the pant from being absorbed into the skin.

Judy

Judy, Four years old must be the answer. Will have two new W/S's on my site by tomorrow evening and two more in a couple of weeks, one of them a Bob Ross style ( I'm just putting them up so the curious can take a look, I don't claim they are great art but I hope they will be at least pleasant.)

I'd love to see them. It was Bob Ross that got me into painting with oils initially, and I still like to use some of his techniques. I noticed in the other forum that you were kind of put down when you asked about Bob Ross. I don't respond there any more because of persistent negative feedback from moderators.

Could you post them in this forum in Completed Paintings? We would all love to see them.

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