Local Colours - Arts Council Event

On


Thursday and Friday I took part in an Arts Council Event called Local Colours. About a dozen artists were set up at different spots in the town centre - from 11- 4 on Thursday and from 9-5 on Friday. The Friday was in conjunction with Market Day - the main shopping street was closed off and stores and vendors had booths in it. There were also musicians and dancers and a carnival for the little kids. It was a very fun event. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm but with a breeze. My spot had trees so there was lots of shade. My spot was outside of Potters' Place, a pottery co-op store. The pictures show the views that I painted.

This is on a 20"x20" canvas. I started with a wash of indian red and raw sienna thinned with odourless solvent. I used my new Van Gogh H2O paints - zinc white, cobalt blue, Indian yellow, azo yellow med, and deep carmine. I also used some artisans - Cad yellow light hue, prussian blue, Indian red, and Raw sienna. The Van Goghs are very soft so it was nice to have the more bodied artisans as well. During the two days I went back and forth between paintings, the hot weather helping with drying time so that I could paint on top of painted areas the next day.

This painting is 16"x24" canvas. I used the same colours as in the other painting but forgot to mention the artisan raw umber in the darks. I completed these two paintings in the 5 hours one day and 8 hours the next, and had lots of visitors coming by to watch me paint.

Nice job Sofie.

I love the choice of colors and especially like the one with the bench.

I did a fair in town yesterday also, and started a sketch of the view over the river but that is as far as it got. Being a small town, people were constantly in my booth visiting, talking and more importantly buying, and the show was only from 9 to 2 so it was pretty short.

Judy

Thanks Judy! I like that one best too.

I'm glad you had a successful fair - buying customers are always appreciated.

The artists in Local Colours don't have booths or sell work - they are simply there to paint in public and promote awareness of the arts. It's a paid gig, so that's a bonus.

Paid is good. Actually, at least there's a guarantee of some money, unlike fairs that may or may not generate any significant sales and a fee to cover for being in the fair.

Judy

Sofie,

Love the detail in the trees, esp the trunks in the one picture they are so different from one another, the colors are also so very nice....wow long days.

I also like how you choose what should be in the picture and what to eliminate from it -- was it difficult with all the people walking around and trying to get the picture done, I would think that having people walking through your subjects which you are painting would be distracting?

Thank you for the details explaining the colours and all.

I am glad you got to be in the shade and the breeze was nice for you. Very nice work!

Thanks Dana!

i usually eliminate things that are nonessential to the composition - things that would make the painting too busy. Like with the tree and the bench, I brought the branches down lower to cover the window of one of the shops because the window would have been distracting to the composition.

Having people walking through my picture didn't bother me at all because I already had the composition all laid out. I would onky look at the scene for reference. I have got used to painting in front of people these last few years. If I'm all alone somewhere I still get shy about it but at an event it doesn't bother me.

Very nice paintings Sofie!

Sofie, I really love these pictures--your colors are always great! On the painting with 2 trees, the tree on the left has a place in the lower trunk where it appears to me to be thinner than the top of the trunk. It's still beautiful though.
Dayle

Sofie, Thank you, very helpful -- I will look back to see the limb of the tree how it covers the window. It is great to get your insights -- thank you for your response.