One of my goals for my vacation this past week* was to complete several finished art works. Which I’m happy to say I achieved**. I’m currently working to complete another but I thought I’d go deep on the process for this here blog. This is the first few steps in detail.

The process for this piece started with a hike at West Quoddy Head. Here I took a few pictures of the scenery. The image below struck me as having potential.

The path leading to the rest of the trail with the lighthouse behind me. The grouping of spruce and pines seemingly block the rail  but just there in the midst of them, the bend in the trail.

The sun is bright with clear skies. We’ll make the sky more interesting later.

The next step is to make thumbnails. I went through my various pictures and made thumbnail in roughly the same aspect ratio as the photos- 4:3, 9×12, 12×16 etc… These are kept small in my sketchbook and made with lines and pencil then brush marker in a somewhat Notan style.

These aren’t detailed. They are made to just capture the essence of a scene and help me figure out composition. The next step is a larger study. In this case I’d spent a lot of time thinking about the image. It can be done pretty boring.

In this case I realized that the space at the bottom of the page pushes the central part of the image up and into the very center of the image. This can be combated with value and color later in the image, but in this case it’s a fine line for the image. If I start out with everything centered on the page I have a lot more work to do later with color to pull the composition out of boringness.

Instead I make a line roughly an inch up from the bottom of the image, cutting off a lot of the open space and directionality of the trail. The plan is to extend the sky up for the rest of the image.

It is important to note here that this larger sketch or study is done in the same size ratio as the final piece will be. This sketch is 5×7 inches while the final work will be on 10×14 inch paper.

I then use a soft pencils*** to transfer my sketch to the watercolor paper. I’m using an OLD Cheap Joe’s 100% cotton 10×14 block with about 3/4 of an inch taped off on each side.

The next step is to start layering on watercolors. I start with a VERY pale wash to block in the sky, water, and trail.

These are the lightest areas and darker colors will be built up. I come back in and add in another layer with additional colors.

I want to add in the next layer of darks and the clusters of trees. You will note that I’m not being too controlled by the initial photo, rather I’m letting the image guide me, as I build up the layers of this image. At this point I’m adding in my darkest darks in the trees- a blend of Hooker’s Green and Indigo a hint of sepia and red oxide.

The trees have come to life. Here they are still partially damp, so I’ll come back with a another layer of darks to really deepen the dark areas and show how dark these trees are in person. I also want to keep them looking dark green not black. That’s something the photo doesn’t capture- that the darkest darks here are actually still very green with a hint of deep blue.

The next step is that final layer of watercolors. then I’ll start layering on chalk pastels. I also see in these image where I want to change things- the ocean and grass on the left side of the image aren’t quite where I want them. I need to increate the volume of the grasses and bring up the angle of the row of grass, which will hide more of the ocean view.

The pastels usually go on in 2 or 3 layers.

Continue reading →

The thing that I really love about en plein air or urban sketching is how it captures the feel of a place and of a moment. It’s immediate. It’s about sensation not just the view.

I posted a few sketches I did while I was out for a bike ride. It was my longest ride since my knee injury and I ended the ride with a quick loop around Winter Island and then out to Juniper Point.  There’s a spot on the way into Juniper Point where the community has placed a series of benches to look over the water, back toward Winter Island and Marblehead. It’s a nice view.

I did a couple of sketches of the backside of the boat sales and repair place. A place that on the street side has a tall privacy fence. The backside is a view of quanset huts and a variety of sheds. 

These sketches were intended to use as the basis of a final piece. (this has been a goal for this week- to take a sketch and use it to create a final mixed media piece.)  I liked the layout but wanted more sky. I turned my watercolor sheet to portrait instead of landscape and kept most of the image toward the bottom of the page.

I used these two sketches to keep the light and shadows where they belong.

I think I did a good job on this one and really like how the blues and purples and browns make the dark darks while the sunlight is warm. The sky could have been more dramatic, but ah well, it was a simple bright sunny day.

Apparently when I was in Artist & Craftsman Supply a single Pentel Pocket Brush Pen (PPBP) in sepia fell into my basket.

Okay it didn’t fall, I put it into my grubby little hands.

You may or may not know that these are one of my favorite sketching tools. The extra fine lines to fat wet lines are just perfect for all sorts of sketching. The PPBP is a superior drawing tool, particularly if you like noodley fun line work.

I already have a few, maybe 3 of them at home. Only one is filled with black ink.

Sigh.

I forgot that I had bought it when I wrote my previous post.

That said it’s spectacular. The new brush tip is super fine and springy and really quite delightful. The sepia ink is almost black but has a warm undertone that is fantastic, with a bit of water it’s got that sepia color that I love.

Hot damn this is a nice color and of course the PPBP does not disappoint.

​The ink is waterproof once dry. Awesome. It just gets better.

Anyway, this is my confession.

When I first started out on YouTube there were a lot of folx who posted nasty comments. I’ve written about the comments about my weight, hair, teeth, and clothing that were unkind before so I won’t go into them here. One of the things that I haven’t written about before is the technique comments.

Sometimes, these comments initially come across as helpful, but when you read them more closely, they are backhanded, or rudely written know-it-all garbage.

In art there are few absolute right ways of doing things. there are things that are safer- keep your hands out of the line of your cuts when you are carving wood as an example. Or rules that help to keep your paintings looking good for longer- use lightfast and archival materials. Or paint fat over lean so your oil paintings don’t crack. Or paint oils over acrylics but not the opposite, because the acrylic won’t stick to the oils.

And so on.

Recently YouTube started to feed me videos by this creator. She’s got good vibes, but whoa her comment section is a minefield of wallet wagging you-have-to-do-this kinda comments. Watercolors are like that. They attract people who are precise meticulous kinds of artists.

When I started to post my “automatic” drawings that combined ink drawings with watercolors- done loose and flowy every video told me I was using watercolors wrong.

Too much water!

Too little water!

What a waste of paint!

Use better paper!

Are those student grade?

That’s NOT what an automatic drawing is.

All comments from accounts with no videos. A bit of searching revealed that some of the folx posting these comments hadn’t picked up a brush in years and years. Their whole purpose was to tear people down. Trolls.

​That sucks.

Anyway, now that I’m older I’m not getting the same kind of hate that I used to on YouTube and generally online. I’ve learned to be liberal with that hide and block button. I report nasty comments for review on YouTube even if it’s not on my channel.

I suspect that years and years of blocking, muting, hiding, and reporting has left me with fewer trolls who troll art pages than the average person.

I posted my first video on YouTube in 2009, but joined in 2006 (I think) and that’s given me a lot of blocks, hides and reports.

All that said, I think it sucks that these people are still out there with their hate.

I love to sketch on site, I don’t think there is anything quite as nice as plein air painting. I find it relaxing and rewarding. that said, this winter I learned that a quick photo shoot can save my finger tips from painful cold.

My philosophy of vibes over realism allows me to work from photos and alter the view to capture a vibe or the feeling of the place. I also don’t mind working from photos. There is plenty of debate online about working from photos, and I basically ignore the naysayers and let myself like what I like.

anyway, I did a few small drawings while I was at West Quoddy Head. My phone kept screaming at me that I was in Canada and that I would not have an accurate map reading. Fun. I’ll post the drawings later.

​What I did do was take a lot of interesting photos. Some may end up as art some may not. West Quoddy Head is a gorgeous, short, and easy hike. I should have taken a few photos of the actual lighthouse but IMO that is the least interesting thing in the area. The great thing about this spot in particular is that you can look out to sea. A clear day really captures just how vast the ocean is, especially when a large lobster boat moves past you.

Some pics:

This was published on my Ko-Fi a month ago. to get the most current posts follow me on Ko-Fi.

My wife and I are currently on vacation in Maine. We’re visiting my family and it’s cold. It feels like fall has set in already and on the highway here I saw trees already starting to change color just outside of Bangor! According to my family the summer has been brutally dry and hot, unusually so and the blueberry harvest was abysmal, the worst in a very long time. We had hoped to go mushrooming but it’s been so dry the chantarelles are not showing at all.

We also missed the Blueberry Festival which is a shame since it is generally a good time and we eat lots of good food and buy a few crafts.
Next year.

This area of Maine is currently cold. I woke to temps in the 50s and predicted day time temps barely reaching the 70s! I’ve got on jeans for the first time since June!

Despite the cold we have plans to visit a few choice places- West Quoddy Head, Jasper’s Beach, and Roque Bluffs. Unfortunately Cobscook Bay State Park is closed for renovations. If you are an out of state visitor to any of these parks the fees for day use is low and very affordable. Adult fee is between $4 and $10 per adult and is generally done through a self administered drop box and cash only. Maine should really consider getting a Venmo or other app to charge for these spots. (Jasper’s Beach isn’t a park per se, but more of a local scenic spot- the beach is full of polished stones and is gorgeous. Not great for swimming but great for looking.)  There are signs at every location telling you about fees. Be prepared with cash at every spot.

Interesting to note that in Mass every campground is $17 per spot for residents for non-residents the fees are substantially higher. In Maine the camping spots are more expensive and vary widely from location to location. Fees aren’t that much more expensive for non-residents.

I plan on doing some drawing at each spot while my wife chills out.

Our trip here was uneventful except we made an unusual stop in Portland- to go to Artist and Craftsman Supply. When I was in college this was a road trip for us. We’d all pile into someone’s car and drive down to Portland with our class supply list and pick up our art supplies at a much better price than the local art supply store. Since their location in Saugus (just a few miles from me at home in Mass) has gone out of business I have been searching for my favorite watercolors in person. Sadly, this location does NOT carry Holbein watercolors. Instead they had quite a few other brands so I picked up my color selection from a mix of more expensive (Daniel Smith) and less expensive (Qor) brands. They did not have several colors in stock so I’ll be forced to order those tubes online, though, I’m tempted to make a road trip to Providence, RI and see if Jerry’s has any in stock. I realize that I could make a trip into Boston and go to Blick but for whatever reason Blick is always my last choice for art supplies.

I spent far to much but actually stuck to my rule for buying art supplies- I may only purchase supplies that I have run out of, I may not buy new supplies.

Imposter syndrome is real and this past week I really struggled with it. I signed myself up for some professional development at Zea Mays Print Making in western Mass. The workshop was call something like Woodcut Masters Workshop. I had a moment of like, “Damn right, I’m a master at this.” then as the day to leave approached I was hit with waves of like, “No I’m not.”

When I arrived I was hit with, “Yeah, nope.” Then, “Well, maaaaybe?”

In the end working with the instructor and the other women I was able to break through that wall of feeling like an imposter and latch onto the idea that I actually really love wood cut. I have some great techniques to share that will work with a “real” press or with a craft press or other way of printing but also by hand. Very interesting stuff for sure.

One of my goals for this workshop was to tighten up my woodcut skills, learn more about nontoxic clean up, experiment with transparent colors and layers, and bring back some of these ideas for working with kids.

I left with some beautiful prints, loads of ideas, and a community of printmaking women.

I had hopes of doing more documentation of my week but holy hell, I always forget how deeply physical wood cut and printmaking is in general. I left the studio bone tired* and by the time I returned to my campsite each night I took a swim and then fell into my tent and passed out.**

I’m still processing everything and I suspect that I’ll be thinking deeply about everything for weeks if not months.

*night one and 2 were made difficult to sleep due to a family in the camping spot next to me practicing “cry it out” with their under 1 year old. It was not pleasant for anyone, I’m sure not for the child either.

**I was doubly stressed out because our “new” car was having issues and on the morning of day 3 in Western Mass I decided to just call AAA and have them check the battery. If it wasn’t the battery I needed to know and have them tow it to the dealer, if it was the battery I was going to have them replace it then and there. It WAS the battery and though I was almost $300 poorer I was ricker in relaxation and safety. I am going to have it out with the dealership on Monday. That is a post for somewhere else. When this is all over I’m reviving my Yelp account to leave a review of this place. I have a lot to say.

Since I started including chalk pastels and colored pencils into my mixed media journey I have been in the market for a fixative. In my sketchbook I used some very inexpensive hairspray. For me this hearkens back to high school and the use of AquaNet to fix my drawings. We ONLY used fancy fixative outside and rarely. Likely due to cost.

Anyway, I picked up a small travel sized can of hairspray, but I used most of it up in just a few drawings. Hairspray will yellow over time but it is very effective and gentle on my wallet.

When that can was almost out I headed to my only remaining art supply store that is close- Michael’s. Here I searched for the fixative. Their website said they had 6 cans of it in stock. It wasn’t shelved where it should have been. It ended up being on the wrong side of the aisle. Anyway, Krylon Workable Fixative is about $17 a can at Michael’s but I got mine with a coupon and a reward voucher. So my can was about $6 with tax and everything. Nifty.

The can is standard spray paint can sized and not travel friendly> I attempted the old school graffiti refill a deoderant can trick, but i could not get the fixative into the hairspray can. Annoying but I also realized that I don’t want to be out in nature and smell nasty toxic fixative.

I finally purchased some SpectraFix. It’s been on my radar as a nontoxic (or less toxic depending on how you mix it) and nonaerosol fixative. there are several versions of this> I purchased their continuous spray bottle and a small bottle of concentrate.

The 2 ounce bottle of concentrate mixed with one 16 ounce bottle of alcohol. What sort of alcohol? They suggest something like Everclear or other grain alcohol. This is the most nontoxic* it gets. You can use any alcohol. I chose to use 70% ethyl alcohol from CVS. FWIW Ethyl Alcohol at CVS is essentially 140 proof grain alcohol with a bitterant added to it. Also non toxic but has a higher amount of water compared to Everclear.

Ethyl alcohol seems to be hard to find here in Massachusetts. It is impossible to find it at a higher than 70% content. I suspect this is due to our blue laws. Also Everclear is illegal in many states. I can’t even buy ethyl alcohol stove fuel in my state. That’s a whole other post.

Anyway, I used ethyl but if you can’t find it easily you can use isopropyl but it won’t be nontoxic, just mildly toxic.

Anyway. It’s not at all cheap. But more on that later.

I spent about $20 on the continuous spray bottle and another $12 on the concentrate. I think the ethyl alcohol at CVS was around $4. There is a spray bottle that they offer but it is generally regarded as a steaming pile of hot garbage.

I mixed my concentrate directly into my ethyl alcohol bottle after decanting enough to make room. I did notice that there was a little bit of particles in my concentrate. In the future I will strain mine with a fine mesh.

After it is mixed with the alcohol it’s good to use. I put mine into a small mist sprayer I swiped out of a travel kit. The sprayer was for facial toner.

In use, I have better results or less of a learning curve with the small toner sprayer than I have with the continuous mist sprayer. I think in part I know how to use the little mini sprayer a lot better. This makes it easier. It puts out a super fine mist and I press the sprayer and it’s one the paper. With the continuous mist sprayer I have to hold the bottle at least 18 inches from the paper and keep it moving. I have repeatedly put on too much from the continuous sprayer.

Eventually the continuous sprayer will feel like a usual thing to me but for now I struggle to get an even coat and the right amount. I also feel that I tend to over use and over spray with it, I’m wasting product because I don’t know how to use it yet.

I think the continuous sprayer will feel better with larger pastel pieces or other larger works.

How does it work? With one coat you get a workable coating you can still with effort remove some of the pastels or graphite. While it won’t smudge as much some will blend with another layer. With a second layer this is further reduced. With 3 layers it doesn’t move.

It does darken the pastels quite a bit. I have noticed that with pastels from cheaper brands the whites tend to disappear. This is an interesting phenomenon where the chalk filler melts into the fixative. With whites that are a higher quality, the white returns at a similar tonal value to what it was.

I have some white chalk pastels I used to add in highlights, and the color disappeared! The white was gone. The cheaper the pastel the more likely it is to disappear with fixative.

After 2 coats you can add in more layers of media and then add another coat or two of fixative.

Anyway, heavy layers of fixative cause the pastels and other media to run and bloom a lot like watercolors. Heavy layers can take a long time to dry. It’s key to do thin even layers and add more once it dries.

I have grown to really like the SpectraFix Fixative- both the concentrate and the continuous spray bottle. They work and work well, once you get the  hang of how to use and apply them. Three even coats keeps a matte finish and keeps everything from moving around, even in my sketchbooks. It claims to be good for a whole bunch of materials, I have not tested this yet but will.

There is a DIY option to create the concentrate and when it is time for me to make it I’ll definitely report back on how well it works or doesn’t work.

I found the best price through Jerry’s Art-a-rama. It is not sold by Amazon but on Amazon through Jerry’s and Blick. You are better off cutting off amazon and going directly to their sites since you will pay for shipping even if you have prime. You will also have shipping options which you won’t have at Amazon.

*If you have been foolish enough to do a shot of Everclear it feels like it will kill you or you will wish you were dead. The burn lasts seemingly forever. I don’t know how we got our hands on Everclear when I was in college- it’s always been illegal to sell in Maine.