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Monday, May 26, 2008

Painting Larger Outdoors

As most of my painting friends know, I usually paint small pieces outdoors. My favorite size is 5x7. Lately, though, I felt like tackling a larger piece. In the studio, I'll paint up to 16x20. Well, this most recent piece is almost as large - 12x24.

The other day, while looking for painting spots on the island, I found the perfect place for a panoramic with a 1:2 ratio. Mill Cove has a glorious view of an old herring weir and a little rock island. So, yesterday I headed out with my French easel, the "French companion" and a bag with paints and brushes.

I hit Mill Cove about two hours before low tide, when I knew the prospect of the island and weir would be at its best. This timing would give me two additional hours on the other side of low tide for a total of four hours of painting time. Although the sun position changes considerably in four hours, I knew I could capture the shadows quickly enough so I could paint the rest at my leisure.

The painting ended up only taking three hours, not including set-up and clean-up time. I was surprised that I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be; most likely drinking a full bottle of water and eating a granola bar helped keep me going. I am glad, though, that I took a new 150 ml tube of white. I ended up using literally half the tube on this painting.

First, here's my view, followed by the finished piece. (Click on the images to see a bigger view.)

"Mill Cove Weir"
12x24, oil, en plein air