Painting the Landscape with Confidence

The 20 minute field sketch...or how to get a sure fire handle on painting en plein air.

So many  people go outdoors to paint and get overwhelmed when on location. 

That used to happen to me when I first started painting outdoors.

It wasn't easy being in the middle of my subject! 

Not to mention the wind, tides and the light changing all the time. 



I really needed some guidance. 

I registered to take some workshops with some of the top landscape professionals in the field...only to be wait listed...

Then one day the tide turned. I was accepted ! I went to Idaho to study with Scott Christensen for 10 days... It was painters boot camp! I returned to New England with a different perspective.  

The night after I arrived home I drove to the York River to see what I would do with this paradigm shift. After sunset I painted a very quick painting of the York River.  

York River Autumn, oil 6x12. 

In this class I will share what I learned.

  

The 20 Minute Field Sketch ~ Painting the Landscape 

Plein Air Class

Half Day Outdoor Class

MEDIUM: Oils, Acrylics, Watercolors
LOCATIONS: Southern Maine & New Hampshire Seacoast 

DATES: October 15th to November 12th ~ 6 Weeks ~ Saturdays 

TIME: 1:00 ~ 4:00 PM 

TUITION: $180  

LEVEL: Beginning Plein Air to Intermediate 

CLASS LIMIT ~ 12

INFO: & Registration: Great Works River Studio: MARY BYROM; info@marybyrom.com 

CONTACT: Mary Byrom, Great Works River Studio, 102 Wells Street ~ North Berwick, Maine 03906 ~ 207-676-9933

This class will hone skills and improve painting and decision making abilities. Each week the class will be in a different location (seacoast, woodland, marshes, ponds, farms, village) to learn the specifics of working with diverse settings, subject matter, light, and changing weather. Each class will help you to learn to think on your feet through the process of making choices and decisions of subject matter and design that are influenced by location, light and weather.

This class is for anyone with some experience painting with oils (in plein air or the studio) who wants to improve their skills.  We will paint at different locations and situations that might be challenging on your own. 

We will follow good, solid procedures using the guidelines of the fundamentals of landscape painting en plein air. The more you understand the fundamentals of making good paintings the more you will be in control in the field.

We will learn and practice 6 steps for use on location to guide us in making decisions. We will ask questions, make decisions and work deliberately as we focus on rendering the motif. We will learn to study outdoors, learn to design and to make deliberate choices. We will key paintings, mix colors and select elements to make a good design. 

In each class we will be painting at a new location covering the specifics of the motif, lighting and weather for that day.  This will give the student good tools for painting in all seasons and all kinds of weather. 

Suggested canvas/panel/sizes (6x8, 8x10, 9X12).  Paper sizes can be larger.

If you are a beginner, intermediate OR experienced painter you will gain confidence and skill. 

Materials list provided upon registration. 


QUESTIONS? Email me !  mbyrom@maine.rr.com

FRESH PAINT FRESH AIR

Salt Water & Green Ice

A quiet, moody morning on Adams Point was the perfect place to set up and paint.  As winter moves into spring the changes are rapid. A couple of days of warm temperatures  can make a huge difference. I really love watching the ice break up and move around as spots of open water take over the once frozen bay . 

Adams Point on Great Bay 

For more photos, details and to view the painting go to FRESH PAINT FRESH AIR

Snow Sketching

I go through this thinking process when I'm out painting.  I try to absorb the feeling of a place. The kind of day it is, the weather, the light, the forms and shapes around me .....

This is a bit of the location.....

The charcoal sketch I did ...

The color sketch I painted with the late warm sunset light...

6x8 Charcoal sketch with water color on 98 lb. multi media paper 

PRINTS MAY BE PURCHASED HERE. 

THE WHOLE PAINTING STORY ON LOCATION 

Winter Gear

It was -6 at my house today.  That was warm compared to places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and up north in Maine.  Winter is here! 

When I go out to paint in these really cold temps I'm prepared. The first layers are silk...

Then a cotton turtle neck goes on ... 

...over that a stretch Polartec sweater...

...next a thin down vest, Polartec pants,  

...and a heavy wool sweater.

On top of the sweater goes a windproof Polartec vest.

If its below 20 and there's no sun or a wind chill factor these wind proof Polartec pants go on next.

If is 10 or below a down parka goes on over the vest.

The last layer over everything is my thin windproof shirt. Its awesome, it seals in the heat. 

Of course the most important items are my boots. These are Sorrels and good for -100. 

My feet toast in these babies.  I've never felt the cold through them even when painting outdoors for 8 hours in - 6 temps.

I wear one pair of wool socks, a neck gator and a Polartec hat. 

If its sunny I wear a Polartec head band with a brimmed hat over it. If its way too cold I wear my wool hat under my Polartec hat ! 

These are my wool painting gloves.

These are my wool over painting gloves, which I only wear if necessary when scouting the location. I don't wear these while painting.

These felted wool mittens are for warming my hands on the way home if needed.  

This is the gear I wear for winter plein air painting. For the trip home I pack a hot thermos of tea or coffee to drink in the car.  Its amazing how nicely it warms me up !

Very Old Houses in the Snow

A few days ago I met up with two friends in Strawbery Banke to paint on a beautiful, cold winter day. 

Here's a detailed report of that outing: Postcards from ME & NH

I wanted to be flexible to walk around and study a number of subjects and experiment with different views so I concentrated on sketching with ink and water color pencils. 

This is the view up the small dirt lane we were standing in.

4x8, pen & watercolor on Aquarelle

In front of us was a open area of snow with the shadows of the houses  behind us stretching across it. 

8x10, pen & watercolor on Aquarelle

Around the corner I found a small back garden with a single window on the rear side of a house.

11x11, pen & watercolor on Aquarelle

Another lane headed toward the harbor.

7x9 pen & watercolor on Aquarelle

Some of these houses are very old.  They are funny shapes, have no back doors and have windows in odd spots or entire walls with only one or two small windows.

6x10, pen & watercolor on Aquarelle

 As we packed up to head home at sunset a half moon was up high in the sky.

Salmon Falls River

The Salmon Falls River runs through South Berwick, ME flowing into the Pistacataqua River that empties into the sea between Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME.  Its tidal over 15 miles inland.  I did this watercolor in my sketch book at Hamilton House on a quiet warm morning when the tide was half way out. 8x16, Rives BFK 

Canterbury Shaker Village

Up in New Hampshire not far from my house is a very nice old Shaker Village.

Its up on top of a hill and has this big empty sky feeling.  The buildings are well worn and practical. 

On the north edge of the village the fields open up, the wind blows and the weather moves in fast.

Here's a watercolor I did of the small building that stuck out all by itself. 

8x16 on Rives BFK.

Field Sketches at Salmon Falls

Ended up in Rollinsford after a drive over back roads.

I set up behind the mill near the falls. It was quiet there.

The base of Salmon Falls.

I'm warming up on my first sketch.

8x10, oil on panel

I liked painting the waterfall so much I did a larger more detailed one immediately (18x20).  Had to work really fast. It started to rain. Needed my umbrella to finish it.