Sunday, April 10, 2016

Church in the Rain

I just finished writing an article for International Artist magazine which will be out in a few weeks. The subject is painting when you're stuck somewhere. In this case I was in Millbridge, Maine during a camping trip, waiting for the rain to stop. 


I had my painting gear but no umbrella. The only public place with cover was the porch in front of the post office. 

The view looked across to the Congregational church beyond some utility poles and outbuildings. I liked the way the church was white against the white of the sky, with a few birds perched up high on the steeple.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi James I was wondering if you have ever tried these Winsor & Newton Watercolor Markers before http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Watercolour-Markers-Set/dp/B00MOUXAMY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1460320159&sr=8-3&keywords=windsor+newton+watercolor+markers and what you thought of them.

Rich said...

13.: "Beware of harsh chalky whites!"
...erhh...lagging behind a bit, but your advice from the past Harold entry still holds true.

How to omit such a mistake?
"Church in the Rain" is a good example of lots of whites, none of them chalky, IMO.

Unknown said...

Always love your little slices of Americana paintings.

I was wondering how you deal with (if you've ever had to) cities having 'tripod' fees. Maybe you don't bother with outdoor painting, or play coy and say, "I'm a tourist, I didn't know. Sorry."

Thanks

Anyone else can chime in too with your experience.

James Gurney said...

19mrscott69, Wow, I haven't heard of tripod fees. Do they charge you for setting up a tripod? Where have you encountered that? The places I paint, they've never usually seen an artist before.

Thanks, Rich. The sky here as you can probably tell, is painted with a light gray thinly over a warm underpainting, so the warm and cool mix a little between the layers.

Nathen, no, I haven't yet tried those watercolor markers. New to me. I'd love to try one. Those might be nice for laying down a quick tone over a drawing.

Fabio said...

I loved this piece since when I first saw it in color and light. I was wondering, are the thick strokes in the sky coming from the paint itself, or from the underpainting/prepared layer?

Steven Powers (SMP) said...

James - Is this in watercolor or oil? From the picture it looks like it has texture. I really like this one a lot.

Edna Krueger said...

I love this painting! You made lemon aid out of lemons that day!