Last Day: Colorado Mountain Plein Air

The last day I was able to paint in the Colorado Plein Air Festival, I drove to Marshall Pass. The weather was quite sketchy so I tried to get up and painting rather quickly- the above painting is of Antora Mountain - there are great views of it all along the drive up Marshall Pass- the weather didn't stay like this for long however so I took off down the mountain as the clouds were quite ominous and as I rounded the bend I saw a nice little view of aspen- the sun popped out just long enough for me to paint it rather quickly

and as I was packing up, the weather moved right in- and that was the end of my week of painting... The party was fun but I was too busy talking to take any pictures of the event-

Colorado Mountain Plein Air Festival -another painting

I had major issues trying to get even close to the paint out on Wednesday- I ended going up Peterson Creek - past Villa Grove and headed up a little dirt road - looking back to the east there were some great views of the Sangres but they were soon obscured by clouds. So I drove up the road just hoping for enough time to get at least one painting done. It snowed, then the sun came out and over and over again- I finally in desperation picked a small- not particularly inspiring - stand of aspens and painted them- this is the result. I was just happy to have finished a painting at this point...

More Colorado Mountain Plein Air photos

The next day I drove to Salida and was invited to stay the night at Salley Mather's house. I met Sally down at the Steam Plant along the Arkansas River and she was set up and painting when I arrived. I looked around for awhile and settled on this nice little spot-- I am amazed at the pure zest that people in Salida have for their dogs.. I have never seen so many dog walkers in my life- and they all love their dogs dearly.I painted this along one of the dog walking trails- and there was always someone standing on the bridge. I pick this chap and sketched him in quickly.

Sally and I painted this scene from her house in the afternoon- clouds are kind of like trying to paint people and animals- always moving- just a little slower....This photo is darker than the actual painting as I can see some details are lost- my apologies.... later...

Colorado Mountain Plein Air Festival

I drove to Salida on Thursday- the first day of the paint out to get Coni and my panels stamped and to get some painting done because I knew that I would have a hard time getting to the paint out as much as I wanted. After getting the packet and everything stamped, I went to the river to paint . The Arkansas River goes right through Salida and the town has done a very good job utilizing the river for rafting and sight seeing. I painted this in the middle of the afternoon.

After finishing the river scene, I decided to start heading home and do another painting on the way. I took the road up Marshall Pass and turned onto Poncha Creek Road- this was a beautiful view of Ouray Mountain and I was drawn to the drama of the draws that I could see from this viewpoint.

Fall Color

11x14
This is a view to the west from my backyard painted on Sunday afternoon. There was a nasty looking storm which provided great color for the the backdrop of this stand of trees. Tomorrow I will be heading to the Colorado Mountain Plein Air festival to get Coni and my canvases stamped and hopefully a couple of good paintings done

Plein Air of The Dairy

11x14
I joined Coni's class to paint the Dairy by Alamosa. This is owned by the City of Alamosa; a lot of the ladies have been painting it quite often. I can see why- there are so many great motifs in this small space you could literally paint for weeks and weeks. This is a painting looking into the light of a hay trailer with the hay stacks etc... I didn't have to look around for long- this scene caught my eye right away.

3 Day Plein Air Workshop

3 Day Plein Air Workshop
Susan McCullough
October 5, 6, and 7
Class times – 8:30-4:30

The price of the class is $120.00

This workshop will focus on Plein Air - painting in the field. We will be painting at Rock Creek, along the river, and a possibly a third location- La Garita?- (maybe). We will concentrate on correct values as well as brushwork and working towards getting a good start – composition.

Please e-mail me if you are interested in the class- I would like to keep the class rather small so that there will be personal instruction but I would like to have at least 5 or 6 sign up in order to justify having the class.

It is helpful for students to have painted in the field before taking this class . I will be posting a suggested supply list on this blog as well as other information.

E-mail address- artgirl59@gmail.com
www.susanmccullough.com
www.susanmccullough.blogspot.com


Susan McCullough Plein Air Painting workshop- October 5, 6, and 7th


Materials list

The choices of colors on the palette are as varied as the number of painters. You will eventually design a selection that best suits you. Some masters use only a primary palette consisting of white, red, yellow and blue. This requires a strong background in color mixing and theory but also leads to great harmony in painting. Since painting outdoors is hard enough already I like to have a wider range of colors which more quickly produce the mixes I require. This palette is suggested by Clyde Aspevig. It works well as there is a warm and cool variety of each color which facilitates great choices when mixing colors. Your paint should be of good quality and you must have sufficient quantities so that you will feel free to use it like royalty and not be too stingy with it. Student grade paints contain much less pigment and much more fillers than professional paints so think about that when buying paint- you really do get what you pay for.
Oil Paint
Sap Green- warm green, transparent and rich
Viridian Green- cool transparent green
Ultramarine blue- dark, strong, transparent and warmer blue
Cobalt blue- a cool blue great for western skies
Cadmium red light- warm and opaque red
Alizarin crimson- cool red and transparent
Cadmium yellow medium- warm rich yellow
Cadmium lemon yellow- cool yellow and the lightest color next to white
Titanium white- a necessity- very opaque

A few extras—
Yellow ochre- a good earthy color
Transparent oxide red OR burnt sienna- the red is more transparent than the sienna-
Cadmium Orange
Mauve (blue Shade) this is a beautiful purple that is great for mountain colors, shadows, etc.

Realize that these are not required colors for you to use- they are just the colors that I use in the field.

It is good to have odorless paint thinner to use in the studio and the field. The top brands to use are Turpenoid and Gamsol. Gamsol is my favorite as it has no oily residue as Turpenoid sometimes does.

Good hog bristle brushes in sizes 4, 6, and 8 (flats or brights) are good for field painting as well as a painting knife for impasto passages. A couple of smaller brushes for drawing and detailing such as a number 2 might be good. Have a good brush cleaner can with a tight fitting lid – holbein makes a good brush cleaner can with a good lid that doesn’t leak.

An outdoor easel – especially a non-flimsy easel for the windy days. I use to have an easel that wiggled in the wind and it made my painting on windy days a misery. I have a Soltek easel that I love but any French easel or pochade box with a tripod will work well.

You will need a roll or two of paper towels for each day and some plastic grocery bags to put the dirty one in. Latex gloves are good to keep paint from absorbing into the skin.

Bring smaller sized panels to paint on- sizes 6x8 to 12x16 at the very largest. You can use gesso covered panels or canvas glued to panels. We will probably go through two panels a day.

Bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellant, and a lunch. Brings lots of water because we will be out all day and I don’t want anyone fainting from dehydration.

If you have one, an easel mounted umbrella will protect you from sunburn and you have a greater choice of selection when choosing your painting spot. Sometimes it is hard to pick a good composition when hiding behind a tree.

Bring a small sketchbook with a pencil for preliminary studies.

Wear neutral colored shirts as a brightly colored shirt or umbrella will cast a reflected glow on your work in bright sunlight. Wear sturdy boots or shoes and take a jacket or raincoat for inclement weather.

Well, that about does it- you should be ahead of the group if you know how to use your supplies to the best of your ability.

9x12

I sit and wonder- how soon will I have before the rain hits- the clouds are moving this way but I sniff the air-" no smell of rain yet" and keep on painting. Mount Blanca is shrouded by a large ominous cloud; rain is falling there. I paint and ponder, "why do I feel as if I live in two different worlds?" and "Why is it so hard to pass back and forth between them?"

I was talking to Coni about the huge letdown that happens after coming home from a paint out. Is it exhaustion? I sincerely doubt it, because paint outs are tiring but also exhilarating at the same time. I think that it it's more the fact that trying to pass back into the role of mom, dad, or another job is difficult business.

I look at the harvested barley fields. There is something about that light ochre that entices me to paint it over and over again. I hurry to beat the rain.

Harvest Time

6x8
New Holland
The barley harvest is over and it is time to start with potatoes and wheat. This combine was on the field directly across from my studio. I was drawn to the complementary color scheme of the combine to the violet hues of the mountains.

Aspen at Rock Creek

I painted this small painting after doing the morning stream painting. This was a tough painting as there were no shadows on the trees. I also put the paint on quite thick.