Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Tuesday Morning

Diane Mannion, Tuesday Morning, 8x10" oil, plein air

Painting Backwards

Caspersen Beach, Venice, Florida
Because of the sun's angle I had to paint with my back to the scene this morning.  Too windy to set up umbrella, so I turned the easel to keep painting and palette in shade.  Look, memorize, turn and paint... with the constantly moving surf and cloud shadows it was a terrific exercise in building my visual memory bank.
My location painting with back to view.
 
Thumbnail sketch to help me visualize composition and patterns.  I liked the zig-zag design with the rocks coming in from the left.
Painting friend's setup, my easel in background.  Her painting is gorgeous!  A tourist tried to buy it... but I think she was smart not to let it go.


2 comments:

Wendy Barrett said...

I love the colours and action in this one Diane! What a very creative way to paint under difficult conditions. It certainly worked well for you - you got a beautiful outcome!

Diane Mannion said...

Thanks, Wendy! I think the most difficult part of painting outside is getting yourself out the door, at least it is with me. If I know one other painting buddy will be there, there's no stopping me. But to go out on my own is the most difficult, don't know why. Even if you just go with a pencil and sketchbook it will help your work enormously. Don't worry about the expensive equipment, simple watercolor box will do. Sometimes, I simply paint in the car... auto-painting.