My Homemade Plein Air Kit

If you've ever wished that you had a small painting kit that you could just grab and take with you, this might interest you.  I wanted a small kit that I could take with me when I drove into town to run errands, etc.  I can even paint sitting in my car if I see something that catches my attention. When my painting is finished I close the lid and everything is contained - safe and tidy.

This 8x12 plastic box was just the perfect size to hold everything I needed.

• Paint brushes with the handles shortened.
• An empty Liquin bottle is just the right shape for turps and seals well.
• A small plastic box holds my five colors of paint.
• A plastic lid stored in a freezer bag serves as my palette.
• A packet of tissues and a zip top bag with a few Handi-wipes for cleanup.
• Three 5x7 canvas panels.
• Plastic clips and a small plastic knife for scraping.
• Another small freezer bag for trash.

A clip holds my canvas to the lid as I paint.  

Another clip keeps the wet canvases separate.

When I get home I give the kit a cleaning and restock my supplies but I don't add fresh paint until needed.  I wrote myself a note on the cover to remind me to add the paint.

My kit stores neatly in a small canvas tote.  Just give me two minutes to refill the paint and I am ready to go.

You can easily modify this kit to fit larger canvases - just get a bigger box.  Happy painting.

Thanks for visiting.
Celene

May

I didn't have much time to blog in May. It was an eventful month. We lost two of our dear friends and they will be sadly missed.

And spring means lots of yardwork, cleaning up the debris of winter, working in the gardens and trying to stay ahead of the weeds. Our dog was spayed and that required keeping her on a leash for 10 days and going for long walks. No running through the fields and climbing over stone walls chasing chipmunks and squirrels. She patiently put up with the leash and now is free to run and play again.

There wasn't much time to paint outside so I have been working in my studio, experimenting with limited palettes and color harmony. I have worked with several combinations of the three primaries, with and without an earth color. Even though all the colors can be mixed from these primaries (and they will vary slightly depending on the primaries chosen), I found that the mixing time broke the rhythm of my painting.

After much experimentation, I am now working with the six basic colors of the color wheel in their brightest, cleanest hue. I may add an earth color or two, but only if necessary.

Below are two paintings that were done with my earlier primary palettes. As I continue to work with my new six color palette, I will share the results with you.

Summer Hay 8x10, oil.
Available on my Ebay page.  Click here to view.

Your Breakfast is Ready 9x12, oil.
Available on my Ebay page.  Click here to view.

Thanks for visiting.

Celene

Spring Rain Over the Mountains, 9x12, oil

Spring Rain Over the Mountains, 9x12, oil SOLD

It was a great day to paint outside and I was able to finish this painting before the showers came. This is looking out across our front fields. I love to watch the rain come in over the mountains.   

I'm working with a limited palette - Indian Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and White. I like the color harmony.  I'm going to experiment with other limited palettes this spring and I'll share my results with you. 

What colors do you like to work with?  Share with us, it'll be an interesting discussion.


Thanks for visiting.
Celene

Curiosity

When you see a painting that makes you say “wow”, do you try to discover the “why”?

It must be my analytical mind, but I've always enjoyed figuring out the “why”. As a child I loved to take things apart to see how they worked. This trait has remained a constant in my life. Over the years my art students and I have study different artists, their techniques and color choices. We have explored and shared thoughts and observations. I found it was the curious student who showed the most promise and improvement.

I have a special folder on my computer filled with copies of paintings that have the “wow” factor for me. I look at them often for inspiration and guidance. But just looking wasn't enough. I needed to take the time to really analyze what it was that made these painting so special to me. So the other day I sat down at my computer with pen and paper and looked at all these paintings, taking notes on color combinations, subject matter, composition, brushwork - any aspect that I found interesting. The time was well spent.

I have been referring to these notes as I study my unsuccessful paintings. (We all have a stack of those, I’m sure). The “whys” were clearly apparent.

Painting is a balancing act. Composition, color, value, edges, brushwork, etc., must all be recognized and placed in their proper relationships. Sometimes in the excitement of beginning a new painting, we forget that there is an underlying structure to good painting. All the parts must be given due consideration and they must all work together. It isn't enough to set up a pretty still life or find an interesting scene outside. You must be sure that all the parts work together. And often the parts need to be modified to improve these relationships.

Strange as it sounds, these components and how they relate to each other are more important than the subject matter itself. There is a lot of “thinking” in successful paintings. I found that if I paint correctly, with all the components in mind, the objects become secondary. I have to make a conscious effort to keep to this thought process while I am painting. That was the major fault in my unsuccessful paintings. I was painting objects, not relationships, and the paintings wouldn't hold together.

We study and read. We learn and forget. Do we ever reach the point as artists where we can say, “There, now I know all there is about painting.”   No, I don’t believe we ever do. The more you learn and understand, the more you realize that there is still so much more to learn.

A good artist is a student forever.

Thanks for visiting.

Celene

    

Tom's House, 8x10, oil, SOLD

View from my kitchen window.

It was just too cold and windy to paint outside so I set up my easel in my kitchen and painted the scene that I see so many times every day when I work at my kitchen sink.  I have always loved the play of light on my neighbor's house.

This was my beginning.

Tom's House, 8x10, oil  SOLD

I listed this painting on my ebay page.  It now has a new home in New Hampshire.

Thanks for visiting.

Celene

In For the Night, 8x10, oil

In For the Night, 8x10, oil

After a long day of snowmobiling it's great to be back at camp.  Fire crackling in the woodstove, the smell of fresh coffee. Boots off, slippers on. A pot of stew slowly heating on the back of the stove.  Gas lights, no electricity, no phone, no television - just the quiet sounds of camp.  Our dear old camp isn't very fancy but I wouldn't trade it and the memories it holds for anything.

This painting is available on my ebay page.

Thank you for visiting.

Celene

Spring Break, Wilson Stream, Maine 8x10, oil

My Tuesday student just returned home from a vacation in Florida and wanted to paint one more Maine snow scene.  This is my version of early spring at Wilson Stream in the Moosehead Lake region.

Spring Break, Wilson Stream, Maine  8x10, oil SOLD

Our camp is located a few miles from the scene of my painting. This photo was taken last weekend. Still plenty of snow and the lakes are still frozen. Spring break has a different meaning up here.

Thanks for visiting.
Celene