220 W. State Street

Yesterday I got to paint my favorite
building in Rockford. 
220 W. State Street

It was pretty chilly out there so we only stayed for about 1 and a half hours. 
I will finish this painting at home when things slow down a bit.

 

  



EAST SIDE CENTER 1889
NW Corner, State & Madison
Rockford, IL

This building is the landmark YMCA built in 1889, now called the East Side Center. Built by subscription, the building was Rockford's first YMCA but was sold in 1906 and was the East Side Inn until it closed in 1968. The Richardsonian Romanesque style building was renovated and now serves as an office building. .

 I will let this beautiful building talk for itself.

September 30 in 30, Day 28

Day 28

30 in 30 hostrd by Leslie Saeta.

I must be getting confused by the days.
Yesterday was actually 28.... but who's counting.

Today's painting is an en plein air from 
Klehm Arboretum in Rockford. 
This afternoon is lovely, but the day didn't start out that way. This morning was cold and rainy. Not wanting to miss my plein air day, I stayed in the car and painted from there. It worked out pretty well until I realized that I left the back hatch open when I retrieved my painting supplies. Two hours later the battery was dead. Just another wonderful thing about my daughter... Thanks for the jump Samantha.

What do you do when you have a dead battery 
and are waiting for a jump?
Well the obvious of course... go to the bathroom then the gift shop for a new hummingbird feeder and chocolate, then return to the car and paint more.
(Sorry about the photo. That is also from the car.)

A Rainy Morning at Klehm

Watercolor and Ink

8" x 12"

$75

September 30 in 30, Day 15

Day 15

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

Today was an incredible day to sit outside in the shade and paint away.  It was our third plein air session and my favorite so far. We sat outside the Veteran's memorial Hall which was built in 1902 and dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt. This building is full of war memorabilia from the Civil and Mexican wars along with a stunning theater on the second floor.  And no, silly me,I didn't take pictures - next time.

I sat outside and painted North which included the facade of the Coronado Theater. Opened October 9, 1927 it was an atmospheric style theatre and movie palace. The inside is beautiful with it's ornate decorations of Spanish castles, Italian Villa's and Oriental dragons.

At the Coronado

Watercolor and Pen

9" x 12"

$75

Plein Air at Nicholas Conservatory

Some days you just have to Nike up and just do it!

I'm learning to plein air and I admit 
that it's very humbling.

It's never a bad thing to step out of your comfort zone and just go for it. When I took the plein air class with Richard Weber last Spring I freaked! What? Sit there and produce a painting in an hour that you're willing to show the class? Yikes. I was working in oils - which I love, but am having a rocky relationship with lately. In short, my work stunk. That's when I knew -there's only one solution. 
Do More and Do It Often.

I've gone out and bought myself a plein air easel and decided to work in watercolors and pastels for awhile until I feel a bit more comfortable. I'm even considering taking an oil painting class to help me get past this slump I'm having.

So I will continue plein air with the hope that I will learn to make faster decisions, work faster, get better at; mixing colors, drawing, painting and meet some awsome people along the way.

Yesterday, my friend, William J Ball and I had a great time painting at Nicholas Conservatory.

I can't wait until next session.

Challenged by Plein Air

So, the plein air workshop last Saturday...
              lots of fun but, oh do I have a lot to learn.

I'm so glad that I got the chance to take this workshop with RL Weber. I got my supplies together and and I went with a few expectations about my work and my abilities and got a good dose of humble pie.


Never mind that I don't work in oils a lot, or do landscapes, or even produce a painting in a day - let alone two hours. I felt like a chicken running around with its head cut off. (There were chickens at the barn across the street.)

I did freak a little.  There was one point where I was thinking,"How do you mix brown?" Now I know how to mix brown, but I let myself get so wound up that I wasn't thinking so straight. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I think that's a great thing! Sometimes you learn the most when you are most challenged.

So I will be practicing this summer. My goal is to try plein air competition one of these years.

RL Weber was a great teacher. He gave me some great pointers, all of which I plan to use in the future. Indian Hills Manor
and the surrounding barns were beautiful and made such a wonderful setting for this workshop.

I'll be back for more. But first, I think I'll practice a bit on my own.

Getting Ready for Plein Air, Fun With Art Supplies

Saturday is a Plein Air workshop with R.L. Webber that I'm so looking forward to. 

While packing for the event I decided it would be fun to share some of my favorite supplies, new and old.

New:
I was excited to find this covered container for my linseed oil at Michaels ($4.99). I'm still using the old one I got 34 years ago in my studio but it's not covered.

Old:
I got this free with an order from Dick Blick Art. It's a great tool by John Pike, a gridded screen with two magnetic strips so you can align the magnets with angles and lines to better help help you understand where thing are crossing on the grid. I always can use some help with perspective. The blue tint makes values easier to see.

 




Old:
I love my Anderson container for turpentine. The top cup is for cleaning brushes. The holes allow the particles of paint to fall to the bottom and settle so the paint sludge never comes in contact with your brushes. It all seals nicely for traveling.

New: 
I bought a paint palette by Artelier that seals and locks in four places. I can't wait to see how this works. I've had many palettes but they never seem to seal very well. Paint is supposed to peal off but I thought I could cut some palette papers in half and use clips to hold them in place. This was $35 at the online stores and Michaels but with a 50% off one item coupon it's not bad.

Old:
My friend, Corkey gave me this hat to use while we walked our dogs on the bike path. She passed away unexpectedly last October so it will be great to have this along for the memories and the sun. I like the straps that hold the hat securely to your head in the wind.

New:
I ordered a wet canvass carrier from RayMar that I just got today. Guess what, it's for panels not canvasses. I'm very disappointed because this is a really cool carrier with straps and everything.


So I decided to get two pizza boxes and strap them together with duct tape. They will work fine and I'll be able to carry my 12 x 12's too it I want. I'm planning on using tacks to keep the canvasses from hitting the sides although there is some nice hardware you can purchase for this purpose. I'll post pictures when I'm done.


So I think I'm almost ready, just pack my easel, chair and I pad. I'll write about how it went next week.

Plein Air Tips for All Us Beginners

One of my goals this summer is to Plein Air paint.

My first attempt last summer was not good. I haven't attempted it again but am determined that this will be the summer I learn to paint plein air.



Plein Air is painting outdoors. The artist must deal with the elements, especially the changing light along with time limits. I've signed up for a class and gone to Pinterest where I have been collecting plein air tips for awhile now. Here are some tips and comments I feel are worth noting;






Vadim Klevenskiy lists what the advantages of painting Plein Air are.

1. To paint in the open air is to experience the environment of which you are painting, the sounds, the smells.

2. Plein Air teaches you to be more organized.   

3. You learn to make good use of time while painting. Light can change quickly so you need to make decisions fast.

4. Plein Air forces you to think about what you are painting, actual tones and colors can be interpreted far more accurately .
5. You'll gain knowledge of colors, hues, how light affects things, painting techniques, etc. As my friend Rich says, " You'll learn a lot about mixing colors."

6. It will help you to have stronger observation skills. You'll be more able to discern lights and darks, tones, hues,values, perspective etc.

7. Photographs never capture the quality of color that the human eye can see.

Dan Boone offers these tips.

1. Determine your subject. Focus your eye on a compelling scene within the larger setting.  You don't have to paint everything. Just sit in the setting for awhile before you paint to feel the essence of the environment.

2. Pay attention to how you position your easel. If you have a wall or door to your back people will be less likely to creep up on you. You may want to paint under a tree to be in shade.

3. Lighting is important. The time of day you choose to paint outdoors has a profound effect on the mood of your painting. Colors in the morning and evening are cool tones, while afternoon colors are warm. Beach paintings are lovely at sunset.

4.Use a familiar color palette with paints you've mixed before.


And always know the painting does not have to be completed outdoors. Finish it in your studio if you are more comfortable there. Be sure to take several photographs for reference.

For these and more information see my Plein Air Tips board on Pinterest at Jill Rae Finally Art.

Do you have some tips you'd like to add? Please share them in the comments.

Beautiful Day for Plein Air

After buying some calla lilies from the local garden store I thought  they'd make a wonderful painting. So I packed up my supplies and went outdoors for my first plein air painting. It was a lot of fun despite the troubles I had with the wind. After the first time the flowers blew over I wasn't quite able to get them back in the right position. Oh well. At some point it became very clear that this wasn't going very well. I didn't care as long as the music was good and the wine was cold. It made me realize that I really need to work more on my quick drawing skills. Long ago I put down the daily sketch book in order to spend more time painting. I think it's time to get back to it. (Note to self- buy a new "cool" sketch book, one that is separate from the sketches I do for paintings.)

My painting is a scraper. One I'm not ready to show. My husband says he likes it. (How would I ever get by without his constant support and encouragement?) I also realize that this plein air is going to take some practice and some instruction. It's time to watch all those plein air demos I have on my Pinterest boards. Anyway, I'm keeping the painting for awhile as something to look back on when I want to see what progress I've made. I'm planning on spending today doing what I love; gardening and painting. Does it get any better than this?

Packing Up for a Plein Air Workshop

What a week! Between getting ready for 13 guests for Easter dinner and wanting to complete three watercolors by May 1st I've kept busy. I don't think I'll make my painting deadline. I still have a long way on two of the watercolors and I haven't even started a third. That's okay, but I'm already fantasizing about doing nothing Monday but painting.





Today I'm going to Richard Weber's Plein Air Workshop. The first two classes will be inside as we learn techniques and composition. I've brought my pastels for the class as traditionally I'm very slow with watercolors and I don't own acrylics. My goal is to paint plein air with oils. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time this summer up North doing just that. I've bought an wonderful light weight easel, a new palette.







My other goal for today is to continue cleaning my office and studio. How did I get this messy? I have piles of Finally Art papers, House restoration files, bills, family history etc. all about my desk which I usually set up as a drink area so my guests can help themselves. I completed a full inventory of my works for Finally Art and feel good about that. Tonight it's back up to the studio where I'm spraying and bagging works. I know by Monday I'll be thrilled to have things well organized but to tell you the truth, I just want my comfy clothes and to spend the day painting.