Went plein air painting with Chris Alvarez yesterday. Chris likes “urban” plein air painting because it forces you to find a composition–unlike nature, which not only is naturally beautiful, but also can be easily added and subtracted upon. I was immediately drawn to this charming yellow house, ironically because of the porch and flag–looking very American. I ended omitting the flag for two reasons: 1) the composition was busy enough as I left it and I wanted to keep it peaceful and relaxed in “mood” 2) it was going to be really hard and I chickened out. First excuse sounds better.
Chris limited our palette to five colors: black, white, cad yellow, yellow ochre, and an “earthy red” which means ALL of the greens in the painting are made from black and yellow/yellow ochre. Crazy.
This painting started out bad. Took nearly an hour to figure out my composition, then my orange wash underpainting made it look halloweenish until I was almost finished–yet another example of how faith is needed to complete something! A nice stranger watched for a little while and then gave me a candy bar (bonus!). Rain storm impending, I snapped a photo and added the finishing touches at home. Not sure why I moved the sidewalk…probably just a drafting error.
Hello Brie!
It’s Teresa. I lived across the street from you. You baby say Tyler. I love your art! Do you sale? I love this painting. It’s my dream house. Let me know the price. Your kids are beautiful!!
Yes! Thank you! I will email you with details.