The people's parks turn 100!

 Gulf Islands National Seashore,© Theresa Grillo Laird -Golden Hour- 24x48 -oil on canvas
for purchase contact The Studio Gallery 

If I wasn't an artist, my perfect job would be working as a ranger in the National Park Service. What could be more amazing than greeting everyday surrounded by the beauty of nature! I think half the reason painters paint out in the open air (en plein air), is because being out in nature so perfectly revitalizes the creative soul.

Last week on August 25th, we celebrated the hundred year anniversary of the National Park Service. I'll forever be grateful to Teddy Roosevelt for his vision and foresight in preserving lands for future generations!

In Pensacola, we have the good fortune to live in a town with a National Park. The Gulf Islands National Seashore stretches from Mississippi to Florida in parcels of coastal land and barrier islands. Parts of it like Horn Island in Mississippi, made famous by artist Walter Anderson, can only be accessed by boat. 

Minus a boat, I explore my park on foot, which in my opinion is the best way. It's slow enough that you can take in all the details and side paths that you miss with faster modes of travel. 

Gulf Islands National Seashore - ©Theresa Grillo Laird - Just Passin' Through- oil on linen 14x18
click here for purchase

Until I moved here, I'd never seen coastal land like this. Sugar white sand covers both the beaches and woodland paths, and is never hot underfoot despite the Gulf Coast's intense heat and humidity.The Gulf itself has crystal clear emerald colored water worlds apart from the bone chilling grey water of the Atlantic Coast. Various pines, live oaks, holly and wax myrtle cover the dunes and fill the coastal forest.

I particularly like the National Seashore in the Pensacola area. The land is bordered on one side by Pensacola Bay and on the other by the Gulf. One side has the beach and the other is full of coves that wind in and out for miles. There are dunes and marsh and fresh water ponds. The land seems to shimmer under the light of the Florida sun, and the scent of salt water and beach rosemary fills the air. Can you blame me for wanting to spend tranquil days hidden in the dunes with my easel and paints, peacefully attuned to the sights and sounds of my coastal Paradise?

Gulf Islands National Seashore - ©Theresa Grillo Laird - Through the Dunes - oil on canvas -  12x16
click here to purchase 

The Plein Air Convention- I swear I'll make it next year!

Sunshine Through the Oaks - Jack Wilkinson Smith

I wish I could be with all the artists enjoying the Plein Air Convention out in California, but I can't. Life's challenges have landed me far from home and studio without possibility of travel. So I'm consoling myself this week, studying the works of past California Impressionists.

Every time I look at early plein air paintings, I wonder what it is that makes them look so different from today's. I don't think it's the expertise. There are many very accomplished plein air painters today turning out visually stunning work. But these older paintings always make me wish I could wander into them and experience for myself what these artists saw and felt that made them so able to capture a sense of place and time with such depth. I can feel the spirit of the places they portrayed. Could it just be that they didn't hurry the piece? Or is it that the sense of community among artists they enjoyed,was especially conducive to their creative genius?

I have a thing about California Impressionism,  - the colors, the light, the dense pieces of paint so different from the more diffuse shapes of French Impressionism, the spiritually of it, the love for the land, the guileless honesty of the works.There are so many artists I could focus on, but these three works are by Jack Wilkinson Smith. His paintings of surf and rocks, full of force and vitality immediately caught my attention when I first came upon them in an art book.His home base was in southern California but he traveled throughout California painting all kinds of terrain.
I studied this next one to see what I like about it.

Deserted Corral - Jack Wilkinson Smith

All of today's plein air masters talk about the need to break up a shape into varying color temperatures.But it seems to my eye that this work, like others from this era, has a more complex pattern of subtle temperature and value changes. It leaves the viewer with more to look at on the canvas surface, without interfering with the integrity of the whole. The type of air hanging over the day is also really well depicted. Look at the difference from front to back of the painting. Notice too the way the color scheme is basically two complementaries- red and green. There are bright touches of color where a more timid painter would never place them, like on the outlines of the peaks on the left. There's plenty of variety in the colors but it's very harmonious.

Winter's Mantle - Jack Wilkinson Smith 

Here's a snow scene with the complementary color scheme of blue and orange. Even the greens in it are turned towards orange or blue.Look at how the singe bright spots of color, as well as the zig zag lines, bring the eye right back into the mountain peak.There's a single spot of bright orange in the middle of dull orange on the bush to the right. Above and slightly to the left, the tree top and tree trunk are lit up - the only lit up tree trunk in the whole scene - Next there's a spot of bright green in the tree tops in the center back, and finally the sun lit plane of snow on the peak. The energy of the brushstrokes fills the whole painting with a feeling of movement and nature's  sounds.


If your tax refund will put a bit of spare change in your pocket, all three of these paintings are available at Bonhams spring auction of California and Western Paintings on April 28th.

Staying True

Footprints ©T Grillo Laird - oil 18x24 -sold

Here is a painting I completed a few weeks ago. It's popularity since I posted it, has surprised me. The first surprise was when it sold the morning after I posted it. I then posted it on an artist's site and was taken by surprise again by how well it has been received. 

I tried to analyze it. Is it the title? The colors? The mood? The paint? Then it occurred to me that in painting it, I held true to the working method that for me seems to produce results closest to what I was aiming for. Ignoring all conventional wisdom and restrictive rules about how outdoor painting is practiced, I just painted in the way I've done outdoor paintings for the past 20 years. I took my 18x24 canvas out to the dunes near my house and looked and painted. When the light changed, I packed up and took it out again the next day. And the day after that. One day I didn't like the results and scraped it all down just to begin again on my next session in the dunes. When I was finished I took it home and studied it. I made a few adjustments where a line was too strong or a spot in the background wasn't receding enough. I studied it some more then called it done. Of course no painting is ever done. It's just brought to a point where it can be left alone.

I do enjoy painting those loose sketchy paintings that I start and finish in one two hour session on site. The results are often fresh and unexpected, but most of the time I'm left wishing I had developed an idea a bit further.

I think that when I manage to shut out all the clamorous voices telling me how I must paint, and I listen to my own inner voice, I am again the happy serene painter I started out as when I was a young child.

What Is the Point ?

Shoreline Curve - ©T Grillo Laird - 14x18 oil
click here for inquires

In the four years that the Bagdad, Florida Annual Paintout has been going on, I've participated three times. In the first year of the fledgling event, I received third place for Bagdad Boathouse. My goal that day had been merely to finish within the allotted 3 hours, since I was participating in my first ever paint-out. Naturally, I was delighted with the win.

This past November, in the re-named re-vamped Bagdad/Milton Plein Air Paint-out, I won second place for Shoreline Curve. I've learned to paint faster in the years between the two events. I can now finish a plein air painting in about two hours. Of course a very valid argument can be made that speed often has little to do with quality, but that's a debate for another day.

Though I was pleased with the win, I was not happy with the painting. I knew that a tree trunk I had painted into the scene was not working, and I was out of time to fix it. I prayed that the painting would not sell during the month long exhibition, and fortunately it didn't.

The offending trunk has been painted out and the painting is much better for it. The moral of this little tale is to always remember to not stupidly paint something in just because it's there. Edit, edit, and edit has to be the first rule of painting outdoors- And indoors for that matter.

May I never fall into the trap of refusing, just for the sake of "plein air purity", to alter a painting that isn't working. When they work, and many do, I'm grateful. When they don't, I'll continue to feel entirely free to fix them. 

It's Finally Here!

 Dune Flowers on Santa Rosa Island ©Theresa Grillo Laird
click here for info

A workshop I've looked forward to for months is finally here! I've kicked off this art filled week with one last Autumn painting in the dunes before heading off to Maryland. After the workshop I'll be in New Jersey for an extended stay so I especially welcomed the chance to fill my soul with the sights and sounds of another gorgeous day in the dunes, before turning to the cold and gray north.

In the evening I headed over to the Greater Gulf Coast Art Festival for a look at what other artists are doing. The fair was good this year.

Now I'm finishing up the packing and In a few days I'll be in a 5 day workshop taught by Scott Christensen where I'll be mining whatever landscape painting information he intends to share. If you aren't familiar with Christensen's work, Google his name and take a look. You won't be wasting your time. I'll do my best to not commit the workshop mistake of trying to prove that I can paint too. Watch this blog to see the experiences of the day. 

Yes... But is it Plein Air?

Recently I fell victim to the argument that a plein air painting has to be painted entirely outdoors. I knew better than to believe this nonsense. And anyway, who cares? And is it any who who matters? But for whatever reason, I bowed to the pressure. This is the story of that painting.

I most enjoy working a bit large, so I took my 24x48 canvas out to the dunes, my favorite place to paint. I started at the end of July. The marsh and dune grasses were still green. I chose the two hours before sundown when the shadows create interesting patterns on the dunes. I was off to a good start.

Life intervened in August and I had to leave for a month. When I returned in September, I had to wait for good weather- we were in the afternoon thunderstorm pattern of late summer on the Gulf. When the weather cleared, I returned everyday that had similar light to my start. By now, the grasses were turning brown and gold. Fall is my favorite time of year to paint the dunes so I didn't mind adding the colors. I also had to start arriving earlier with the days growing shorter.

So, after 5 or 6 two hour sessions, the painting now stands 95% complete. So far, it's been completed entirely on the spot. I don't need to return to complete the remaining 5%. When I finish it, can it still accurately be called plein air?

At this point, I really don't care. I did learn some interesting things though.

    1- As usual, there's no substitute for painting from life. I was able to amend some earlier studio works with the lessons learned from this painting.

    2- It really wasn't necessary to haul such a large canvas out there. If my objective had been to gather information, I could have done 5 or 6 small quick studies and combined them in the studio. But then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of the salt breeze on my skin and the sounds of coastal birds and surf.

    3- I still prefer the results of a large canvas painted in multiple sessions mostly on the spot. to the less informed works painted quickly in one go.

   4- And yes, something large can be painted entirely outdoors if one feels the need to.

For more thoughts on the debate about the definition of plein air, read Eric Rhoads publisher's letter in the November 2014 issue of Plein Air Magazine. His is exactly my opinion too when it comes to defining what a plein air painting is.

How has this debate impacted your work?

The Plein Air Cure

September in the Dunes © Theresa Grillo Laird - oil 9x12 

September on Pensacola beach is still plenty hot enough to go swimming. It's also a great time for painting in the dunes. The colors of both land and sky deepen and the beach plants begin to bloom. But, it is still very hot and humid.
When I first visited this area 15 years ago, I was completely defeated by the climate. It was only late June, but I was so overcome by the Gulf Coast heat and humidity, that I literally couldn't function. I spent the largest part of my vacation week sacked out on the couch totally enervated. I don't know whether I can credit the pleasure of plein air painting for making me so heat tolerant, but now I actually enjoy being out in it. The sun on my skin, and even the feeling of having just emerged from a steam room, adds to all the sensory impressions that make their way into a painting. But for anyone wanting to venture out with paint and easel in a Pensacola summer, I offer these tips.

   1. Bring water. Bring plenty of water. An Audubon field worker who grew up in these parts, gave me a very good tip. He freezes his bottles of water. They turn into icy drinks that are so much more refreshing than the tepid water that you get in no time with unfrozen bottles. 

   2. Don't even think of going out without covering yourself liberally with sun block. I inherited the Germanic skin of my mother's family rather than the olive tones of my Italian half. Right now I have a tan that would make the Coppertone baby envious, and I never use an SPF under 50. 

   3. Premix the colors that you are likely to need. I carry two palettes for my French Easel- one with my paint mixtures and one to keep everything from falling out of the paint box. With most of your colors ready to go, you can jump right into painting without spending unnecessary time in the heat.

   4. Take a break after 2 or 2 1/2 hours, and go back to your air conditioned car for a few minutes. It gives your eyes a break too from looking at your painting for too long.

   5. Pay attention to your body. As much as you might want to push on through, stop and take care of yourself immediately if you start to fell light headed or confused.  See # 1 and 4.

With a little bit of preparation and self care, you can paint your way through the most brutal summer. And if all else fails, use the summer months to do early day or night scenes.

Painting Autumn

Autumn Shadows © Theresa Grillo Laird 18x24 oil on canvas
click here for info 

I've heard talk lately about how sad it is to see the end of summer. September usually signals the end of warm weather and the relaxing days spent at the beach. A feeling creeps in of responsibility, serious work and shorter days to get it all done. Maybe it's just the place where I live, but fall is beautiful on Pensacola Beach. From September through November, the days are warm and the sun is angled low creating long violet shadows. The dune grasses turn to shades of red and brown setting off yellow blooms that only appear in fall. The gentle green and pink tones of summer vanish and the beach becomes it's most colorful. It's my favorite time of year to paint my coastal paradise.

Beach Flowers © Theresa Grillo Laird
11x14 oil on canvas. Click here for info

Austin, The Last Stop

An oil sketch of cypress trees at Lake Bisteneau
© Theresa Grillo Laird

I'd never been on a month long painting road trip, so I left Florida with high expectations. Traveling from place to place while stopping to paint was even more fun than I anticipated. Despite some less than ideal weather, I painted in landscapes that I was seeing for the first time, seeing fresh with painter's eyes.
After staying at Lake Bisteneau in Louisiana and three different locations in Arkansas, my husband Pete and I turned west. The plan was to stop in Austin, and Perdenales State Park before continuing on to New Mexico.

Austin Wildflowers  ©Theresa Grillo Laird
16x20 oil

The trip had been full of surprises and the mid June heat in Texas was one of them. I had only seen Austin in the fall and was not prepared for heat that was somehow less bearable than in a Pensacola summer. Even with an air conditioned travel trailer, it was too hot to sleep at night. Austin became our last stop.
In Autumn, I'd been drawn to the fields of gold grass with dark green trees standing like sentinels over a molten sea. Now in late spring, these same fields were green and filled with every kind of wildflower imaginable. Beautiful!

In Austin my road trip ended but I can't wait for the next one!

Plein Air Large

The work in progress leaning against my car.

Near a fishing pier at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island and bordering the Gulf of Mexico, is a serene little "lake" of seawater enclosed by the surrounding beach. Before the Hurricane 10 years ago, it was a little shaded oasis surrounded by trees where beach goers could go to escape the heat and sun of the open beach. The trees are gone now but the long sweeping lines of the dunes gives it still a sense of calm and serenity. This is the spot I chose to try a very large plein air painting. 

I chose a 24x48 inch canvas and covered the back with brown paper to keep the sunlight out.The canvas size size was partly an experiment to see if anything good can come out of working so large the field. But it was also what the long lines of the scene seemed to call for. I didn't bother with an umbrella. I knew it would be more of a distraction covering only part of the canvas, than a help. I set up on a clear afternoon, angled my canvas to catch the smallest possible amount of wind, and waited for the late day light. Near sundown, the white sand of the Florida Gulf Coast lights up with all the colors of the late day sky and the dunes take on beautiful vivid blue and violet shadow shapes, but effect doesn't last long.

On my first day out, I was content to get the main shapes, values and approximate colors down. When the sun went down I packed up and waited for another day with similar conditions.

at the end of day one

On day two I set up at the same spot on top of a wall. For the sake of accuracy, the wall I'm on doesn't go around the whole fort but encloses some batteries facing the Gulf of Mexico. 

Here's the view I was painting.

I still need another session in the field with this canvas to gather some more information. At that point I'll decide whether to call it done or give it more time in the studio.

When I next blog about this painting, I'll  talk about the palette of colors I used and I'll share my conclusions about working this large en plein air. 

To the Ozarks!

My favorite part of my recent road trip was the 10 days or so that we spent in the Ozarks, camped close to the War Eagle Creek. The campground itself was set low in a hollow below the roadway. There was no phone or internet service within camp, but a short drive up to the roadway brought us into phone range and to one end of the War Eagle Trail.

The part of the trail I was interested in, descended down a steep rocky path along bluffs high above the creek. From a vantage point above the creek, I had a view in both directions of the creek and rolling farmland that bordered it.

Parts of the trail were so close to the edge, that a safety barrier had been built to hang on to while navigating the slippery ledge.

I set my gear up on a wide bluff, happy to be outdoors in such a gorgeous spot. The day was overcast but bright and the colors of the trees along the bank and the reflections in the water were various shades of soft green and grey. Below me, someone glided by quietly in a canoe. Ahead of me was ridge after ridge of mountains disappearing into the distance. Swallows darted in and out of bluff side nests just below me. I felt like I was floating, suspended mid air in the silence I was part of.

About an hour into the painting, the sky began to darken. I kept painting hoping the clouds would pass. Soon the reflections in the water started to blur and the trees lost all contrast. I heard rain drops on the umbrella I had set up to shield my canvas from too much light. Before I could decide whether to go or stay, it started pouring as dense and drenching a rain as any I've seen in Florida. Rivers of rain washed forest debris off the bluffs and filled the drawer of my easel and my open knapsack. Water and oil paint mixed in an unholy union running off my palette. I could have wrung out my roll of paper towels.

I'm not proud to admit that my serene mood wore thin thin as I struggled in water weighted jeans to haul my soggy gear back up the trail. Determined to beat the obstacles, I returned the next day dressed in shorts and outfitted with a poncho and a big plastic tablecloth to cover my set- up in a down pour. I also suspended all my extra gear from my french easel, with bungee cords. It did rain again that day, and almost every day for the next two weeks. The rain eventually drove me out of Arkansas to Texas, but not before I had done a few more paintings and hiked some more beautiful trails.

Bluffs Above War Eagle Creek - 16x20 oil

  

Painting and Camping, a Perfect Road trip!

I'm just back from a month long road trip through 5 State parks in Arkansas and Texas. I faithfully wrote my blog posts along the way only to discover that most parks have no internet service and sometimes no phone service. Internet service was occasionally and  sporadically available from some location away from the campsites, but frankly, I found it refreshing to"un-plug".

On one of the many hiking trails in the Ozarks

 My days were filled late into evening with hiking, sight-seeing and painting. There was barely time each evening to cook a meal in the comfort of my travel trailer before falling into bed exhausted but happy. I even got used to the almost daily rain until a severe storm knocked a lot of  trees down. That was a bit scary and with no end in sight, I high-tailed it off that mountain top.

Now that I'm back in Florida, I'll share in my next few posts some of the highlights of my trip.

For about 10 days, I camped with my husband along War Eagle Creek in the Ozarks. This was base camp for some of the best hiking and painting on the trip. Initially I was very unprepared for the heavy rain, but as the locals told me, be thankful for the rainy season because when it ends, it becomes blistering hot! I can believe it. Despite being in the mountains, it was as hot as my Pensacola home.

Dang! Rained out halfway through!

On one of these rainy days, we drove out of the weather to Bentonville to see the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. What a little gem of a museum! Their collection of American Art is impressive. The realist 19th century landscape painters of the Hudson River School and Luminist type styles, are especially well represented. They also had an exhibit going on called A Taste For Modernism of pieces from the William S. Paley collection usually housed at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

 I wondered why it was called crystal bridges until I saw the amazing architecture. The museum is made up of galleries ,"bridges", spanning a large pond fed by a natural spring on the grounds. The grounds themselves are a work of art with miles of manicured hiking trails over waterways and through dogwoods. Small pavilions echo the architecture. A Frank Lloyd Wright house is in the process of being moved to the grounds. There wasn't enough time to fully explore the grounds as well as the museum. Allow lots of time if you go. Here are a few pieces from the many I enjoyed.

This painting of the artist's studio caught my eye. It reminded me of my first NYC apartment in the West Village.

How's this for believable water and luminous light!

This one was a surprise! It's an art school assignment of Andy Warhol's. The assignment was to draw heads and hands.

Talking About Plein Air

A few days ago, I was invited by the Gulf Breeze Arts Association to speak to their members about plein air painting. Most of these enthusiastic artists had never painted en plein air. My job was to talk to them about how to get started.

 I showed the group the difference between a studio painting and works painted outdoors. After talking briefly about the history of plein air painting, I compared historic approaches of working outdoors, to the current debates concerning whether a plein air painting needs to be completed in one go and without revision

talking about why I don't recommend this plein air umbrella

 I brought examples of my own work, demonstrating that the reasons for painting a plein air piece can vary. Some  were 1 hour quick studies painted to understand a painting problem or to gather information. Others I'd painted by returning to the same place several times. Still others I had started outdoors and then finished in the studio.

Next I talked about the options for field easels, color choices, and the little extras like water, sunscreen and bug repellent that are so necessary for outdoor painting in Florida.

tools of the trade

On April 5th, we'll put it all together in a 4 hour Getting Started in Plein Air workshop. If you're in the Pensacola area and would like to join in, contact me for information.

30 in 30 January 2014

It's a new year and once again I'm participating in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge organized by Leslie Saeta. Last year I picked "things put on the back burner" as my theme. These were ideas for paintings that I'd had in my mind for a while but hadn't had time to try out. I surprised myself by painting quickly enough to finish 24 paintings within the month. One of these was chosen for an Oil Painters of America exhibit.

This year I'm focusing on plein air studies painted quickly, in about an hour. I'm not intending these paintings for sale but rather as pieces to explore and learn by, so they will not appear on my website. However, if anyone sees one they would like to have for their collection, they will still be available for purchase on request.

This study was painted in my backyard on a very grey Florida afternoon. A front was starting to move through and the temperature dropped 10 degrees as I painted while the wind picked up.

Backyard View - oil on canvas 12x16
talk to me if interested in this

This same weather is blasting the northeast with a blizzard right now, yet here in the Florida Panhandle, it will be back in the 60's in a few days. This photo shows the actual scene I painted.

The large oak on the right is just out of view in the photo.Tomorrow I'll be painting on the water's edge if the wind doesn't prevent it.

Beating Back the Demons

It happens to a lot of us.You're going along just fine turning out paintings you're reasonably happy with, when bam all of a sudden it's gone. Your flow, your confidence, your belief in your ability. You can argue with yourself, point to your accomplishments, look at all your successful paintings and happy clients, but when you fall into this morass, the demons have a way of countering every one of those affirmations.

Autumn Reflections-14x18 oil
Buy this Painting!

It's helpful to examine why these negative voices are suddenly so noisy. Sometimes the culprit is a poisonous relationship or even a poisonous encounter. Once seen, that's easy enough to fix.
 Sometimes it just happens from trying something new. Lately I've had to remind myself that it takes time to get a new thing to work. If I expect or demand instantly wonderful results I can pretty quickly convince myself that I'm terrible at my craft.
Lack of balance can also steer your efforts down a disappointing road. You're not likely to produce a high caliber of work if you push yourself to exhaustion, short yourself of sleep, or worry excessively about your business efforts or shortcomings.
But when I can't figure out why my muse has gone into hiding, I clear away all the  mental clutter and I go back to my very early days of painting when I expected nothing but was certain I was going to achieve my objectives.

How do you silence the demons?

How Artists Choose What They Paint

 Most of the time when I set out to paint, the landscape chooses me. The light, or the shape of the land, or the combination of colors calls out this is it - stop-  paint me! The truth is that there's no shortage of images in my mental file cabinet waiting to be painted. I'm also fortunate to live in a beautiful place with white sand beaches and turquoise water. It's a paradise that provides the material for the coastal paintings that seem to resonate with my collectors.




Gulf Islands National Seashore©Theresa Grillo Laird - oil on canvas - 22x36
Permanent Collection U.S. Federal Reserve Board

Sometimes though, I'll choose a subject just to explore and learn from. This past week I've gone no further than the back yard of a house in New Jersey. There's nothing remarkable about the scene of three backyard sheds with an immense fir tree towering over them, yet I'm working on my third version.

The first version I painted over a two hour period in the late morning.  I was attracted to the peeling blue and white paint on the middle shed and the deep darkness of the tree branches.



Backyard Sheds©Theresa Grillo Laird - oil on canvas - 11x14

The second version I painted late in the day. I forced myself to work much faster than I usually paint. It was finished in thirty minutes. I was surprised at how effortless this one was after the more thought through first study.



Backyard Sheds 2 ©Theresa Grillo Laird - oil on canvas - 11x14

The third version, still in progress, is an exploration of the mosaic of color and texture in the fir tree very late in the day.



Backyard Sheds 3©Theresa Grillo Laird - oil on canvas - 11x14