Time was of the essence during this painting holiday. While not overrun with museums, there are so many living, breathing, and lovely places to experience in this area. What I mean by that is that this region is considered by many to be ”La France Profonde”. What I mean by THAT is that the Lot and the Dordogne embody so many of the characteristics of what one would think of as truly and profoundly French. The production of their food and wine, farming, and, well, their manner of living, is still very much practiced in traditional ways. Yes, there is a lot to see, (chateaux, winding and ambling river valleys, lovely medieval villages, and of course French markets and shops). But this is a place to be experienced.
There were a thousand potential paintings right around the old convent where we stayed. So to make the most of our time, we decided to paint the sunrise. We got up extra early and headed out to paint a lovely sheep pasture that had been spotted by a the “early morning walkers” in our group. Only, there was no sun to be seen. Instead, (and even better) there was the most beautiful soft fog lifting off of the grass:
Work in Progress (as yet untitled)
Oil on Linen, 11×14″
When we set up to paint, we had a couple of dilemmas. The sheep were in the neighboring pasture. But who could resist painting this little chateau? No problem. We’ll just paint the chateau and move to the next pasture to add the sheep. (Hey, that’s the beauty of being an artist, right?)Â
The other challenge was the that we knew this etherial effect of fog would soon burn off, so we had to work quickly to capture what we saw as best we could, alla prima. Actually, the opposite happened. Instead of lifting off, the fog actually settled in thicker, nearly obscuring the upper part of the hillside trees.
This was as far as I got. It’s almost there but I feel there are some areas that need to be resolved, like the foreground and the area just above the chateau. I’d also like to develop a bit more surface texture. The trick will be not to lose the freshness that is so characteristic of plein air painting. We’ll see.
In any event, one bonus for us is that the sheep actually (eventually) decided to head over to the pasture with the chateau. Those critters can move, so you never know which way they’re going to head. But we got lucky. Merci les moutons!
Jennifer
Young; Vibrant LandscapesOil Paintings and Art Prints Online
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Love this painting, and can’t wait to visit there. Le Bah!
I read this and sort of missed the little sketch of the sheep. made me laugh. Nice painting, very pastural. I have lots of painting’s like that. The ones that still need a little work in the forground and then there is the bit just over the chateau. I usually ignore those and then sometimes I just try to forget.
I’m jealous, now that you’re back, Rick didn’t leave no stink’in comment on MY post. Oh well, I guess he was just on loan while you were away.
Your fog painting is amazing! I don’t think I’d have any idea how to mix those subtle tones. Your painting makes me feel like a Disney animator.
Back to work, more to learn!!!
Thanks for the nods guys!
And…Aw Marilyn,
Give yourself some credit on all counts. Any way, I think it was the sheep cartoon that was the real draw to this post.
On the fog…Ya know, other than saying I used lots of white, I have no idea how I mixed the colors either. Plein air painting is that way. There’s no formula, just response, if you know what I mean. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of thought and planning though.
Works like these where there is a lot of atmosphere are primarily value paintings. The values are a LOT closer together and almost all of the edges are softer than what you’d see on a sunny day where there’s lots of contrast. So you just have to constantly compare the subtle variations of each element you lay down. Very challenging, but where I always used to paint bright sun-shiny days, I’m now becoming more and more attracted to these atmospheric scenes.
Jennifer,
Hope you know the “no stink’in” phrase came from our colleague, Mr. Rick. I don’t know about you but I’ve been receiving several comments including the phrase “stink’in this” and “no stink’in that” and after Kenn, my hubby read it, it has become common banter for us on a daily basis. It kind of stuck in our vocabulary like phrases of old: “Go ahead, make my day” and ” Where’s the beef?” Just thought I’d share where THAT came from! I’d add a little smiley face at this point but I don’t have no stink’in smiley face to add. LOL