Painting workshop in Southern Colorado with Jill Carver

It sure is green here! The aspen are just leafing out and what was gold and yellow when I was here last fall is now just as green as can be! It is challenging to get the greens right, with the right amount of warmth or coolness so that each area can be seen as different from the one next to it that may be the same value!

We have been working hard on values. Yesterday we did three value studies, going from a simple black and white painting showing just the light and shadow patterns, then adding one grey to the next one, then two on the next, for a total of four values.

Today we did another value study using five values, and then painted the same scene in color. Jill photographed the color paintings in black and white and we will compare our color paintings to the value study via the black and white photo. The goal is to learn to see value comparisons within and between the different hues. That is a challenge for me, as I know I have a tendency to use color when I should be using value. Hopefully my painting I did today achieved that, although I think I could have used temperature better to give more of a feeling of distance. But we will see when we critque on Thursday.

Tomorrow we head to a local ranch to paint, with lunch catered by a person who I am told is a fabulous cook! A treat after my cheese quesdillas I have had for lunch every day so far this week.

Colorful Colorado

When I went to Rico (near Telluride Colorado) to attend Jill Carver's fabulous workshop, I stopped and took photos both coming and going. The color was just incredible! It was the last week in September, which is peak time for most mountain areas, and this region was no exception. The photo I used as reference for this was taken on a side road on the Dallas Divide.

One of the women who attended the workshop was Shirley Novak, the wife of artist Ralph Oberg. While Shirley and I and the rest of the workshop attendees were out painting, Ralph and his friend and fellow artist, Dan Young (also from Colorado) went out and painted every day too. The amount of work they turned out was incredible! They each did at least one, and most days two, 11x14 or larger plein air paintings. I was amazed at how quickly they worked and what great paintings they produced.

Getting back to taking photos on the Dallas Divide, it seemed that everywhere I stopped as I headed north to go home, Dan Young was also stopping to take photos, so perhaps one day you will see this same scene, or something close to it, in a Dan Young painting. I am sure he would do a better job on it than I did, but I had fun with the yellow and purple combination.

BTW, Jill is doing another workshop in Rico in June 2011. I have already signed up and am looking forward to it.

After the Jill Carver workshop

I didn't come out with a completed painting! We painted every day, and I got a couple of good starts, but nothing finished. I did finish one of them today (I think) but haven't photographed it yet. The photo above is of Jill painting a cottonwood as her first demo. I met one of our fellow bloggers there. Pam Holnback also took the workshop. I enjoyed getting to know her and her husband Peter, both former schoolteachers. She did a much better job than I did of posting about the workshop as we took it, and she finished her paintings! I was lucky to get my block ins done.

The workshop was fabulous and I learned a lot! However, it is a bit difficult to see nothing but Cadmium yellow and yet paint using neutrals (greys). The color in Rico was awesome, and whole hillsides were bright yellow and orange! I commented on how orange one little patch of trees in the distance was against the dark pines, and Jill told me that it wasn't really orange, but a "peachy pinky grey". She is the master and I am just the student, so I believed her, but I sure wanted to use my Cad yellow and Indian yellow!

The second photo was taken at Trout Lake, just over Lizard Head pass from Rico, about halfway to Telluride. I loved the orange color in the mountain. In some lights it was really bright orange, and I wondered who would believe me if I actually painted it that color. They would think I was taking a little artistic license.

Before and after

I did a couple of plein air paintings this weekend in Westcliffe. They weren't particularly good, but at least I didn't turp them out. I thought I would post one here as a "before" the Jill Carver workshop, and I will hopefully post a much better one as an "after". This isn't quite finished as I thought I would tweak the fence posts after it dried a bit. I may never get around to it, as it isn't one of my favorites....maybe it should have been turped out! The two triangular shapes are too similar; I should have make one of them larger and the other smaller. Not a particularly good composition. It also needs a lighter streak of light behind the trees. Perhaps I should never have posted it, but now you know why I am taking this workshop!

Off to a Jill Carver workshop

Tonight I am in Westcliffe, Colorado, a little town in the valley between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Christo Mountains. I am here with my sister and another artist friend, Joe Garcia, as they have work in a show and sale that benefits the San Isabel Land Trust. Sunday I leave for Rico, Colorado, a small town near Telluride, for a 5 day workshop with Jill Carver. Jill is one of my favorite plein air artists and I am excited to be in her workshop.

I have said that I find plein air painting plain frustrating, and if Jill can't get me to enjoy it more, no one can! Telluride is a beautiful place and the fall leaves should be near their peak. I will try to post some updates while I am there. We have internet in the hotel, so I won't be completely cut off, although cell phone service will be limited during the day as we are out and about. Not a bad thing!