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Monday, April 06, 2015

Video Demo: A Quick Plein Air Painting of a Spring Flowering Tree

'Spring is in the Air'               5x7               plein air   pastel               ©Karen Margulis
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It was a beautiful Spring day in Atlanta. The perfect opportunity to try out my new plein air set up and shoot this week's video.  I packed my new baby Heilman box (the double sketchbook), my tripod and some paper and my husband and I headed to the river.

Michael volunteered to be the cameraman. That was great for me because I needed to get familiar with my new set-up. We decided to go the a park alongside the Chatahoochee River.  I did a warm up painting and we decided the light would be better if I faced the opposite direction. I really wanted to find some blooming trees so we moved to another spot.

The best spot happened to be right where we parked. There was a wonderful row of blooming redbud trees. Sure they were alongside a busy road. Yes there were houses and 'stuff' behind the trees. But it was a great exercise in simplifying and editing!


That was fun!
I thank you in advance for watching. In Wednesday's blog post I will answer any questions you have about the demo. Ask questions in the comment section.

5 comments:

Sandi Graham Pastels said...

Wonderful demo and fun to watch. Thumbnail sketch seems imperative to isolate a composition out of so much to look at. Do you use a viewfinder? Often, in studio you prechoose your pallette,but since you have a Plein air box and may choose a random subject on site,it seems you work intuitively for color. Do you prechoose your plein aire pallette for a certain place? I missed hearing your voice but appreciated the captions. Thank you for this latest video. I'm dusting off my plein air box and excited to get out here in Upstate NY!

robertsloan2art said...

Great painting as always! I love redbud trees, crepe myrtles, Bartlett pears, anything that blooms that way. They are so magnificent! Great lesson in simplification and even without narration that was a wonderful clear video. Loved your thumbnail, you got a good arrangement on the first go. (Or tossed the clips with the rejects!)

Also really like your double sketchbook Heilman, that is so cool!

Unknown said...

I totally enjoyed the video. I need to figure out how to set up my little Heilman box I got last year on a tri pod. Nice to see you include that in video. Loved watching you layer and establish things. Choosing colors and making a mark and rechoosing. Love watching how you mold the tree. I just learned about compressed charcoal, so great to see you use it! Your hubby did good too!
I too missed your voice, but enjoyed captions and being able to pay attention to you orchestrating your symphony. Beautiful!

Unknown said...

Wow I can't believe how fast you painted that picture. Did you edit the video or was that all real time? I am an incredibly slow painter! I drive myself crazy sometimes...lol

Thank you for a very pretty painting

Tim Moore said...

i also enjoyed watching, so much nicer than just pictures..i did subscribe to the youtube channel, although i wont miss the videos since i have this subscription!..it is nicer to see how you apply and the types of marks you make and the order you do things.