Studio. Workshop. Painting workshop. The building where I paint.
Who cares? It is indoors, with consistent light, an easel that holds still, and nothing blowing around. I like being a studio artist. There is a snobbery out there in Art World about plein air painting being superior. It is a specialized skill, and I admire people who can produce good work in a short amount of time with light that changes and changes and changes.
I am not one of those people.
The painting on the left is 8×8″; the one on the right is 6×6″. This is the Honeymoon Cabin in Mineral King. I paint it and it sells so I paint it again. Any questions?
Sorry. That sounded belligerent. Perhaps I feel a bit inferior when I compare myself to those awesome people who can paint on location.
Comparison isn’t a good thing. It is right there with perfectionism in terms of wiping out one’s confidence.
I’m painting my favorite bridge again. This will be done with brighter than normal colors, as I did it last time. This time it will be 11×14″, not a square. Paintings that turn out well restore my confidence, in spite of the inferiority complex about being a studio painter. If I tried to paint this in plein air, I’d either get bitten by a rattlesnake or run over. It’s scary enough just taking photos of it!
This is a set of 3 6×6″ paintings, all done with brighter than normal colors because it makes me happy to mix those kinds of colors. This is layer #1 and there will be at least 2 more layers added to each painting.
From left to right: Lake Kaweah, Moro Rock/Alta Peak, Blossom Peak with the North Fork of the Kaweah River. (Long title, small painting) All three are Three Rivers scenes.
These little paintings take a long time to do, but because of their small size, their value is perceived as a bargain. Often, people mistake them for 4×4″ and expect to pay $30 each.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Each one takes probably 5 hours to paint in order to get it to the level of detail and precision that I like.
Sorry. There’s that bad attitude again. Sigh.