It's the middle of February here and freezing cold so when I noticed some work completed in years past my thoughts turned to painting outside again. I have been in the studio peeling canvas from older frames and getting ready to stretch some new ones in anticipation of warmer days ahead.
This year I will also build some new stretchers to see what happens in a larger format. I want to continue working on the idea of completing work in one sitting on site which keeps it in the moment for me. As you can see from the sketch above I don't need winter to be over, just a few hours of above zero temperatures. Having the sun shining is a bonus increasing the contrast between light and dark and keeping the hands warm.
Working in this way has always had the benefit of allowing chance to enter and play a part in the work. Something outside the control of the artists planning relying on intuition alone. The idea first struck home with me when I was working on a series of paintings around the morning glory plants that used to grow in our yard. The plants themselves grew quickly and the blooms unfurled in front of my eyes over a few short hours. I was trying to keep up to this process recording the plants as I saw them while taking into account the changing light and sky conditions. I began to notice that bees and dragonflies were also enjoying the blooms and immediately added them in wanting to record the fullest account of events.
Since then all kinds of bugs and animals have found themselves recorded in my work by passing through the view plane doing what they do. I add them in and energize my work with their presence.
