Plein Air Painting Demo at the Kerouac House.

Posted on by Thor

Plein Air painter Cory Wright offered a free painting demonstration at the Kerouac House, (1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804). The painting demonstration was one of many offered this week as part of the Winter Park Paint Out hosted by the Albin Polasek Museum. When I arrived, Museum Curator, Rachael Frisby was setting up an information table and setting out some lawn chairs.  A tall banner announced the Paint Out. It took the evening breeze like a sail held up by a mast. Once a table leg was planted on the base, it was secure.

A young couple arrived with a blanket which they spread on the lawn for a picnic. They ate chicken and sipped wine, while Cory got her easel and palette set up. I liked how she had a paper towel roll neatly hanging from her easel. She held a fist full of brushes, but told us that she tended to just use two on any given canvas. She pointed out that if you want To become a good painter, then the best thing to is draw all the time. She talked quite a bit about painting into the effect which means, having an understanding of the light direction and using that knowledge to inspire the direction the painting takes.

Cory described her process… “The beauty of plein air painting for me,
aside from the obvious delight of simply being outdoors observing
nature, is communicating the energy, immediacy, and sense of feeling
about a particular place through painting. I find I’m constantly on the
lookout for interesting patterns and contrasts in shapes, values and
color, be it a shadow cast on the sand or the reflection of a rock in
the water. Driven to make the most of sharing the beauty I experience
in my surroundings, I aim to snatch a moment of changing light and
reveal that fragment of time to others. In doing so regularly, my hope
is to become evermore skilled and masterful as an oil painter.”

As the sun set, and the golden light faded, Cory finished up her painting adding some dappled light she had observed earlier in the evening. She thanked the dozen or so patrons who had come out to watch her work and there was a moving round of applause.

Painting demo: A Plein Air Picnic.

Posted on by Thor

Painter, Harold Frontz gave a painting demo titled, “A Plein Air Picnic”. I had high hopes of seeing a beautiful woman with a white parasol feeding grapes to her fashionable partner while a stocky lap dog sniffs in the grass. It was a gorgeous day at the Albin Polasek Museum, (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789). The museum is on three acres overlooking Lake Osceola. I walked down to the water’s edge to watch the water lilies as they bobbed on the water’s surface. Rachael Frisby the museum curator wandered from artist to artist to check on their progress.

Inside, plein air paintings that were still wet leaned against the walls waiting to be hung. The paintings were freshly created by artists who were part of the Winter Park Paint Out happening April 23rd to the 29th. Free painting demos were available all week long. For me, it was a great opportunity to learn from other artists.

Harold Frontz was actually painting a still life that he set up on a white linen tablecloth. A red apple sat next to a bro me bowl holding some ferns, along with some yellow flowers described them, “happy grapes.” He rubbed a warm ground onto the board and quickly roughed in a light drawing using a #2 bright brush and slightly darker pigment. a larger brush and showed it to the audience. “This is the secret of impressionistic painting” announced. He could use the flat edge for large brush strokes and then turn the brush to get a thinner stroke. He uses a Masterson sealed palette which is like Tupperware. He lined the bottom with brown paper and set a sheet of glass on top of that. I immediately want to adopt that idea.

Harold uses a separate brush for every color. He organized his wet brushes on the palette lid. He uses lots of paper towels. He adopted the practice from portraiture of placing the light side of the face against a dark background and placing the dark side of the face against a light background. Transparent darks we applied to his canvas first. Harold blocked in his painting he stressed the importance of using the brush strokes, define direction, shape, and form.

Harold stopped and sat in the front row. He gave an overview of the points he had covered in the demonstration. The funniest thing he said, was that he is soft spoken, because at home, he can’t get a word in edgewise.