Extreme Plein Air/Water Painting

" Fly Me to the Moon"  12x12" Oil on Canvas

Here's a funny story, albeit a little long. I got an email newsletter today from Plein Air Magazine. The title mentioned "Extreme plein air painting." My first thought was - boy, do I know what thats about. Then I clicked on the link and saw that my recent gig in NYC was the featured story. Who knew??  I told my husband and he said, "do they know about us drawing underwater surrounded by sharks? That's more extreme" I said "You're right - I don't think so, but I'll send them pictures if they want to see what real extreme plein air - err, water looks like. " So I did. I never meant to start a new category like "extreme painting" but, if the shoe fits, I think I'm wearing it.

A little history, my husband, Mark Hagan, a jazz bass player, scuba diver, surfer dude and inventor of the aquaSketch, (the only underwater drawing device), happens to also be a very talented artist on his own. He wanted to sketch during his dives, and since no waterproof drawing tool existed (no surprise there) and since he doesn't like to work from photos, this explains how his unique product came to be. Fast forward now, to a scuba magazine that heard about this and wanted to feature him sketching...sharks. He needed a videographer to take photos of this ordeal (or more specifically, a FREE chump videographer - thats how I got roped into this sordid ordeal). Long story short, and lots of balking and swearing, I agreed to get a scuba license for the purposes of filming him in action.  This link shows what I saw as I dove into a circling pool of sharks and then immediately and passionately wished I hadn't. I have to admit, the NYC deal was a bed of roses in comparison.

That being said, above I have posted another painting from my urban adventure. I set up at 10:00 am in a location where there were the least amount of people present. By 11 am I was in the epicenter of the most amount of people contained in one square block of Manhattan, on the hottest day of the summer. Little did I know that a Frank Sinatra impersonator would be giving a free concert just a few feet behind me. Clearly, everyone in New York knew but me.

In keeping with the title of this blog post, I have attached a photo of me drawing the sharks too. So I couldn't resist. I heard this advice once "don't be distracted by your subject". OK - I'm trying!

Le Carousel at Bryant Park

Carousel 12x12"  Oil

After I got done painting Patience, the Lion Statue, who posed so gracefully and perfectly still, I decided to ratchet up the anxiety level and go for something that moved continuously. The Carousel beckoned me... kids jumping on and off, the horses and frogs and carriages a whirring blur of color. I would have killed to work from a photo, but that was not the nature of this gig. Truth be known, this is not my favorite painting of the batch. I scraped, re-worked and re-painted many areas; it got a bit overworked. However, I will pat myself on the back for taking it on. It was way beyond my comfort level. I can't say that I succeeded in pulling off a great painting, but I definitely succeeded in "feeling the fear and doing it anyways". Hey, why play it safe when you can torture yourself for kicks? ha ha

Below is a photo of me wrestling with this alligator...

Patience the Lion at NYPL

"Patience" the Lion  12x12" Oil  Click to Bid

I did this piece during my recent plein air painting gig in NYC. The tricky part is that by the time my easel was set up, the light and shadows on the Lion had already changed drastically. That, and the fact that I planted myself smack in the middle of the sidewalk at Fifth Avenue at 42nd street, The New York Public Library, it was quite the hectic atmo. It's truly amazing how once you pop in your headphones and get the itunes cranking, the rest of the world pleasantly drops away -  until a kid trips over your easel leg and jolts you back to reality. I put the people in as an afterthought...Patience looked too lonely by himself. 

Two Blondes

Two Blondes, 11x14 Oil 

Here is another painting from my series of plein air paintings in NYC. I had to figure out a system to deal with all these moving people. I mean, its hard enough to paint figures when working from  models who are posing for hours -- capturing them in seconds flat seemed impossible. Enter my trusty sketchbook and charcoal pencil - nail down those poses quickly and when the people change positions, or take off, as they inevitably do, work from my sketches.  Vouila!

Dealing with Joe Q Public was just as challenging as the dealing with the unpredictability of plein air conditions.  Of all the tables and chairs available to sit at, this little Jewish guy decides he must sit at my table, with me. Didn't he realize his black top hat would soon be decorated with purple paint blobs? Only in New York.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

Thats the title of a book I read in 1992, which forever re-positioned how I dealt with fear. Along those same lines, my favorite quote is by Eleanor Roosevelt "Do one thing everyday that scares you".  Well I had an ideal opportunity to deal with some real fears this past two weeks, painting in the middle of midtown Manhattan, en plein air. Sandwiched in Times Square, Bryant Park and 5th Ave. at 42nd Street (the NY Public Library), I was hired to paint the area - plein air only, for two weeks, 8 hours a day, part of a program offered to 4 selected local artists.  My gig ended yesterday and I was featured on the cover of the New York Times today - very nice payback for the grueling schlepping in 100 degree heat.

My big fear was less the intimidation of being surrounded by huge crowds of people, it was more an artistic fear - how do you paint people that are constantly moving? I became acutely aware of why most plein air painters choose landscapes. Mountains, trees and rocks don't move. People don't stop moving. Lets just say I had no choice but to figure it out, the hard way - by doing it on the spot - with no place to hide.

As it turns out, I got pretty fast painting one minute poses, often thats all the time I had to capture someone before they completely changed positions or left altogether. Memorizing was key, as was sketching fast, and also reconstructing (mentally) the physics of how the human body is put together.  Just like anything that is a great learning experience, it often happens at the expense of comfort. Well this wasn't comfortable on any level, and I learned more than words can say.

I will attach some of the paintings I did in upcoming posts. This one below was a 10 minute painting of people relaxing on the park lawn. They were not lying together like this, I just kept pivoting my easel around and capturing whoever was nearby.

New York, New York... if I can paint here, I can paint anywhere

"Lawn Loungers, Oil, 8x8"

Albany, NY Workshop

I just returned from teaching a 2 day workshop to a group of 19 very talented artists who are members of the Colonie Art League, in Albany, NY. This photo is clearly a "before the chaos" started. How they put up with my blabbing incessantly and pushing them to paint in new (even weird) ways - for 12 hours -  is a testament to how much people can take.  The one thing that I never got around to was taking a photo of was all the work they did in those 2 days - I got a quick glimpse and before I knew it the workshop was over and everyone bolted like lightning... hey - come back guys, lets paint s'more!

Today's Demo

The Usual Suspects 8x8" Acrylic  Click to Buy

When I ask artists why they are taking my workshop, I always hear: I need to loosen up... I'm too slow, my work looks tired, etc etc. Usually they are suffering from tiny-brush-induced-detailitis. I tell them its easy to loosen up and proceed to force them to do so. In reality, its not about time, what they actually want is a more gestural, lyrical, painterly quality to their work. I preach big brushes, lots of paint, get your values correct. I love it when artists come in as disbelievers, and leave gushing with excitement to do their next 30 minute painting. Amen!

Day Lilies

Day Lilies 8x8" Acrylic Click to bid

Well I did the same old exercise as yesterday, get ready, set, off to the races! It took me 54 minutes this time - I'm getting slower instead of faster - oops. But hey - there are 3 blossoms (and a bunch of buds) instead of two.  I decided to not do a demo of day lilies for the workshop tomorrow - they wilt. Imagine that. I need something that won't move. Hmmm, maybe an eggplant... and it's easier! 

Twolips

Pink Tulips 8x8" Acrylic  Click to bid

My favorite flower, simple, elegant tulips.  I'm teaching a "How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold" Workshop on Friday at the Art Academy of Westchester, and decided to create a step-by-step demo handout for my students, so I took a slew of photos at regular intervals while I was painting this, from start to finish. I timed myself too - 53 minutes. Since "Fast" is in the title of the workshop... I better be!

Let's paint Tuscany

Zig Zag Countryside 8x8" Oil  Click here to bid

I haven't fallen off the earth, it just looks that way. I've leapt into the next frying pan, writing and illustrating my second book "Color Theory: An essential guide to color-from basic principles to practical applications". It will be available in October of 2012.

I'm also finalizing plans for my Tuscany workshop this September. There are a couple of spots left - register now if you'd like to join us for this amazing trip. To view the trip details, see the itinerary, price options, and more, click here. The workshop is going to be big fun, with a focus on loosening up, eliminating unnecessary detail and using color in a more fauvist manner (grass doesn't have to be green, sky doesn't have to be blue!) All media is welcome - oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, mixed media ... the fundamentals I teach apply to all. Besides lots of personal instruction demos and day trips to gorgeous scenic spots, other goodies are included: wine and chocolate tasting events, Tuscan cooking classes, restaurants, shopping in open markets... whats not to die for?

For more information, photos, student testimonials or to register, go to the Toscana Americana website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at patti@pattimollica.com or our trip coordinator, Patrick Mahoney at: infotuscany@aol.com. Hope to paint with you soon - Patti

A Day of Monoprinting

Yesterday I taught a "Monoprinting Without a Press" workshop in West Hartford, Ct. The class caught on to the printing techniques very quickly and each did a series of beautiful, unique prints. Some of the ghost prints (the second image pulled from the same plate) were even better than the originals.  The monoprinting process lends itself to more abstract imagery and designs, one never knows exactly what they're creating until they pull the print - thats the mystery which makes the process so exciting! Above are a series I did in preparation for the class, as well as a photo of my "pressing" students.

Red Cosmo

 8x8" Acrylic on Gessoboard

Click to Bid (sold)

Friday I taught a "How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold" Workshop at the Art Academy of Westchester. This is the demo I did, a red Cosmo in a blue bottle. "Part 2" of the workshop is June 8. Join us if you can!

Daffydil

Click here to bid

Every flower type we have planted around the house sooner or later becomes a meal for the deer - tulips, hydrangeas, irises, azaleas ... here today gone soon after. Everything except these hardy little daffys. 

I'm teaching a workshop this weekend at Art Academy of Westchester - "How to paint fast, loose and bold" - Come join us! 

Easter Bouquet

Spring has sprung and the flowers are beckoning! Who can resist? 

Easter Bouquet

9x12 Acrylic, Price on request

Bowl of Fruit

I painted a bowl of fruit while my students took on a luscious vase of fuchia and red tulips. Sometimes I set up several still lifes around the room, I offer several choices depending on how courageous everyone is feeling.... There was a carton of white eggs vying for attention but compared to the tulips, there was no comparison - and alas, no takers.

Bowl of fruit

10x12 Acrylic Price on request

Rose Quickies

Often while teaching a class, I'll set up an easel and start painting whatever happens to be around. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1. so that I'm not hovering over students constantly, making them feel self conscious, and 2. to show them that getting to the essence of the subject can be accomplished rather quickly, without sweating the details.  Doing this gives them the choice to either watch me do a few demos, or they can continue working on their own paintings and just glance up every now and then. Sometimes I have to reiterate that we are not trying to paint fast to get into the Guiness Book of World Records. We are doing this to accomplish, in as few "choice" economical strokes as possible, the shapes and values that are important to communicating our subject and its form, and eliminating everything else that isn't contributing. 

Another reason, come to think of it, is that sometimes we just don't have much time to paint!

Rose Quickies

Acrylic 11x14 Price on request

Orange Fiesta

Yesterday I was hired to do a 2 hour painting demo at a local art supply store, A.I Friedman. I had a little audience and we chatted thru most of the demo, which is both good, (because it takes the pressure off), and sometimes a little distracting too. Sometimes when carrying on an ongoing conversation, I forget to squint, and then have to go back and make adjustments to my values. This painting done in acrylics, which dry really fast and I try to avoid having to re-do passages because the texture builds up with ridges from the brushstrokes, and for this style of painting, I don't want "dried paint" texture getting in my way. As I look at it I see little things I might have done differently but, I'll think I'll just move on and say... done! Next!

Orange Fiesta
Acrylic, 11x14"  Price on request

Mimi's Bouquet

If there was ever a flower that personified little Mimi, it is clearly the daisy. Simple, cheerful, bright, spirited, sweet, happy. I bought a bouquet of daisies to honor her on the day we had to put her down, I placed them near her bed. We had a vet come to the house for her transition.
I needed to paint these daisies before they wilted. It has only been 12 days, and they are showing no signs of winding down. Mimi went full-tilt till the very end - lived exhuberantly, found/invented games in unremarkable situations, offered up love and laughs generously. She was simply a conduit to joy, that I could access whenever I needed a "hit".  It's spring, the flowers and emerging buds remind me that I'm still surrounded by joy, it's just a matter of remembering to let it in.

Mimi's Bouquet
11x11" Acrylic,  Not for Sale

'Ol Brown Jug

After little Mimi's passing last Saturday, we decided to get away for a couple of days to extract ourselves from all the reminders around the house. I'm thinking lets hit a nice Hudson Valley B&B, cozy fireplace, page-turner novel, hot toddies. My husband was thinking lets hit Vermont, snowboard down a 4,000 ft. mountain, adrenalin rush, peppermint schnapps. He won out, as usual. As distractions go, it worked. Now that we are back, I will gladly exchange snowboarding for painting to keep my mind occupied.  Its safer and I'm better at it. Not feeling particularly colorful, I've been working on my greys lately, here is a piece that has a little bit of grey mixed in with almost every color, painted on a very grey day.

'Ol Brown Jug

11x11" Acrylic on Paper, Price on request

Pink Rose in a Coffee Mug

I guess its time to start doing what I normally do in life, in lieu of recent happenings. I've told myself that it's time start painting again, blogging, exercising, dealing with planet earth responsibilities, etc etc... I honestly feel like i'm carrying around a bowling ball in my heart area.  Doing what I normally do does seem to create a simulation that a certain normal-ness prevails, even if it doesn't.

I started teaching an 8 week class at my studio last Saturday. I always start off with a demo to show my process - how I begin, the brushes I use, the paint/ paint consistency, what I block in first, etc etc.  I always choose a simple subject- usually apples or pears for the first demo. For the second demo (next Saturday) I will paint something more structurally complicated, like a rose or shoes or something. I decided to do a "practice" rose in a cup, just to get the paint flowing again, and get prepared.  I took photos of each step along the way, that I will hand out to the students, so they can have something they can review that shows the order and the progression. This was done on a heavy paper, which absorbs the acrylic paint so fast, I have to work even faster than I normally do. Thats OK - it forces me to really practice what I preach - "fast, loose and bold."

I thank everyone for their heartfelt responses to my last blog post. Truly, your reaching out with love helps me deal, more than I can say.