Plein Air Painting Demonstration – City Of Rocks – By Jo Castillo
About Jo
Jo Knoblock Castillo has always had an interest in art and working with her hands. Whether it was cooking, sewing or making gifts, she was happy to be “doing”. While living in Bolivia, she finally rediscovered her love of painting. Her interest is in landscapes and paintings that have connections to her life.
Jo works in most media, but has discovered she really enjoys the special luminosity of pastels. They are tactile, immediate and long lasting. Other than smudging if touched (they should be framed under glass), they are very durable. The colors are clear and vibrant. “I enjoy painting from life and use my own reference photos just as a reminder of shape or lighting,” says the artist.
Winters find Jo and Gene, her husband, living in Bastrop, Texas. It is near family and offers a mild climate and plenty of golf courses and opportunities to paint. Jo looks forward to plein air painting in New Mexico each summer. “It is a challenge to set up an easel and paint a scene in just a couple of hours,” Jo says, “The light is very fleeting and you have to get down large sections of light and dark very quickly to establish your painting. Weather doesn’t always cooperate and uninvited visitors like mosquitos or snakes are not uncommon.”
Please take a moment to visit Jo’s websites to learn more about her and to view more of her work:
Cedar Crossing – A Step-by-step Oil Painting Demonstration By Aaron Holland
About Aaron
My formal training has been in the “Boston School” tradition, at the Studio of Peter Bougie and Brian Lewis (an Atelier), in the lineage of Richard Lack. While there, I was trained in portraiture, figurative, and still life painting methods, as well as a thorough study of academic drawing approaches. I studied with Mr Bougie and Mr. Lewis every day for five days a week, approximently 7-8 hours a day, for three and a half years. Ironically, it was while I was there that I came to love the landscape.
Both of my teachers are ardent “Plein Air” ( outside, on location) landscape painters, and would often bring in their paintings for our appreciation. After much time spent in the studio their paintings were like a breath of fresh air, and the saturated colors of outdoor light seemed beyond comprehension. I was further impressed by the notion that the paintings were done without the aid of photographic references! It was their belief that, although sometimes necessary, it can often be counter-productive to the aims of a true artist.
I have been painting “on my own” since 1998, and have tried to maintain the same integrity and faithfulness towards landscape painting that I saw demonstrated there. Although there are some differences in how I see and paint the landscape, I think that is an important aspect to growing and developing as an artist. I have made an effort to dedicate several days each week to paint direct from nature. During these painting sessions I have been seeking to capture both the essence of a scene, and how it speaks to me on a personal level. Currently I am concentrating on smaller en plein air compositional studies with a focus on light and color, painted “en premiere coup” (or, in one sitting).
About
My name is Ralph Serpe and I am webmaster and founder of the Art Instruction Blog. That’s me and my wife Pauline pictured on the left.
This site was originally created as a companion to our main site CreativeSpotlite.com, but has since taken on a life of its own. This sites main objective is to provide art instruction and other great resources for visual artists.
We are regularly adding fresh content to this site. We offer free lessons on a variety of different mediums including oil painting, acrylic painting, watercolor, drawing and more. We also regularly feature artists in our section entitled “Artist Spotlight” as well as one on one interviews with professional Artist’s.
If you have not done so already, I highly recommend that you subscribe to our Newsletter so that you can be informed whenever we add new content or make other updates.
How To Become an Accomplished Artist
To become an accomplished artist is just like anything else in life. It requires the correct mindset and the willingness to succeed.
DESIRE
First and foremost, you need to have the desire to learn and grow. Without the desire to learn and grow, your interest will fade over time. You will definitely make mistakes and progress may not happen as quickly as you originally anticipated. If you lack the desire to continue and learn from those mistakes, you will not see much in the way of progress. I can attest to this. When I first began oil painting I recall how terrible my first paintings were. I had no experience mixing or matching colors. I did not understand that mixing colors is a science all in itself. I would either mix too many colors, or mix the wrong colors, and my mixtures came out terrible. I did become quite frustrated, and eventually discouraged, until I finally stopped for a while. It wasn’t until I took a trip to The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, that I realized just how badly I wanted to paint. I became inspired and my desire to paint was ignited once again. So make certain that you always stay inspired to create. Surround yourself with creativity. Talk to other artists. Look at other artwork, etc.
LEARN & PRACTICE
Once you have found the desire to embark on your artistic journey, you will obviously need to learn and practice. You will need the right resources and teachers to guide you in the right direction. Everyone is different and your way of learning anything new can differ from another persons learning methods. Some people learn better by watching others. If this is the case, purchase some quality art instruction videos or DVD’s. Watch them once or twice first before you participate. This will make the experience much more enjoyable and easier to follow once you are ready to join in. There are a number of well made and resourceful art instruction videos and DVDs on the market today. Perhaps you prefer to learn in a group or classroom setting with an instructor. Do a search for beginner workshops in your area and join a few. The benefit of the classroom setting is the instant feedback you receive on your work. You also have other students and an instructor there to answer any questions that you may have. There are workshops available on virtually everything from painting to crafts, so you should be able to find something in your area or online. Maybe you prefer to read books and learn on your own, at your own pace. This is the way I started learning. I have a nice little library now of great art instruction books that I am constantly re-visiting.
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