The Fine Art of The One-Day Painting
“Alla Prima” is Italian for “At Once”. Although some artists use this phrase to define a specific style of painting, the literal definition refers to a painting that was started and completed in one sitting. ”Plein Air” is a French term that means “Open Air” or ”Outside”; A plein air painting is done entirely outside. Not to mix languages, but one of my favorite activities is doing Alla Prima paintings in Plein Air. I refer to these simply as “Day Sketches”.
Day Sketches are paintings that are started and finished in One Day, completed outside on location. Obstacles prevent me from spending too much time at the same place. That, coupled with a personal desire to grow as an artist, and a love of travel and painting new places, makes this approach a good fit for my needs. I have found that these Day Sketches are a valuable tool for improving as an artist, as well as a highly challenging art-form in its own right. It must be noted here, that although I paint these day sketches regularly, I also paint more involved studio and landscape paintings as well; I am not suggesting that an artist should paint only one-day sketches, nor do I feel that this aspect of painting should be ignored, but rather it might be considered as a balanced addition of any artist’s set of particular skill sets.
As if it wasn’t already a fun pursuit, painting Day Sketches has become just a little bit like game that I play, the rules being: “How well can I ‘capture a scene’ in 3 hours, without finishing it at home, or working from photos!”. My personal goal is to maintain a light attitude that allows me to enjoy painting, enjoy being outside, and create a lasting work of art. And, if on occasion, some paintings do not turn out well, I am under no compulsion to show them to anyone. This frees from from a lot of stress, and the continual burden of always having to produce something salable.
A Plein Air method I use for painting a Day Sketch:
Before beginning to paint, I need to know what I am going to paint. Of all the “keys” to successful painting, this might be the most important. Successful paintings rarely happen by accident, and they are even less likely to happen twice in a row. Therefore, it is important to be actively pursuing a work of art from the first. One way to do this is to simply see the finished painting before starting, and then putting attention and effort into fulfilling that vision.
When I arrive at a new location, I like to walk around and familiarize myself with the surroundings. Like a blank canvas, my mind needs to be looking for the subject or story at hand: seeing it as an artist. I make clear mental notes about first impressions, what is essential, what should be left out, and what about this scene that really speaks to me. I ask myself questions like: “What is special about this place that deserves to be painted?” ”Do I want people to recognize this place, or simply create a mood?” “How should the palette reflect this scene?” And so on…
Having painted well over a hundred of these little “Day Sketches” in just the last few years, I have developed a clear method*. Several unique variables determine how I paint each scene, but this method is a good starting point, and it is easy to repeat. *I will note, however, that I readily depart from this procedure, when I feel the painting calls for it.
I usually paint on a 12×16″ (double oil primed linen) panel, but depending on time constraints, will sometimes paint smaller. A thin wash of Transparent Orange/ OMS on the canvas beforehand, makes a sunny yellow colored ground prior to painting. I will sometimes allow this yellowish ground to show through in the finished painting in some places.
Notice the progress from: (1)Line Drawing (2)Blocked-in Painting (3) Finished Details. In other words, Simple to more Complex; Large Shapes to Small Details, Loose to Tight, etc…
Step 1: The Drawing
Careful drawing in the beginning stages will often yield a better painting at the end.
Drawing is one of the skills that is too easily skimmed over when painting plein air, but can be practiced in a practical way in this stage of the painting. One way to enjoy ‘drawing’ is to think of it as a seperate art form, and not always ‘just a means to an end’. This is a sound approach to the discipline of painting, so don’t worry if someone else does it differently.
Begin by drawing an outline of the major elements (shapes) in the scene trying to place (placement) them as accurately as possible, but also quickly. (This should only take about twenty minutes, or so.).
Start with a line drawing using a thinned mixture of Ivory Black and Oderless Mineral Spirits(OMS). These lines will mostly disappear, or be painted over, by the end of the painting.
Mass in any of the shadow shapes in the scene with this same mixture, making note of the darkest darks in the picture (in this picture the sun was high so there were only a few prominent darks, and shadow shapes, so those needed to be dead-on). The darks are kept thin and transparent throughout.
Do not start painting until the drawing is figured out. Any problem areas only tend to become compounded, and are often avoided altogether. Do the hard part first, or come back to it later, but figure it out. Sometimes coming back to a difficult passage after working around it, helps solve it. Other times, simply roll up the shirt-sleeves and do it!
Step 2: The Wash
Move as fast as you can while still maintaining your focus and accuracy.
When as much of the drawing stage is done as can be done, and when it is as accurate as it can be, proceed to add color. This is the Lion’s share. Most of the work is done in this step. Try to keep moving, but try to get it right at the same time.
Use the largest brush possible, as this will keep the focus on painting the essentials (big shapes). Start with sizes 8, 10, and 12 China Bristle, and only switch to a smaller brush when its not possible to paint anymore with the largest brushes. It is possible to know when the brush is too big, but probably not when it is too small.
Using a thinned mixture of paint/OMS, begin to paint large areas of color. Fill in your drawing with the color as close as you can match it, without getting caught up in any details yet. The goal is to cover the canvas as quickly as possible, but accurately.
Often I work with the flat side of a china brush, in a scubbing motion (against the bristles) to apply paint. Try to stand arms length away from the easel, and hold the brush at the back of the handle. Work in simple, flat masses of color. Do not worry about blending or finishing anything yet, but by the same token: get it right now and there will be less to do later.
”Bring Up” the painting up at the same time; if one part of the drawing begins to fall behind, be neglected, or is simply wrong, stop everything else and bring it up to speed. Also, if one part of the drawing is being over-worked, or is way ahead of everything else, bring everything else in the painting up to that point before proceeding any further. This keeps the painting cohesive, and helps to focus on the bigger picture, and not get caught up in details.
This stage done when the entire canvas is covered, the drawing is still in tact (or improved), everything is done, that can can be done, with the larger bristle brushes
When this stage is done I usually take a few-minutes break. This is a great time to stretch and walk around, or take a rest. When you look at your picture again you should feel renewed, and see your painting fresh. Things should be obvious that you need to fix, and things that look really nice about your painting can be developed further.
Step 3: Adding Details.
Now slow down and fine tune your artwork.
As the painting nears completion look for any places that jump out or distract from the paintings unity- or from the picture as a whole. A painting that is well-painted from the beginning will almost finish itself. The things left to complete should be obvious, and if they are not please do not include them.
There should be little or no drawing corrections to be made anywhere. Keep blended colors, softer edges, and less detail in the background. If needed, add broken color, higher contrast, and texture in the foreground. Do not be afraid to add some areas of thicker opaque paint where you want the texture to show, especially in the lightest areas. Make sure the focal point is just that.
It is not about how much detail is added, it’s more about getting everything in the picture just right. Adding detail can make or break a picture, but it needs to be the right details in the right place. Unimportant details (one’s that do not add something to your overall message) should be left out or eliminated. To help me see the end result, I often think about what the painting will look like on my wall, or better yet, what the painting will look like on someone else’s wall when it is finished.
*In order to keep track of personal growth and development doing Day Sketches, I have started to write the date on the back of each painting, and the location that the picture was painted.
“Gill”s Rock” oil on linen 8 × 10″
