New Plein Air Watercolor Painting – “Vents”
"Vents"
As sometimes happens when painting plein air, my recent Plein Air Workshop was visited by rain. As a result, this work which began as a class demo was done while I was sheltered just inside a door to the back deck of the Media Barn at Taraden Bed & Breakfast. The view was of the next barn over and the massive vents lining the roof peak.
Selecting a good subject for a plein air painting involves seeing the big picture rather than the detail and simplifying from the overwhelming amount of subject matter. In this case, my low – relative to the peak of the next barn – point of view, the swirling storm clouds in the sky and the interesting angles of the barn roof caught my attention. The rain slick roof was reflective of both the light and of the vents.
Although plein air paintings can be relatively accurate depictions of the artists surroundings, it is generally my way to take liberties with color for most of my plein air paintings. This one is no exception. For the most part the scene in reality was a study in gray and green. The sky, the vents themselves, and the sides of the white barn were all some shade of gray. The barn trim and the one element of greenery – the tree at far left – were green. Knowing that I would want to inject color, I took my cue from the vents, the tops of which were heavily weathered and corroded. Thinking of corrosion as rust, I decided to include a heavy dose of orange and related colors into the composition along with the local color greens. With those two colors included, it was a conscious decision to create the painting based on a triad of secondaries — green, orange & violet – with the subtle violets infused into the grays. The result is both harmonious and contrasting in a balanced way.
An interesting thing to note about the subject barn is that it was the studio for the noted abstract painter and one of the best known color field artists, Ken Noland – see his official website here, and his Wikipedia entry here. The barn itself is very large and served Mr. Noland very well in the creation of the large works he was known for.
Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.
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