Day 2 Attitude Adjustment!- of the San Marco Balis Park Plein Air Class

 The second class day of the Plein Air San Marco painting class
 went very well, especially compared to the first day when I was
 challenged to paint during the rainy weather.  I dispersed the
 group of 8 so that we could have different points of view
 and stay socially distanced. I felt like I started strong on this,
 a good solid sketch and bold open color fields laid down in  quick succession. 

The whites and their shadows are the hardest but the most rewarding if you 
can get them right.  The whites in cool

 shadows have more blue, when they get nearer the warmth you add a bit of
red. Never use black with water, it looks

 dull.  Work with open large color fields where possible.  Details always come last and reluctantly.

 I started working with a new easel , I like the table and 

it is lightweight.  The  cup holder is small, but it uses a

 small wax paper cup, you have to provide it.

MEEDEN Artist Watercolor Field Easel Portable Easel, Lightweight Field Easel 17 to 65 Inch for Watercolors, Sturdy Tripod for Tabletop/Floor Painting, Drawing and Display

Sold by: MEEDEN ART

Be patient with yourself.  Congratulate yourself for bravery because you took on one of the most difficult challenges in drawing and painting watercolors from real life. The difficulty can be remedied with simplicity and playfulness.  These are traits that you probably have not been rewarded in for some time.  Of course color mixing lessons don't hurt, and practice drawing is invaluable, practice makes perfect is still true.   But the magic ingredient is still playful loose childlike strokes that get to the point.  Having said that, I want to emphasize that's not to be confused with childish drawings.  There is a great deal of sophistication in simplicity.  Ask any zen master.  This brush, is linked to your mind, too much mind you have a problem, too much brush no mind you have a problem.  It is a balancing act, do you really see is the question.  To see, you have to study what you are seeing, not imagine what you are seeing.  That would be a drawing from your imagination, something different!   The open color fields are something to look for, less is more. 

Notice how bold the blue shadows the left were and

 how they barely show by the time the painting is done.
examine the details below:

 

The Times Union featured us in the METRO section,

 featuring us painting the first day after the rain departed