Day 3 with Mr. Handell

The morning of Day 3 was a watercolor-foundation pastel painting demo by Mr. Handell. Spectacular! In the afternoon we painted in a huge walnut grove. My painting is mostly just watercolor foundation. After waiting for the Wallis paper to dry, I applied pastel to the trunk and main branches. His advice was to keep on going and I do have reference photos but this painting may not ever be resolved. It might end up being the foundation for something new. Students here are amazing, many finished their paintings on site.

Day 2 with Mr. Handell

Day two with Mr. Handell, shown here with my two plein air paintings at the end-of-day critique. See each painting and his suggestions below. Students are having a great time and everyone is improving under his guidance and through watching him paint today. He is very careful and thoughtful in his work.

This is my 8 - 11:00 AM painting of wild grasses. Skies were overcast so no cast shadows. A lovely gentle area in the morning. Later, in the strong afternoon sun the grasses appeared harsh and brittle. Mr. Handell suggested added value in the right foreground to keep the area from floating away. Click on image to enlarge and look closely to see his marks made with charcoal.


Afternoon painting from 2 - 4 PM is meadow/pasture land with wheat fields in the background. The vast stubble areas of recently harvested wheat are overwhelming in the hot afternoon sun. Simplification was my goal...so much so that Mr. Handell suggested more grass detail work in the foreground. When I get back to the studio next week I'll work on these paintings and post them when they have been resolved.

painting with Mr. Handell

I'm in Oregon at an Albert Handell workshop. Hot. Fun. Exhausting. This is today's first plein air effort. Mr. Handell suggested touches of Unison G-10 to enliven the tree at the left. The color in this shot isn't correct. I should have brought my Kodak color bar/gray scale with me! I'll post it again after I get home. Having a good time with 20 other students, all doing good work. Back at it tomorrow at 8 AM.