The festival organizers are incredibly generous and offered me and my wife lodging while attending the seven day festival. Such hospitality is hard to beat and for that reason, and others, we look forward to our visit to Door County. I will be conducting a least one workshop while I’m there. It should be a lot of fun. If you are in the area from July 19 to July 26 I hope you will join me.

Over the last year, due to a hard winter here in Utah, I have focused primarily on studio painting and like an athlete who has dropped out for a few seasons I definitely feel out of shape.

To remedy that I intend to begin an intense regimen of outdoor painting. I hope to fuse some of the things I’ve learned over the last year in the studio with my former plein air techniques. So over the course of the next two months I will be sharing my plein air experiences with you. I’ve also asked a few of the best plein air painters in America to share their views and techniques with the readers of Thick Paint.

The first interview will be long-time plein air painter Edward Martinez from Kent, Connecticut. I look forward to learning from such an extraordinary painter. Please feel free to post your questions and comments.

My mission during the residency was to do a series of paintings and drawings from which to create a portfolio of woodcuts. There were a myriad of incredible scenes and no chance I would run out of material. The Virgin River runs south through the valley with high flat-topped buttes on each side. Cedars dot the higher elevations with willows and cottonwoods growing near the river.

I awoke one morning and walked until I found a good vantage point to paint a distant butte. I set up my easel, prepared my paints, and painted for a couple of hours. The final piece became the inspiration for the twelve block woodcut Long Valley Morning.

Painting in the field is an art form unto itself. Few realize how incredibly difficult it is to capture the subtle nature of changing light. But good fortune was with me and the painting turned out well. I felt adequately rewarded for my time. As I was breaking down my easel I turned and scanned the scene behind me. On a ridge, with the sun lighting it up like a spotlight, was a small cactus with several blossoms. I grabbed my sketchbook and within a few minutes had the basis for the woodcut Desert Crown.

I was attending a funeral once and leaned my hand thoughtlessly against a tree. When I looked near my thumb I saw a leaf, smaller than my thumbnail, sprouting from the bark. It was bright green fading to red with every hue in between and stippled with a patina of rust. The idea slowly, stubbornly unfolded; that leaf has more beauty than any painting I will ever paint.

Nature is like that. It explodes with ephemeral, inexpressible magnificence. I realized I will spend my entire creative life pursuing that elusive beauty.

BRAD TEARE One of the really amazing aspects of your plein air work is your ability to keep the darks really saturated and colorful. Even at a distance your work is always very rich. Is that something you think about in the field as you paint? Or is it a result of another focus, such as a concern with values?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I think that darks and lights are hard to achieve in the field since you don’t have the benefit of dry paint that would allow you to over paint . You have to get the values correct right away, or your painting will start to fall apart quickly. I start with my darks first, with paint slightly thinned with turps to establish my composition. Then I paint the darks in again, this time not thinned with turps, just straight from my palette. I apply it thinly, so that I can make subtle value changes easily. If you apply the paint too thickly you will struggle with making value and color changes, the changes get lost in the too thick paint. For judging the lights, I like to leave the white of the canvas showing somewhere, this helps me gauge the lightest values. In most cases this means the sky which is usually lighter than you think. I then paint in my lights at the very end.

BRAD TEARE In blog entry number 5 I demonstrate how I use a nine value grayscale to identify values in the field. Have you used anything similar? What are the strengths and weaknesses of using such a method?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I can’t count while I am painting so I ignore how many values I have going on. I don’t believe I paint with that sort of subtle nuances in plein air, but I think I will try your method.

BRAD TEARE Do you have any special tools or supplies you feel gives you an added advantage?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I used to use a canvas with deep nooks and crannies and it took forever to get paint to cover the surface. Now I use a smooth canvas the L600 oil primed mounted on gator board. The paint just flows on easily and allows you to articulate even the finest detail. I get this from AE Art Canvas in the Bronx, NY. I also like the “Silver” brushes, Grand Prix Flats in assorted sizes.

BRAD TEARE When I’m painting en plein air my darks and lights have a tendency to lose their saturation and the painting takes on an overall gray appearance. Any ideas why that would happen?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I talked a little bit about dealing with darks and lights in an earlier question, but it’s worth mentioning to build up your paint gradually and carefully. A solid understanding of warm and cool colors helps too. Don’t over use white too soon!

BRAD TEARE When you are out in the field are there motifs you avoid? Is there a special time of day you prefer to paint?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I used to paint cows… until I got chased by a bull. I just barely made it out of the field with my life and paint box. Definitely a motif I avoid. My least favorite time of day is mid afternoon. The sun isn’t usually creating very interesting shadows at that time of day.

BRAD TEARE How long does it take you to paint a painting en plein air? Obviously the light changes as you paint in the field. How do you compensate for that change?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I work small, usually 9×12 and I spend about 2 hours. The light doesn’t change too much in a 2 hour window. If the light changes and will enhance my painting I will go with it.

BRAD TEARE Do you do a preliminary sketch before you begin painting on canvas?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I don’t… but I have. I have mixed feelings about this. I feel like I can make compositional changes in my thin paint lay in, therefore a sketch is not that necessary.

BRAD TEARE Are there any plein air cliches that bother you? How do you avoid these cliches when you’re out painting in the field?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I don’t think I know any. Is it that you have to wear a french hat and stay under an umbrella?

BRAD TEARE How do your plein air methods differ from when you’re painting in the studio?

EDWARD MARTINEZ When I am painting in the studio I am usually painting portraits from photos, so I really enjoy going out and painting nature and finding the colors it offers. This has helped my painting overall including portraits.

BRAD TEARE What would be the most important piece of advice you could give a beginning plein air painter?

EDWARD MARTINEZ Learn to see multiple things at the same time. If you are painting a tree, don’t just look at the tree, look at the environment around the tree so that your eye can register the true color and value in comparison to the surroundings.

BRAD TEARE I really admire the way you painted the aspen in Deb Painting Spring Creek, 22” x 14”. They read as white yet there are warm and cool greens in the shadows and yellows in the highlights that make these trees appear fully saturated with light. It looks like you used anything but white. Do you view plein air painting as an exercise in accurately depicting the color you see? Or is it the ability to infuse the painting with optical illusions that give the appearance of reality?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I have a tendency to paint too dark. I am getting better at it now so that I can see light color values better. Having the white of the canvas has helped me visualize the lights better. In the Aspen painting I just enjoyed seeing the variations of reflected color. The trees in Connecticut are for the most part dark and don’t reflect light like the Aspens did in Colorodo.

BRAD TEARE Did plein air painting come easily to you? Or was it something you consciously had to try to improve? Do you remember if there was a moment when you finally thought to yourself I finally figured this out!? If that was the case, what was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed you to come to grips with plein air painting?

EDWARD MARTINEZ Plein air painting does not come easily to me even now. It did get better at it after painting at Trinchera, because we painted so much everyday, for many consecutive days. Once I could accurately see color values at the same time the world opened up. The canvas and brushes help too.

BRAD TEARE Do you think about the texture of the paint as you apply pigment? Is texture ever a problem and do you ever consciously minimize thick applications?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I only think about the application of paint in that, is it the right amount to let me define what I am trying to articulate? It needs to be the right consistency to draw and create the textures you need. Again I would say not to get too thick too soon.

BRAD TEARE I’m looking forward to getting into the field to try these ideas. Many thanks Ed!

EDWARD MARTINEZ studied at the Parson School of Design as well as with legendary painter Burton Silverman. He has worked as an illustrator for a wide variety of national and international clients. His fine art work is represented by The Gregory James Gallery, New Milford, CT, The Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, and The Portrait Source, Hendersonville, NC. Martinez was one of ten artists invited to the 2006 Forbes Trinchera Ranch residency hosted by Christopher Forbes and American Artist Magazine. His paintings have appeared in numerous national exhibitions and publications including most recently the cover of American Artist’s 2010 Special Edition on Plein Air painting.

Martinez was born in Argentina and currently resides in Kent, CT where he shares a studio with his wife, watercolorist Deborah Chabrian.

For years I painted in the field using a wood palette. This wood palette has been stained by repeated applications of paint. I felt this dark palette was not only adequate but desirable because a famous artist I read about used a similar palette. I also used canvasses tinted with red iron oxide because it is a successful method I use in the studio. It took me a long time to consider that this might not be the optimal method for me to use in the field.

I observed that when I painted en plein air my paintings were often plagued with weak color, especially in the darks. Gradually it dawned on me that using a dark palette caused me to pitch my colors to the dark side because darks on a dark palette looked lighter. To remedy the situation I decided I need to paint on a white palette. Darks on a white palette look very dark and so the white palette should help me keep dark and middle value colors fully saturated. Of course this remedy may cause me to mix my lights too light. To remedy that negative possibility I will paint on a blank white canvas.

By painting on a white canvas my darks will look very dark and will remedy my tendency to desaturate color by painting darks too dark and my lights too light. It will also be advisable to paint the sky last, placing my darkest colors first and gradually lightening as I go. This is somewhat counterintuitive because in the studio I paint distant things first and work my way toward the foreground (this helps me with edges and overlapping shapes). I believe this new method will help me with the more basic problem of getting correct relationships between darks and lights which, at the moment, seems to be my problem in the field.

If we could find teachers with the exact strengths and weaknesses we have, or teachers who can imagine such weaknesses and know how to remedy them, we could find the perfect teachers. Until then we have to tally up our strengths and weaknesses and devise ways to cancel or offset those weaknesses. We also might change our methods to remedy specific problems at specific times. In other words we have to be as creative in overcoming our personal obstacles, in teaching ourselves, as we are in the creative act itself.

In my recent painting Canal at Dusk, 30″ x 30″, I avoided using blacks in the deep shadows. Instead I opted to mix two extremely dark yet highly saturated colors, Alizarin Crimson Permanent and Thalo Green, to create my darks. Using two deep colors to create a black allowed me to bias the color mixture to get rich, vibrating hues of either warm or cool variations.

If you are painting in the field and you need a deep, dark color to quickly add to other pigments you might consider using Chromatic Black which is a combination of Thalo Green and Quinacridone Red. This mixture can be quickly made cool by adding viridian green or warm by adding alizarin crimson permanent (or any color you desire). Another favorite of mine for making black is Dioxazine Purple and Transparent Earth Yellow. This mixture, when applied half mixed, creates an exotic and rich color.

Black, like all other colors, will appear more vibrant if presented as broken color, or at least have elements of the basic components of other colors. For example a green will be more vibrant if it has flecks of blue and yellow sparkling through it. Just because an area in your painting is dark doesn’t mean it shouldn’t vibrate with broken color. And using half mixed, complementary colors will make this vibration easy and satisfying to accomplish.

Last Wednesday I picked up my painting Road to Eden (see entry 29 Advanced Underpainting 1 of 5) from the Springville Art Museum. As I looked to see if my painting had been included in the catalog I discovered that not only was it included but it had won a merit award as well. It was a well timed confidence booster.

As I went painting last night and came home with a perfectly acceptable painting I noted the changes that occurred in my thinking. First I realized that excessive dependence on formula can cause creative paralysis. Sure, it is good to know certain principles, but there comes a time when these have to be lightly held and not hovering in the forefront of the mind. Second, I have to simplify my process, not make things more complicated in the field. Hone complex painting procedures in the studio, then simplify them, and practice them intuitively in the field. Fourth, there is no substitute for getting the color right. By right I mean achieving a complex and nearly indescribable relationship between value and hue that reflects the color you see but, most importantly, replicates the color relationships seen in the motif. In other words, it is the relationship of color rather than absolute accuracy (which is impossible anyway given the limited nature of paint versus the nearly unlimited nature of light).

Mentally preparing myself was an interesting process, even though I thought I was preparing myself technically. Of course, it had a great deal to do with the fortuitous merit award for which I am grateful, but maybe next time I will understand that the greatest challenges in painting happen within the walls of our own mind.

I will be giving a demonstration of my painting techniques at the Door County Plein Air Festival (July 19-24, 2010). The exact time is yet to be determined but if you are in the area be sure to drop by. For more info call 920-868-3455 or email info@doorcountypleinair.com.

GET YOUR GREENS RIGHT

There is no substitute for accuracy when painting greens. The sensitivity of the human eye to greens is more acute than with any other color. If your greens are haphazard or arbitrary viewers can easily detect your slothfulness. So how do you get the greens right? Use lots of red to mellow or soften the high saturation of green. To start a green I usually begin with Thalo Green to which I might add Alizarin Crimson or Cadmium Red. To modify this base I will add Dioxazine Purple to create a shadowy green. To mix a light green I add Cadmium Yellow Deep (a very orange yellow). I use purple and orange to modify my greens because these colors contain a lot of red. If I add Cadmium Yellow Light and Ultramarine Blue (two colors containing little red) I push the green back to a highly saturated green and lose the advantage originally created by graying a base green with complementary red. In Door County I had to radically modify my methods of mixing greens but I found this new procedure to be superior in achieving rich, subtle greens. Paradoxically the more green nuances you can mix the more greens you will see.

DO A SKETCH

One of the best things you can do to create a successful painting is to take the time to do a small thumbnail sketch before starting to paint. The reasons for doing a sketch are to discover a solid composition and lock down the basic design and pattern of the shadows. In a two hour painting session the shadows can change dramatically. By having a sketch as reference throughout the painting session you can ensure the basic design will remain strong. Given the variability of light during a two-hour session there will be moments where you will paint entirely from your sketch.

TRUST YOUR PREPARATION

After preparing the best you can, relax and take your time as you paint. A sense of urgency and haste is antithetical to the creative process. The subconscious mind works best when the body is relaxed and calm. You will always do your best painting when you can muster a sense of profound calm and confidence. Since you have prepared properly allow yourself the luxury of tranquility.

BE FREE TO PAINT MULTIPLE SESSIONS

If the light changes dramatically during a two-hour session don’t be afraid to return when the lighting is more to your liking. Doing a two-session painting under similar lighting conditions will allow you more time to make decisions resulting in a superior painting. As long as the paint is still wet there is no downside to extending your painting session. Of course you may run the risk of the paint drying before weather conditions resume. But in most cases extending the painting time to a second session can be extremely beneficial.

PAINT WITH COMMITMENT

Once you have established your composition, your shadow pattern, your pattern of dark and light, stick with it. Don’t allow yourself to become derailed by ever-changing shadows and colors. Stay true to the original reason you selected your motif. This discipline will allow you to grow faster even though it may initially appear counterintuitive to the creative process.

NEVER GIVE UP

There are times in every painter’s career where it seems you have exhausted your ability to improve. This is a mirage that if believed will detract you from your ability to press forward in a rational, straightforward fashion. Do not take counsel from the weaker aspects of your character but place confidence in your best self and never forget that your potential is inextricably linked to your perseverance.