Dan McGrath Fine Art - New Work

What Not To Paint

2011-11-12T05:06:00.000-08:00

Plein Aire painting can be done for it's own sake, to keep one's hand-eye coordination up to snuff, to spend time in the great outdoors, or hopefully to get a completed small painting. But frequently the conditions, expecially light, prevent one from finishing even an 8x10. It teaches a healthy sense of one's limitations. When a study comes out strong enough, even in only a few aspects, to urge one to make a larger studio painting, it's exciting.

What I've found is that the more time one spends in front of the subject, the more information is absorbed, albeit much of it unconsciously: direction of light, color of light, shapes, and so forth. Taking reference photos is also important, another source of details. Pencil thumbnail drawings and an 8x10 study force one to decide what should be included in the painting and what to leave out.

My painting partner and I hiked for almost an hour assessing subjects on a friend's farm, rejecting one scene after another.

This study was painted in full sun and is too dark and the colors too pale. But the composition made it worth using for a larger painting. All kinds of trees, bushes, etc were left out. Studying the reference photos allowed me again to pick and choose, and invent, additional detail and also deepen the shadows and intensify colors.

Ideally, one would like to come back a second time in the same weather and time of day, and do a larger painting. The following day was rainy, so this 12x16 was done in the studio. In the photos, I noticed the low sun streaming through the trees and incorporated this in the painting. It's a good memory of that crisp fall day.

Art "Off the Wall"

2011-10-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Our cooperative gallery, Artists Attic, challenged each of us to create an "Off the Wall" painting or sculpture. A work which was a departure from our normal subjects, style, approach, etc. I responded by doing my traditional landscape but in the form of a Triptych. These traditionally were three-paneled paintings, typically religious. Nowadays they most often substitute for a single large canvas, which can be hard to stabilize and easier to damage in shipping, etc.

This one recalls our trip to California in July which included excursions to Napa and Sonoma valleys: "South of Sonoma", 12x36 Oil/Canvas.

Big Sky Country

2011-06-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Storm Remnants

12x16 oil (study)

Lexington Kentucky is not known as Big Sky Country, that is reserved for Nebraska, Iowa and points west and north. After recent rains, I was passing by an undeveloped commercial property a half-mile wide and was taken by the sunset. At the easel, eliminating the low buildings and adding some rolling Kentucky farmland nearby and the composition was decided upon. I'm now working on a 20x24 of the same scene and hankering for a trip out west to see more and more of this big sky.

Everyone's Doing It

2011-05-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, everyone around me is painting cows, spurred on by our resident expert in painting cows. I resisted for months, helped by weeks of rain which put a damper on canvases, paints and my inspiration. So here is my entry in the big sweepstakes..."Knee Deep" I caught these guys by the side of the road in early morning, backlit to give them more appeal. Of course they interrupted their breakfast and were about to come over and see if I had more of it. Not being a farmer, I jumped back into the car and sped off to the next farm for photo-taking. Altogether a great day!

Knee Deep oil/board 10x12

"Off the Wall"

2011-02-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

As a project to do something different, and tired of the snow, I looked through photographs taken last summer in New Jersey at Sandy Hook State Park and decided to do a figurative work conveying the warmth and sun of mid-summer at the “Shore” as they call it.

I worked from a variety of photos, blown up. I stayed with oil on canvas, my traditional media, since the figurative work was enough of a challenge – I normally do unpeopled landscapes or seascapes. Rather than depict a “sea of humanity” as shown in the photos, I choose to have a strong focal point of fewer figures placed near the waters edge. The sand rises 8-10 feet from the water and everyone likes to be near the water. The frequent crowds at this beach insure the sand will be pot-holed with footprints.

I practiced drawing in pencil some individual figures in different poses, then practiced some of these on canvas paper in oil, a cheap and easy surface on which to experiment.

The 20”x24” size was chosen to be able to include a number of figures as well as my having a frame of that size available. The completed painting: “At the Shore”. I feel warmer already.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2010-12-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

Snow Near Troy Kentucky 8x10 Oil Study

I'm so appreciative of my collectors, friends, fellow artists and family for a wonderful year, personally and artistically. That's not to say I don't struggle with paintings sometimes (OK, too often). This scene was built from photographs taken in Jessamine county a week ago when we had 3-4" snow, a big deal for Kentucky nowadays.

I was out bright and early when I saw the sun peeking through the clouds. I'd like to say this was painted plein aire, but my car outside thermometer said 19 degrees. I love paintings where the focal point, brightest brights, is in the distance, which one can invent, but in this case that was exactly the case. Here we are looking east, the clouds indicating most of the snowfall had passed. It's always a privilege to be out in Mother Nature's realm. Happy Holidays!

Deja View

2010-12-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

Last spring I came across a wonderful old tobacco barn by the side of the road and just had to paint it. This 8x10 plein aire piece shows just how "spring-green" the grasses can be.

Recently, after a weekend of snow, I revisited the site and decided to do a painting from the same viewpoint. Since the temperature was nineteen degrees and windchill near zero, I took photos and returned to a warm studio to paint it. The low winter morning sun was in almost the same direction relative to me as it was in spring. So the barn is backlit in both paintings.

In the meantime (between these two paintings) I did a plein aire of the other side of the barn. Love those barns.

Painting from Photos

2010-11-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Walking along Shawnee Run (valley and creek) in winter after a light snow I thought the baby cedars were cute and snapped a number of pictures. When I came to paint them, I couldn't come up with an interesting composition. So I zeroed in on the upper right corner of the photo and borrowed colors from another artist I admired to relieve the grey-on-grey of the scene. This hilltop area was apparently farmed well into the twentieth century and, happily, cedars and

oaks are taking over the land.

Above Shawnee Run 10x8 Oil

Copy Cat

2010-09-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

It was not a dark and stormy night, it was a blazingly dry and hot August afternoon and I was looking for something to do in the studio. I had just bought Scott Christensen's marvelous book "The Nature of Light". I found an image of a 6x8 painting of his in the section on studies. So I did my best to copy it, sipping on an iced tea in the cool studio.

One can learn a lot from copying a painting, in this case keeping the four values planes (uprights, slanted planes, flat land and sky) separate. That is, each has a range of values which is different from the others. In addition, this painting's focal point is clearly the tree in the middle. He uses various means to make this clear: color, contrast, detail, edges and lines - notice the shadows in the foreground point to the tree. The tree is surrounded by a much lighter sky. There is a lot of detail in the tree compared to the surrounding tree line, etc. Finally, the nearer clouds are warmer than those in the distance. This little study is a wonderful art lesson. Thanks, Scott!

Ready Made Paintings

2010-07-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

In the Kewanechee Valley 7x14 Oil

Some folks are just blessed to be born in or live in the right places, for ready made paintings, that is. We spent a week in Colorado recently, visiting the site of a workshop I took six years ago and staying part of the time, and painting, with a classmate and her husband. Around every corner there's a spectacular view. I've got enough photos for months of work. But then it's back to painting Kentucky - fully using one's imagination, trail scouting and lessons in composition which other artists continually illustrate and teach. It's more work, but it's an engaging challenge.

Improbable Places

2010-05-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

At Jacobsen Park 9x12 Oil

Good friends scheduled a plein aire paint-out at a city park adjacent to their home. Since parks are usually manicured, excessively grassy or excessively peopled, I did not have high expectations for my results. It was a good sign that we arrived during a beautifully sunny day with puffy clouds. A dark one stopped for a moment over our heads and caused us to huddle under umbrellas while the fisherman left. After this I took advantage of the lake and lush backlit trees and was able to finish this in two hours. After that a scrumptous dinner was provided by our hosts. A great day!

For the Love of Barns

2010-04-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Woodford County Spring 12x12 Oil

I love the area around Nonesuch, Kentucky. It's characterized by rolling hills, farms and a multitude of barns, mostly former tobacco barns, now used for hay or a tractor "garage". If I win the lottery, I'll buy land there and a second home. It's close enough to commute to Lexington if you need to. I've always loved barns for their smells, mysterious dark corners and farm implements, the uses for which I'm usually ignorant. But I'll find out after I get my lottery check. In the meantime, they, and the land they seem to grow out of, will be frequent subjects, I'm guessing.

Spring is Here

2010-04-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Bright Spring Day 12x18 Oil/Board

We've had wonderful warm weather the last few days and the countryside was calling. An afternoon's ride last Saturday yielded this painting finished today: backlit clouds traveling across the sky, casting shadows on the pastures.

Letting Go of Winter

2010-03-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Dewey Lake Inlet 9x12 Oil

This was a long winter, but before the snow hit we took a weekend trip to Jenny Wiley State Park in Eastern Kentucky. One of its virtues is Dewey Lake, created by a dam which backed up water into the steep, narrow valleys which characterize the area. Most of the western side of the lake is accessible by car or hiking trail. In early December the water was low, exposing the many streams and springs which feed the lake.

A couple of days ago I was reviewing the photos and was attracted to some of them. In making this painting I simplified the scene but played with color and added some forground shadow to lead the eye to the background.

Out of the Way Places

2010-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Along Paul's Mill Road

Southwestern Woodford County's roads stretch far and wide. I never did see the mill but found this stream, probably Clear Creek, which is always running, summer and winter. On this still day in January it was freezing over. It was an overcast day but I added some sunshine to lead the eye back in the painting.

Why do you paint?

2009-12-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

Freezing Point 9x12 Oil

It didn't take long to answer this question: it's because it's so much fun to be outside, in all seasons, enjoying the sites, finding new lakes, ponds, stream, forests and fields. Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill outside Harrodsburg has probably thousands of acres to explore, and different in all seasons. One morning last week the ponds were in the process of freezing over. Shadows on the ice were a deep blue, almost glowing, much darker than the sky. All kinds of reeds, species unknown to me, added an amazing texture to the scene. The sky was Kentucky baby pink and blue. So there you are.

Big Deal

2009-12-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

At the Gravel Bar 9x14 Oil

I learned from Bill Fletcher, our Central Kentucky art teacher extraordinare, that focusing first on recognizing and painting, blocking-in, big shapes first allows us to create paintings with a simplicity and sense of distance. After practicing this and seeing results, I've also found it creates a sense of power in the painting. This view of the Kentucky River late in the afternoon this October caused me to stop in my tracks and say "Wow, look at those big shapes". If you squint at the image, they are even more evident.

Tree Hugging

2009-10-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

October 9x12 oil

Grey days are the rule the last few weeks, but cabin fever got me out of the house and to Lexington Cemetery, the premier arboretum location nearby. I looked for big value contrasts among the greenery and sat down and painted a small plein aire piece. This turned out to be "How not to paint this scene". But since time spent in front of the subject is worth many photos, I came back to the studio and used both to complete this painting.

Memories

2009-09-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Clear Creek Logjam
Casting about for something to paint this past week, I riffled through my boxes of photos. In the process, I remembered a photo I had taken of Clear Creek years ago. In the middle of the stream was an island with large sycamore against which was piled debris from the occasional floods. The scene, I thought, had potential. I never found the photo so I painted the scene from memory. This is a handy technique, I'm told, for avoiding extraneous detail, the bane of my painting.

Dappled Light

2009-09-03T12:18:00.001-07:00

"So near and yet so far". This scene is barely thirty feet from a very busy country road. Always on the lookout for streams and ravines which promise the possibility of a painting, I parked on a narrow shoulder as soon as possible and hiked back into this washout. In the middle of summer, there's not much water. Little pools reflect the trees and what sky is visible. There is such peace here in contrast to the fleeting traffic above. I'm reminded of friends who have a meditation room in their house, reserved only for that purpose.

Boone Creek Gorge

2009-08-25T10:57:00.001-07:00

One of the virtues of kayaking is that you can poke into places only accessible by water. The Kentucky River and its tributaries provide a host of inspiring sites for plein aire painting, picniking or loafing away an afternoon (after you paddle there).

In Red River Gorge

2009-08-24T11:19:00.001-07:00

There is no indication of scale in this drawing. The largest rock happens to be near 12 feet high. The Gorge is full of amazing landscapes and rockscapes. We're privileged to have this gem within an easy drive. Here the late afternoon light strikes diagonally in an otherwise dark scene dense with plants and soggy after months of weekly rain.

Back to the Drawing Board

2009-08-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

While I've been laid up recovering from knee surgery, I've lately been drawing on toned paper in the easy chair. For the drawing above, I used a Canson toned paper with a value of six on a scale of 1 (white) to 10 (Black). This works well for a predominantly dark scene. The lightest passages are painted with a off-white acrylic. All other passages in the sketch are either the toned paper or penciled-in. For a snow scene I use a paper with a value of two. This approach is so simple in terms of resources and setup, I plan to take it with me plein-aire painting when I am mobile, hopefully in a month or so.

Cattle Crossing

2009-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

The forecast was for temperatures about 90 degrees, so we settled in the shade on the edge of a stream on the farm. The band of sunlit bright green of the mowed field was very attractive to the eye. Cloud cover moved in and it was quite comfortable. Having done a very simple 8x10 study and taken reference photographs, I returned to the studio. I sketched a simplified version of the view from photos, then proceed to tone the canvas olive to represent the background trees. I used Viridian in the dark foreground trees to give them warmth and make them move forward.

Rain, Akers Farm

2009-06-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

After visiting a gallery, I was returning in a downpour and passed the Akers Farm outside Danville, Kentucky. I've always loved this farm for its expanse, presence of cattle and collection of buildings. I quickly pulled over, rolled down the window and snapped the shutter while passing cars passed in a spray of water. The clouded sky occluded most of the sunlight above the clouds, resulting in a dark land mass. a dramatic scene.

Back in the studio I adjusted the trees, simplified details, and herded some cows together!

On Jane's Farm

2009-06-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Finding a good composition on this extensive farm might have been a challenge, but a fellow artist pointed down the road and said there were barns there. Walking down the road, this scene appeared and needed no modifications to make it a good composition. I started working at about 9:30AM under overcast skies and around 11:00 a dark band was seen in the west. The rain started at about 11:45 and we threw everything in the car and headed off to lunch, bumping over cattle grates. It reminded me that "A bad day painting outdoors is still better than a good day in the office".

Elk Lick Creek

2009-05-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

I called the manager of the Floracliff Nature Preserve in Eastern Fayette County and they were gratious enough to give permission to visit the preserve, which harbors a multitude of rare and endangered species. An escort is required. We were led to Elk Lick Creek by Charlie the "CEO" and Deborah the preserve manager. It was a steep downhill walk on a very narrow trail.

Once at the creek we had permission to walk along it upstream and down and paint plein aire. I chose one spot which turned out to be a nightmare to paint plein aire but took photos, then walked downstream and got in an 8x10 study. Skies were overcast, but temperatures moderate, in the 50's. After 2 hours or so we ended our visit, happy to have quiet time and a peaceful, but spectacular setting.

Back in the studio I took the photos of the "nightmare" spot, and, working on a 12x16 canvasboard, did a full value painting to insure the result would convey the drama I wanted. I toned the canvas a midtone Burnt Umber, then wiped out the light passages down to the white canvas. After a couple of days making adjustments and letting it dry, I added color.