PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

40 August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com

DEMONSTRATION:

Building a Façade with Textured Washes

Step 1

“Somuchofmyworkinvolvesthepresence

ofthewhiteofthesurface,”saysKennedy.

“Sometimesthereisa needfora long,care-

fuldrawingattheoutset,thoughthatisn’t

mytypicalprocess.OneofthewaysthatI

liketo‘draw’istolayoutmycompositional

structureinmaskingtape.I usea low-tack

artist’stapeandexpectsomebleedingto

occur, which I will turn to my advantage.”

Step 3

“AsI begintobuildmoreintensityintothetex-

turedwashes,I starttodefineedgesandcreate

shapes,”Kennedysays.“Stillsplashing,but

beginningtodrawwiththebrushwet-into-

wet,I pulldropsintolinesandblocks, allowing

colors to run into each other.”

Step 2

“Withthemajoredges‘drawn’withtape,I canbegintobuild

mytexturesandbodycolorwithoutbeingtoopreciousabout

details,”saysKennedy.“Thisstageisverysplashyandquick.

There’s often a coffee break while the underpainting dries.”

Step 4

“Withthetaperemoved,thepaintinghasthemajormasseslaidin

andthedefiningofthespecificscanbegin,”saysKennedy.Thefirst

stepsmayhavebeencompletedinlittlemorethananhour,butthe

developmentofallthedetailswilltaketwoorthreemore.“Noticethe

textureofthebleedingthathasoccurred,particularlyinthecentral,

rectangularwindowofthebuildingontheleft,”saystheartist.“Some

ofthosemarkswillbecometheweatheredwoodworkofthewindow

frame, and the dark window itself will allow me to lose the rest.”

FinalStep

“AsthepaintingemergesI amconstantlymov-

ingacrossit,bringingelementsuptogether,

notfinishinganythinguntilI havefinished

everything,”Kennedysays.“Mypaintingsall

workthisway,fromthegeneraltothespecific,

buildingthewholecompositionatoncerather

thanworkingpiecebypiece.It’showI drawthe

figureandit’showI drawa bucket,building

theentirecomposition,finallygettingtothe

darkest darks and the tightest linear details.”

ViewofConduitStreet,Annapolis

“ThisstretchofConduitStreetseemedtometo

bebothspecificallyAnnapolisandinconsistent

initsvocabulary,”Kennedysaysofthesubjectof

thefirstpaintinghemadeduringhisfirstvisitto

theMarylandtown,whichhefeltwasa “stitching

together”ofdisparatestylesandtastesfromthe

18thand19thcenturies.“Itwasmybeginningof

understanding the local architecture,” he says.

ConduitStreet,Annapolis
2018,watercolor, 12 x 30 in.
Collectionthe artist
Plein air