http://www.painters-online.co.ukPRACTICAL
artistApril 2016 23
M
emory painting is an
extremely useful tool. It
teaches us to not just copy
what we see, but rather to
compose each painting as a stand-
alone piece. For the plein-airpainter this
skill is doubly important, not only to
remember a fleeting light effect, but
also to remember to compose our
scene. We are not photographers but
painters and composing is our number-
one job. Strengthening the memory
also helps us to better understand the
key elements in a painting, what the
main idea and focal point are, and
create a dynamic composition that
engages and delights viewers.Plein-airmemory painting
In this article I will explain two ways of
making a memory painting. To discover
which works best for you, I recommend
trying both methods, adjusting these
approaches to suit you and your
working methods. In the first method
you paint en plein-airat a chosen
location, allowing plenty of time,
ideally an entire morning or afternoon.
I go somewhere I have wanted to paint
or have already painted. The light will
change while you work, but that should
not significantly affect your results.
A simplified palette of just the three
primary colours plus white will help to
keep your attention on the paintingrather than worrying about getting the
colours right, and to focus more on the
painting rather than worrying about
getting the colours right, and to focus
more on the tonal relationships and
large shapes. I use a double primary
palette, a warm and cool of each
primary: zinc and titanium white,
cadmium lemon yellow, cadmium
yellow medium, cadmium red light,
madder lake, French ultramarine blue
and Prussian blue. Your support should
not be something precious – rememberthis is only an exercise for you to build
your visual memory; you are not making
a good painting.
Take between one and three hours to
do a small plein-airpainting from
observation in order to study the scene
to the best of your ability. Then set that
painting aside, somewhere out of sight,
and take a short break. Next, turn your
easel so that you have your back to the
scene when painting, put out a clean
support, clean brushes and plenty of
paint.DEMONSTRATIONOn the Path to Villa Pamphili
Painting from memory is an essential practice for
the plein-airpainter, says Kelly Medford, as it equips you with
many important creative skills
memory
STAGE ONE
Having set my timer for 20 minutes, and working on a discarded canvas, I mixed a
neutral grey with turps to dilute the colours and sketched in the overall shapes that
I remembered from my scene, working to fit them together, then filled in the lights
and darks. I like to work on a canvas that has been primed with a warm middle tone,
because I find it easier to see lights and darks immediately when painting