50
EN PLEIN AIR
artistApril 2016 http://www.painters-online.co.ukchanges, with the white hulls of the
yachts just being washed by the first
edge of the shadow. By separating out
the mapping of the subject in pen line
and now using simple tonal raw umber
watercolour washes and white gouache
I can use the abrupt change of pace to
work now very quickly to get a sense of
the drama of the light while the moment
lasts. I know that to do this properly,
there will be no time to paint tonight
and this drawing and the little paintings
from yesterday will have to give me
enough for a bigger canvas later.Painting the river
It’s October before I have another
chance to paint in the Barle river valley.
I’m going to focus on one painting, a
bigger canvas of the downstream view
of the river, although I’m carrying one or
two extra canvases for when the light
changes later. Having squeezed colour
onto my palette before I set out, I’m
ready to start. I always put a wash of
colour on my canvases as soon as
they’re stretched, and the brick-
coloured tone on this one allows me to
block in the composition quickly and
eases the task of getting the tonal pitchjust right. The brightness of the backlit
water is at its maximum intensity some
way from me and I know I want the
painting to be about the river, and the
way it reflects the light. Having painted
here before I know that I have to attack
this one with some urgency. The glare
from the water will quieten down as the
sun moves, so slightly understating this
now will buy me a bit more time later. I
make a conscious decision to fix the
light in about an hour, so switch my
attention to refining drawing decisions
and the exact placing of the elements
of the composition. I want to capture
the force of the water as it rushes away
from me and my first task is to block in
the composition in its broadest terms,
the river dominating the foreground
and just a tiny slice of sky at the very
top; seven or eight simple colour
blocks are enough to give me a sense
of where I am on the canvas and to
create a tonal sense and to begin to
think in depth. I quickly notice the
contrast in the water between the peaty
colour where I can see through the
surface and the blues and violets where
it’s all about reflection. There’s a sense
of looking along a tunnel, emphasisedLow Tide, Porlock Weir,oil on canvas, 30 32in (76 81.5cm).
The composition has been changed to a near square, making more use of the foreground
shadow and the curl of land beyond the beachRichard Pikesley RWS, PNEAC
studied at Harrow School of Art,
Canterbury College of Art and the
University of London Institute of
Education. He is president of the New
English Art Club and a member of the
Royal Watercolour Society. He has
exhibited widely and won many awards.
Publications and films include Oils
Workshoppublished by HarperCollins in
1997; Watercolour: Into the LightDVD for
the Royal Watercolour Society in 2009
(www.artistsandfilm.com) and Creating
Light in OilDVD for APV in 2011
(www.apvfilms.com). Richard is leading a
reader holiday to Elba from September
14 to 24. For more details and to book,
telephone 01825 714310;
http://www.spencerscotttravel.com.by the trees leaning out across the
river, seeking out the light – see
Downstream, Towards Tarr Steps(page 49).Decision time
As I work on, I alternate between mixing
puddles of colour on my palette and
using a fine brush to make drawing
marks. I know that without care I’ll
underestimate the size of the
foreground boulders so I measure, and
check all the time, using a little plumb
line to be sure of how things line up.
Every now and again I stop to take a
quick photograph to record my
progress, which involves splashing to
the bank, carrying the wet canvas and
searching for a spot not too broken up
with dappled light; then I get back to
painting as quickly as I can and work on
through the early afternoon.
With any landscape painting there’s
only so much time before the subject is
so changed by the turning sun that
further efforts are pointless and, as I
continue, I am beginning to realise that
this is a pretty big canvas to complete
in one session. The shadows of the
foreground trees on the right bank are
pivoting around to the left and will
soon swing across the river and the
brilliance of the backlit water is
beginning to fade. I’ve had two hours
and decide not to push my luck by
working on. Time for a bit of a think. TA