In the past few months,  I have been on both sides of the "easel." In September, I was one of three judges for the First Mendocino Open Paint Out (MOPO). All judges had to come to consensus before awarding prizes. By participating, I realized how many of the artists came very close to receiving an award. This experience reminded me how subjective judging can be.

I was also able to paint at this event and here is one of my paintings, "Mendocino Garden – 12" x 9".

Fast Forward to October:  I was asked to participate in the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational. I found myself hoping for some acknowledgement for all my hard work. The show was spectacular and there were many paintings that I felt were deserving of an award. I received the second place prize, $2,500 Award of Excellence, sponsored by Aliso Creek Inn. Grateful to receive this award, my recent experience of being a judge allowed me to keep it in perspective.

My advice to other painters -  "Keep entering those shows, improve your skills, and you will be acknowledged from time to time. However, winning awards is not the goal. These awards are subjective, and should not define who you are as a painter - that is up to you."

Here is the award-winning painting with a smiling artist. "Morning Meditation 24" x 20""

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Here's a peek into my home studio,  where I keep years of studies and all my supplies. Today, I hosted an Open Studio  and put  finishing touches on paintings and greeted visitors and collectors interested in acquiring paintings. directly from me. If you would like to be invited to my next Open Studio Day (probably in late November/early December) make sure you are on my mailing list!  

September is great painting weather in Northern California, and I am hitting the road with my paints!  Next week, I will be a "celebrity" plein air artist and on the awards panel at the Mendocino Open Paint Out. But first,  I am headed to the Knowlton Gallery in Lodi, California for the opening of the group show  "Bouquets: Gardens, Farmer's Markets and Floral Still Lifes."  If you are in Northern California, this gallery is well worth a visit , and it would be terrific to see you there at the reception: Saturday, September 7th from 1 - 4 p.m.  The show will hang until September 28th.  Here is a slideshow preview of the five paintings I will be showing. (Note - if you are reading this post in a feed reader, please click through to the actual blog for the best quality images).

When I first read this in The Art Spirit years ago, it was a bit daunting to me. However, over the years, I have taken it to heart and have filled my sketch books with drawings done from memory. I may start a sketch from life but inevitably the person will walk away. At this point, I try to finish my sketch from what I know. I also do this when I am adding figures to my paintings. Instead of taking my camera out, I just put my brush down and try to draw the figure in my head and then pick up my brush and put the figure in my painting. The more I use my drawing and painting memory, the better it gets. You also get  figures that have life in them and they fit into the plein air painting. The figure should be put in like everything else in the painting. It should be painted efficiently with only the necessary brush strokes to indicate accurate proportion  and movement, but not so tight that you can peel it off of the canvas. A good example of this is "Morning Stroll". My husband calls the dog "Spot" because that is all it is but you know it is a dog. The figure has a few accurate brush strokes. It is not the amount of detail but the accuracy of the detail that is important.

Here is a gray day landscape study. 

When I have been asked how I am able to get the light effects, I quote Charles Hawthorne (Hawthorne on Painting), "It is beautifully simple, painting — all we have to do is to get the color notes in their proper relation." 

This is what I try to do — decide which color note I can see most clearly, put that first color note down quickly, and then that note becomes the key to my whole painting because everything else is related to it. 

The sky is the lightest and warmest in this scene so I started the color of the sky near the horizon with a warm pink -- slightly lighter in value than the cooler and darker top part of the sky. The warmth in the foreground brings the grass forward. The water was seen as warmer than the top part of the sky.

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It was a rainy day, so I did this demonstration for my Monday class in the studio under artificial light. I overstated the warmth of the light planes and then eventually added color to them to bring them closer to the actual color of the objects. I also started seeing the transition colors from the shadow to the light on each object.  In Step One, please note that I started the blue cloth in light with a warm color, and eventually added blue to it. I couldn't start with a blue because I chose that color for the white bowl in shadow.

When I look at the sky/ground relationship, the sky appears to be lighter and warmer than anything on the ground. The light planes on a gray day are cool so the shadows notes appear to be warmer when you compare them to the light planes. The scene is backlit so the house is in shadow set against a bright sky. 

Finished Painting: "Turning Basin," 9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas 

On this Monday morning, my students gather to watch my painting demonstration of a scene by the river that runs adjacent to my studio in Petaluma, CA.

Here is the finished painting:  "River View North", 8 x 10 inches, Oil on Canvas 

I left the pilings out because I didn't think they added to the painting. I also redesigned the dead grass in the foreground to create some interest. 

I will be posting more step studies over the coming weeks, so make sure to subscribe to my blog at camilleprzewodek.com!

In this blog I will show you two paintings that I did around 1991. I show these studies to my students to give them an idea of how far I have come in my own color journey.

Back then, I was only able to paint sunlight but no other light effect. I also was pretty good at painting buildings but my trees and foliage were horrible. I call this my "Lollypop Tree Period". I also was unable to paint aerial perspective. I will show you samples of what I am currently painting (on the left)  in comparison to what I was  doing in 1991 (on the right).

I hope you can see how my colors have improved along with my drawing skills. I feel I still have a long way to go but I see progress. This is why I encourage my students to keep some of their early studies. As I look at these old paintings, I remember the struggle and I can see how much I know today that I didn't know then. I am sure I will feel the same way as I look back on this work in the next 10 years.