Packed Paint Box, Unpacked Suitcase
One of the occupational hazards of having a studio cat is that sooner or later every available work surface becomes a cat bed. Smalls has recently decided that the paper cutter is hers. She can sleep there for hours, completely unconcerned with the fact that I actually need the thing. Yogi— “Momma Cat”—usually sleeps in…
Artist Journal: Fewer Choices
Three fairly large paintings hang in my living room. I painted them more than twenty-five years ago. Every once in a while I stop and look at them. Recently I noticed something I’d never really thought about before: I’m still using many of the same pigments today that I used when I painted those three…
Artist Journal: Going Big in Marceline
Gouache and I have an understanding. I keep things small, and gouache behaves itself. Gouache doesn’t really lend itself to large-format plein air painting, at least not for me. It dries quickly on the mixing surface. I’ll mix up a big, juicy puddle of color, put down one nice stroke, and by the time I’m…
Quiet Backroads
I’m out for a walk at six o’clock in the morning. It’s already humid and heading toward hot, so an early start is pretty much a necessity. In the fading darkness, a phrase pops into my head, unbidden: “land and sky.” Well, maybe it isn’t entirely unbidden. Dawn is coming on, and the trees are…
More Alike Than Different
Although I paint primarily in gouache, I’ve been enjoying working in oils again this summer. Looking at these two paintings side by side reminds me that the medium isn’t just a technical choice, but it does influence what I choose to emphasize. The oil painting is built around value rather than color. Using just four…
I’ve never done this before.
I make a lot of sketches. Only a few of them get turned into a painting. And once I finish, I archive those sketches and pretty much never look at them again. This past week several people have asked me if I ever sell my sketches. Frankly, it’s never even crossed my mind to sell sketches. But…
Painting Is a Conversation
One of the unexpected pleasures of painting outdoors has very little to do with paint. It’s the people. Not every plein air painter enjoys working where passersby can wander over and watch. For some artists, painting in public feels intimidating. They worry about being interrupted or having someone look over their shoulder before the painting…
When Everything Belongs
“Gestalt” is one of those annoyingly useful words that artists occasionally borrow from psychology. It’s also one of those words I avoid using in ordinary conversation because it sounds like I’m trying a little too hard. The basic idea is simple enough, though. We tend to experience things as a whole rather than as a…
In Praise of a Good Hat
I’ve always liked hats. Maybe I inherited that from my dad. He rarely went outside without one. According to him, it was all about protecting his increasingly bald head. Fair enough. But he also had some wonderfully eccentric choices, especially the fuzzy Russian hats that appeared every winter. Looking back, I suspect my fondness for…
Half a Mile Down the Street
It’s easy to overlook the place you know best while searching for something meaningful to paint. I think most artists are guilty of this. We imagine the next great subject must be somewhere else—across town, down a country road, or waiting at the next plein air festival. Every so often, though, I find it worthwhile…
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Mark Alan Anderson 