Merrimack River Painters

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

"It's Just a Sketch"

By Jan Wittmer

Painting the landscape is a way for me to express visually and share a moment in nature that affected me. The process of painting that moment, is an intimate and personal event, that often takes me to "another place".

For several years I have been working in oils, a mighty challenge, one that I have tackled wholeheartedly. Recently upon reflecting on my commitment to oil painting, I realized I was trying too hard.

I love the rich color

of oils, and the lushness

of thick paint...
But I have to work more
deliberately to move the
paint around.

When I started using watercolors to make small studies in a sketchbook, with pencil and watercolor (which I had never really used), I discovered a looseness, an opportunity to explore and a spontaneity that seems to come with the medium.

And so what if
you make a mistake....

"It's only A sketch"

Realizing how liberating this was for me, my fellow artists encouraged me to go bigger. I not only went bigger, but began exploring textures and techniques.

In time I will open my

oil box again and

may have a different
approach

after working with

watercolors.

Who knows where watercolor will take me, but I am having fun

exploring and finding it easier to get lost with this

medium that invites beautiful mistakes.

Friday, March 4, 2016

"Honey and Eggs"

"Odd Company"

HEINZMANN

TERRY

"Squash and Pottery"

"Three of a Kind"

"Three Quinces"

"Three Oranges and a Friend"

Saturday, January 30, 2016

"Humin' Along"

Watercolor

Mary Ruedig

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Welcome to 2016!

By Dustan Knight

This is going to be a terrific year filled with creative energy, friendship and appreciation of the beauty around us! Let it be so.

I will start the year with a personal blog about my creative endeavors for the coming year. I am mid-way through a book that I am writing for Rockport Publishers titled “The Impressionist Landscape”.

I am working with a really good photographer who is taking pictures of the studio, the artwork, and me being an artist. I am hoping this book will help everyone feel confident and eager to try to paint landscapes, without getting overwhelmed trying to replicate realistically what they see.

Reference #2

Reference #1

The demonstrations are arranged into three chapters “Woods”, “Gardens and Flowers”, and “Waves and Water”, and each section begins with choosing the location, taking photographs

and doing on site sketches.

Then we move into the studio and continue with a ten step watercolor demonstration. I zoom in with a shorter extra section that shows, in more detail, some aspect of the watercolor demo.

My Palettes

Then I continue the development of the theme using acrylic paint on canvas.

Wave Sketch

The final chapters showcase some of my colleagues’ work, as well as student artwork that shows how the inspiration of the scene can be interpreted and how I encourage personal expression as a teacher.

I am excited about having this in print and am glad that some of my fellow MRP friends will hopefully be included.

So that is a big 2016 project. As I continue to aspire to be a better artist and a better person, I imagine that there may be more books ahead for me. Perhaps Impressionists flowers, or how to mount paper on panels, or one I am already working on "A Short Guide to Being a Healthy Artist."

Green Woods Sketch

I have been chattering on about nurturing our creative selves for years and this book would organize my ideas… wouldn’t that be FUN! Right now my book "Impressionist Landscape" is on the top of my DO IT NOW list. And I am including some of my images from the book with this post.