#1694 "Mallorytown Cloud Streets"

#1694 "Mallorytown Cloud Streets"
5x7 inches oils on smooth panel 

This is the cloud and plein air demonstration that I did for the Thousand Islands Artists Association (TIAA) in late November 2015. I simply backed up the red, Subaru Forester paint-mobile and set up my plein air kit in the yard behind the Mallorytown Library. I did not want the 15 or so participants to have to walk anywhere. Inspiration is everyone if you look for it. 

Radar View of the Towering Cumulus Flurries

The northwesterly streets of stratocumulus were barely deep enough to waft a few small snowflakes - but they did. There were a few embedded towering cumulus clouds that had broken through the cap of stability. These cloud castles produced locally much heavier but very transient flurries. The cloud streets were fairly close together meaning that the unstable planetary boundary layer was quite shallow. When I sketched out the composition, I could see a blue sky between the rows of clouds. There were a few cloud tops that were brilliantly illuminated and I protected those areas. The birch trees stood out against the much darker backdrop of naked trees. The strong wind from the storms of the past two weeks had stripped all of the foliage from the forest. 

I described the approach to the painting process during the demonstration and added a bit of "why" as well. The conversation strayed to common inquiries one receives while plein air painting.  "How long does it take?" "How much does it cost?" "My great Aunt painted beautiful work."

George Washington 1796
Lansdowne-Portrait 

Art was never about money for me. Art was always about learning and the life journey. The goal was to become a better artist and maybe an improved person as well. I related the story about the price of art in the olden days. 

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but on how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint. The church and state were typically the only patrons who could afford all of the limbs. 

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick