Plein Air Adventures

in Georgian Bay

This morning I leave for a one night getaway to Waskesiu Lake. I need to scope out a view for a commission, so I have decided to make an event out of it and take my painting gear, a bottle of wine, a good magazine and my fire pot! I hope to find some inspiration, get a good dose of fresh lake air and rejuvenate. I always forget how busy life gets at the end of the school year and it is also a time when my husband has to travel a bit with work- this year more than usual. I am really tired! A little "me" time might just be what I need to feel energized for that last push through June to get to summer holidays.

on the South Saskatchewan River

As I began planning my little getaway, I got thinking about some of my other "me" times over the last five years. I found a few photos to share with you.

at Spruce River

at Emma Lake

 on Waskesiu Lake

Georgian Bay countryside

on the Waskesiu River

overlooking downtown Saskatoon

on Mekewap Lake

on Sulphide Lake

at Georgian Bay

Have a great weekend and I hope to have some paintings to share with you soon!

The Jackson Bench Sunset

The Jackson Bench Sunset

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

A plein air study from my weekend getaway to Waskesiu in September. It was a beautiful golden sunset that evening; the warmth of the colours didn't give an accurate indication of the temperature. A cold wind was coming off the lake so by the end of my session I was shivering and my fingers were stiff. I usually don't realize how uncomfortable I am until I start packing up- out of the painting zone and back to reality.

There are many benches placed all around the Waskeisu town-site and surrounding area which have been "purchased" by donation to the park and most have small plaques on them where dedications can be inscribed. The bench where I sat to do this painting is dedicated to members of the Jackson family who happen to have a cabin on the same street as my parents' cabin.

It's All Abstract

 
These images are details; I haven't shown you the paintings yet. They are sections taken from the four other plein air paintings I did at Waskesiu a couple of weeks ago. The details relate to a conversation we had in the Abstract Expressionism class back in August. It was a conversation that not only validated some of my own thoughts, but actually clarified my thoughts which were, up until then, rather incoherent in my own head. :)

The instructor, Alicia Popoff, is a very accomplished and well respected abstract artist, but she absolutely wanted everyone in the class to create the work that they wanted to create. Although the class was focused on Abstract Expressionism, she wanted to be clear that if we were more comfortable with a representational approach, then we were welcome to work that way. She didn't want us to feel bound to abstraction. Now here is where I felt like standing up and hugging her... she said that in reality, to a greater or lesser degree, ALL painting is abstract!!! Whaaaaa???!!! Lightbulbs!!!

 
She said that as soon as you take something that is three dimensional in life and reproduce it in two dimensions that it is automatically abstract. Even if the work is representational. Even if. WOW. Now obviously there is a huge, huge difference between Christopher Stott's photorealistic work being abstract and Jeane Myers' expressive work being abstract, I get that, but still- I loved this statement!

As I mentioned, I have had similar, incoherent thoughts in my head regarding my own art, so to hear a real, live, professional artist say this! Well, it was a huge moment for me! HUGE!

Yes, I am a representational artist, but I have often felt that when I break my work down what you have is a bunch of abstract marks that add up to create the story of the landscape. And that is what these details are... abstract glimpses of paintings... finished paintings that hold the full story of what I saw and felt when I was on the beach for those days in September. And they are kinda abstract!

Day Two - The 1,2,3 Exercise

 

 Interconnected

16 x 16"

acrylic on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012

sold

I showed you the above piece in the last post. It is here again because it pertains to the exercise we were given on the second day of the class. The instructor, Alicia Popoff, called it the 1,2,3 Exercise. The idea was to do three paintings: the first painting was to be done quite quickly and realistically, the second painting was then to use the first painting as a reference and begin to abstract it, the third painting was to ignore the first painting entirely and use the second painting as a jumping off point to really abstract what we saw. Pretty cool. She said you could actually reverse the exercise as well by first making an abstract painting, then move to a second painting by trying to find an image or direction in the first that would lead to a more recognizable painting, and finally in the third painting you would create something more entirely based in realism. Again, pretty cool.

Well, after following the rules rather rigidly the first day I loosened up and wasn't quite so by-the-book the second day! I decided to stay away from realism and I used the larger "reflection" you see above as my first painting. I found an area I liked in it and tried to create a more abstract painting with the lines and shapes. I also did a positive/negative flip, making the lines light white/gray instead of dark and the negative spaces a bit darker in colour compared to the first. This is the way I painted it:

Take Two

12 x 9"

acrylic on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012

 But I actually like it this way a bit more:

...possibly because the horizontal lines are on the bottom as are some of the darker colours. The blocks of yellows and oranges are actually the under painting showing through.

My third painting actually ended up being another detail of the first painting rather than a more abstracted version of the second painting, so I didn't really follow the instructions like the good student I was on Day One! I would still like to do that third step of the exercise with both of these paintings and really see what I could do to abstract the heck out of them! That may be a goal at the studio in the near future after I get a couple of projects off my plate.

Water Lines
16 x 20"
acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I didn't feel quite so frozen on Day Two and I am sure going out to paint en plein air the night before helped. Finding a familiar thing to cling to with the reflections gave me the stability I needed and then I was able to play and experiment with that in the 1,2,3 Exercise. These are nothing like the abstract reflections I have done in the past, so I ended the day feeling like I stepped forward.

Day One Continues With Two More Paintings

Roadside Water
6 x 6"

acrylic on board
© Nicki Ault, 2012

I was feeling a smidge deflated as the first day of the Abstract Expressionism class wrapped up. I felt overwhelmed, out of my league and a general sense of "What am I doing here?". As if knowing it would help, a friend offered to take me out plein air painting after supper and before the light was gone for the day. A little flash of excitement went through me and I asked him if he could take me somewhere with water which he said was no problem. You see, in that moment I realized water has inspired some of the only abstract work I have done and maybe, just maybe, it could be a jumping off point for me now.

We drove around and checked out a few locations (with the added bonus of also seeing a deer, porcupine and some buffalo) and settled on a marsh that was a new spot for him too. It was a bit of a gray evening, but calm and beautiful. The water was very still so I focussed on the lines of the dead, water-logged trees in the reflection. I did this quick little study (above) and then I pulled out a larger support and did a similar composition, but used more colour. 

Interconnected
16 x 16"

acrylic on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2012

It was fun and time went so fast! The light really began to fade... and the mosquitoes were appearing. As I finished, I wasn't even sure anymore what colours I was mixing. How much fun is that?!!! I really need to paint outside more often. I love it all: the sounds, the smells, the changing light, seeing animals... the pure adventure of it. Happy!

I went back to campus feeling rejuvenated and like maybe I would be able to get into this abstract business after all.

Back From Summer Holidays

First location...

painting at the Waskesiu River

For (almost) the last three weeks I have been on holidays with my family in Waskesiu where we were lucky enough to use my parent's cabin. We had so much fun at the beach, bike riding, going for walks, checking out the nature centre, geo-caching for the first time and of course, going for ice cream! It was a break we all needed to have together. I even had some time to go out and paint, which of course made me feel calm and content.

Second location...

painting on Prospect Point

The above photo shows the Park Superintendent's house (in the background) which was built in 1929. There are more large cabins to each side and behind this one and the golf course is back there, too. I think I remember hearing that the Waskesiu golf course was one of Bob Hope's favorites. This area is slightly away from the main town-site and is called Prospect Point. Many, many, many years ago I worked at the golf course restaurant and at the time us "locals" called this area "Snob Hill". For two summers in a row I worked at the Clubhouse restaurant making some sweet tips. The first year the tips I saved got me to Europe for two and a half months. Ahhh, those were good times.

 this plaque overlooks the lake

and is near the above bench

where I painted that morning

I can't believe summer is drawing to a close. It has been a good one and I feel like we made some memories that will last us a lifetime. Many years from now I'm sure I will be saying about this summer, "Ahhh, those were good times"! And now it is time to regroup, get the rest of the school supplies, do other errands and deal with the piles of "real life" that were left in the house when we escaped to the lake.

 Third location...

near main beach in town-site

I hope your summer has been a wild, wonderful, memory generator!

Ours has!