Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?” This is the question my siblings and I asked our parents everyday in 1965. Why? We were, eight of us, driving across the US in our family station wagon. And, we traveled in that station wagon for a month. It was awesome! But before I explain why I named this week’s color sketch “Are We There Yet” I want to welcome you, dear reader, and any newcomers, too. Perhaps I need to explain the focus and purpose of the blog, too. Here you go.

Small Spaces Special Places

Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. For instance, this year’s is “Small Spaces Special Places.” One reason for this theme is I have been surprised, even delighted, with the small spaces in our house that have captured my eye.

Then, there are the special places I see on my daily dog walks here in Raleigh. Each morning, rain or shine, I love getting outdoors and looking for special places to paint. Sometimes, we venture on the road and I expect to share paintings of special places from these trips, too.

Most weeks, I also share an exercise, book and/or a painter who inspires my work. If you know someone who you think might enjoy a weekly dose of color, with a dash of art history, please encourage them to sign up here for this weekly blog.

Why Name This Week’s Color Sketch

I feel the need to share why “Are We There Yet” works for this color sketch’s name. First, though, I will share what my dad would say on that road trip to “manage” us. Ready? Picture a station wagon full of six kids asking “Are we there yet?”

Follow that question with dad’s reply, “Close your eyes and count down from 100. And, when you open them, we’ll be nearly there.” Guess what? He would time this suggestion so that all eyes were closed as we passed our favorite ice cream place (aka Howard Johnsons). Brilliant, right?

Are we there yet color sketch

So I am excited to be learning to paint landscapes. I have ideas and visions of what these paintings will look like. You can imagine then, can’t you, the same question. I could ask myself, “Am I there yet?” Do these quick sketches communicate what I imagine.

This is where I cue up my dear old dad who will ask you, dear reader, to close your eyes and count to one hundred. Why? Well, I am in search of a certain look and certain pace and, well, we’re just not quite there yet. But, that’s OK. Why?

I am challenging myself to stretch and learn and see in new ways to help me grow as a painter. Maybe some of these practices, that I’ll share here now, are of interest to you, too? Read on to see a description of two things I’m doing to work more effectively as a painter.

Timed Color Sketches

The first exercise is a timed color sketch practice I have been doing each week since February. The reason I want to do these sketches is to help me pick up the pace of my painting. This is super important so as to take advantage of changing light when painting outdoors.

This week I worked in gouache because we were on the road. Clean up is so much easier with gouache than with oil paints. So, this quick little 22 minute sketch is from our campsite at the Croatan National Forest near New Bern, NC.

Notan Sketches

Another nifty exercise I have been practicing is sketching two value landscape “notan” drawings. I’ll share a description of the term notan from Arthur Wesley Dow’s book entitled “Composition: Understanding Line, Notan and Color. “…notan, a Japanese word meaning “dark, light,” refers to the quantity of light reflected, or the massing of tones of different values. Notan-beauty means the harmony resulting from combination of dark and light spaces – whether colored or not – whether, in buildings, in pictures, or in nature.”

Now if you find this definition confusing, welcome! I did, too. So I decided to do some Notan drawings with just black and white. This process of simplifying what I see (either in front of me or in my imagination) is a really important exercise. Are we there yet? Welp, no. But that’s OK. I am really enjoying learning about this concept. And applying it to these drawings.

I came across another, more nuanced definition of notan recently. You can read Fine Artist and fantastic landscape painter, Deborah Paris’s blog here. In her clarification of the concept of notan, she writes, “…we can use notan to express the abstract qualities of visual weight that make up a pictorial composition. When we reduce something to notan, we are using value (dark/light) to describe the weight issue, but it isn’t necessarily about value.”

Although we did study notan at art school, I will confess to barely grasping this concept in the midst of all the learning there.

Anywho, are some of the notan drawings I did this week.

These drawings are from my imagination. We were zipping back from a short camping trip this week. I would see a cluster of trees along the highway and make myself simplify, simplify, simplify! Like most skills, I recognize that it will take time to develop a level of proficiency that feels satisfying. But at least I know why I am doing these exercises. And, I love pushing myself this way. As Winston Churchill would say, “I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” HA!

Bonus Round

I will veer away from art world for a minute to share that I feel super lucky to be heading out on camping adventures with my husband these days. The landscape of Croatan National Forest is still an overwhelming testimony to the power of hurricanes. Here’s Mr Himself standing next to a huge downed tree we passed on a hike there this week.

I look forward to sharing more travel notes, color sketches and challenges with you in the weeks ahead. The ability to share with you motivates me to strive, improve and enjoy. What adventures and challenges are you facing these days, gentle reader? Please share in the comments below and thank you!