Lights & Darks

A plein air sketch done at the lake. Carving out the lights and darks was hard for me since everything was essentially the same shade of green. Plus the heat was drying my paints too quickly, creating a gloppy texture. Next time, umbrella! Good practice and lessons learned, though.

Plein Air Envy

I am declaring this Spring + Summer to be my first plein air seasons! I have been drooling over all the gorgeous pochade painting boxes and travel easels out there, but haven't been able to rationalize the $200 expense. Inspired by this, I hacked one this week using one of those cheesy $15 "learn to paint" sets that come in a wooden box.

First I removed the plastic interior and all the supplies. I will use most of them, the rest can go in the kids' art box! The wood inside is hideous, but what do you expect for $15?

I salvaged the plexiglass from an old Ikea frame for an easy-to-clean palette. I cut it to fit scoring it with a sharp knife and snapping off the excess. It didn't come out perfectly straight, but oh well.
I fitted the inside with elastic straps to keep panels up top and little plastic containers (also Ikea) down below. I bought a plastic palette cup that clips on the side of the palette. I think I will need to invest in an all-aluminum one to avoid solvents from eating through. I will probably need to use little screws instead of thumbtacks, as well, to secure the elastic. One has already gone "boing!" and popped off. I will also have to install a chain of some sort to keep it from opening up all the way, making it more functional as a painting surface.

It's a bit of a trial and error process, but I am hoping to get good use out of my little bargain in the field soon!