Capturing Small Town Charm

Big cities have plenty of excitement and activity, not to mention crime and pollution. But for charm you are more likely to find it in a small town. DeLand, Florida is a small town that is bursting with charm. Our little plein air painting group has no trouble finding paintable spots in and around DeLand. This past week we visited the train station.

The day was overcast which made it semi comfortable for us. Otherwise with no shade available we would have been at the mercy of the hot Florida sun.
I started by toning my canvas with yellow. Maybe I was trying to compensate for the lack of sun?
Then I started on the drawing using thinned paint and lifting out some areas with a paper towel.
Some people were on the platform briefly so I quickly put in some ghost images of them which I tweaked later.
I paid extra attention to the perspective. I need to get it right to make everything work.
At one point a train came barreling through and blew my canvas off the easel. Next time I'll hang on to it more tightly!


                                          

Back in the studio I decided that the building was a little too grey and could do with some warmth. So I added some ochre, tightened up the rails and deepened some of the shadows to help punch up the values.

The Depot - oil - 9"x 12" - $370 - Leah Wiedemer

From Shed to Studio

Four months ago I bought a 10' x 14'  Weatherking Garden shed.  It was delivered to our backyard and that began our learn as you go construction adventure.

Its off the truck.

and put in place

lots of bare wood inside

There were days when I thought we would never finish. I kept reminding my husband that it is a work room and if the dry wall isn't perfectly smooth it will be ok. No need for a third coat of mud and sanding. Sanding drywall in the Florida summer heat is a nasty, dirty bit of business.

So here we are after four long months of work.

I absolutely love my new space. And I'm looking forward to spending hours and hours in there creating new work.

Take a look at the short video (under two minutes) below to watch our step by step progress.

                                       

We spent a couple of painting sessions in the Garden District of DeLand. It's an area that experienced blight due to poverty, drugs, crime and a mass exodus of law abiding residents. Recently there has been a major effort to revitalize this area. Thanks to the vision of Michael E. Arth this area is making a come back with quaint homes, gardens, lots of white picket fences and even fountains enhancing the landscape.

 Three artists came out to paint  this day. Here are my progress photos.

At this point it was getting really hot, so I decided to finish up in the studio. Here is my final piece.

Garden Cottage 1 - oil - 11" x 14" - Leah Wiedemer

The following week we returned to the same spot, but turned our attention to the opposite side of the street.

We arrived at around 7:30 AM and were painting by 8AM. This time I chose a smaller canvas.

After a few studio tweaks, this is what I have.

Garden Cottage 2 - oil - 8"x 10" - Leah Wiedemer

Tomorrow we go to the St. John's river. Should be fun!

Painting Small Towns

Having a plein air painting buddy is a great way to push yourself to get out there, paint, and improve. Just knowing that someone is expecting me to show up adds a point of accountability forcing me out of bed when I'm tired, and making an effort to overcome my natural 'hermitiness'.

This week we met on Woodland Street again, but a few steps further north. This was my view.

"Rich Street" - oil - 11"x 14" - L. Wiedemer

I used a canvas board with super heavy gesso applied for added texture. I neglected to get in progress photos because I was hurrying in an effort to beat the heat. This time I just dove in sketching my design with thinned paint - no toning the canvas today.

By the end of our session I was baking in the sun. Next week we will try starting a half hour earlier.

I tinkered a good bit with this later in the studio. I decided to add some flower pots on the left, put a few birds on the wire, and deepened some shadows.

See Dick Draw See Jane Paint

A new painter friend and I met in downtown DeLand, Fl. to paint this morning. DeLand is full of charm and it can be difficult choosing one scene over another. This time we settled on painting the artsy cafe across the street called Dick & Janes.

It's cute isn't it! My friend was painting in watercolor and I was using oils on a 11" x 14" canvas covered board.

I toned the canvas lightly just to get me started. Then sketched in my design with thinned paint.

At this point I was 95% finished and we decided to break for lunch.

I just added some lettering and I think this might be done.

Stay tuned to see what we will be painting around town next week!

Do you paint your hometown charm? Do you prefer to go solo painting or with a friend? Let's talk about it.

Studio Solutions

Since moving I've been a bit more disorganized than usual. I've carved out space for my desk and a few essential tools in our living room. It's not ideal. And even less ideal is having my flat files and work table languishing on the screened porch in shrink wrap.

With no room inside of the house for me to set up shop we decided to explore our options. We asked around town about renting space, but there was nothing available at the time. Maybe in a few months...  I can't wait an indeterminate length of time for a maybe.  Another negative was the potential cost.

Option two was to buy a shed. So we shopped around, comparing size, price, features, materials and cost. Finally, we settled on a 10' x 14' Weatherking cottage shed.We were all very excited on delivery day. Even the dog was beside herself with excitement. Though I suspect she thought she was getting the worlds biggest dog house. Click on the 'Got a Minute?' video below to watch the delivery and set up.

What do you think about this studio solution? Please comment if your studio is a shed and let me know how it is working out for you.

Expanding My Territory

We are finally getting settled into our new digs in Deland, FL. Moving is such an ordeal and this one seemed fraught with extra complications. Most of that is behind us now and I'm expecting delivery of my new studio/shed sometime next week. I'll do a whole post on that when it arrives.

We are located about a half of a mile from the St. John's River. So with most of our unpacking and organizing done I've managed to head out to Ed Stone Park a couple of times to paint the river.

This is the first one I did a week ago. I focused on this mossy tree with it's branches stretching down into the river. It's an 8" x 10" gallery wrapped canvas in oil.

I went out again today and chose a different view.  Here are a few pictures of my progress as well as the view.

I love the light hitting that small clearing

I toned the canvas and put in my basic plan starting with the darkest darks

"The Clearing" - oil - 8" x 10"