http://robertprichard.com The latest news from Landscape paintings by Robert Prichard. en-us Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:06:06 CST Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:06:06 CST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <br />I have a creative block. I think it is mostly due to the recent cold snap, but it could be anything. Whatever the reason, I just don't feel like painting. Who knows how these things work. I have been blocked before. I have tried just plowing through, making yourself work, but I generally find the work produced by that method unsatisfying. I guess I should just look at it as part of the process, and write it off as such. More often than not, I just try to occupy myself with other things that I enjoy doing or thinking about. For example, I am brewing beer. I first started brewing beer when I was in college, way back in the '80's. I did not realize it then, but it was the begining of the Homebrew movement. Over the years, I have continued to collect equipment and recipes, all the while, doing those important taste tests. So I have formulated a basic brown ale, and it is actively fermenting away. Still blocked though. I think I might turn my attention to sculpture for a while. I found a group of sculptor's who are meeting to share the cost of a model. That might be the ticket to get the juices flowing again. We will see. The important thing for me to remember is that, the creative mojo will return, I just have to be open and ready for it. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:16:47 CST <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">En plein air is French for &#8220;in the open air&#8221;. In reference to painting, it means painting outdoors, directly from nature. You may recall that is what the Barbizon and Impressionist painters were doing. The availability of paint in tubes made this possible.&nbsp;Before tubes were available, artist had to grind their own pigments in advance of a painting session. This would not be very convenient for working in the field. Now it seems there is an endless supply of gear, gadgets and gizmos marketed toward the plein air painter.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">For me, plein air painting is about responding to the environment I am in, and completing the painting in one session. The light and weather change quickly in New Mexico, so I try to work fast.&nbsp;A couple of hours is usually the most time I have, before the light changes too much. I do not try to mimic everything I see. I try to determine what caught my attention about this particular view, and then build the painting around that element. It might be an interesting shape, or a particular color, or something else. Sometimes I don&#8217;t know what it is, until I have started painting. Occasionally, I will make changes once I am back at home, but usually not. Often, I will think the painting I made is terrible, and a failure. After a few days, I take another look. Some of these have turned out to be favorites.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:31:10 CDT