JANE: I painted “Old Church Rooftops' in Bonnieux, France” as a demo for a workshop group that I taught for Magic Palette Workshops in September 2004. That day’s lesson had a few definite objectives. As a technique, I wanted to show the group how a painting could take the unconventional approach and start by rendering detail in the focal area. As a concept I wanted to show how contrast of detail, sharp edges, value and warm and cool color could create the illusion of distance. Many of the students were trying to put too much detail in every part of the picture. I wanted a subject that had a definite demarkation between foreground and distance. The elevated view from the high cathedral of the hill town presented the perfect opportunity for this lesson. I selected a composition with a hand held viewer that filled most of the picture with the roof and upper part of the old church which was set against some distant hills and made a very tiny value study the exact size of the viewer aperture. I always do this when painting plein-air because it not only defines the compositional elements of the picture; but also records the momentary light and dark patterns of scene. When the light changes, I refer back to the value study and do not spend the next couple of hours chasing the sun. I completed the majority of this plein-air demo in a little over an hour.

 

PAWa: Besides your wonderful pastels, you also work in oil and watercolor. What do you do differently as you switch from one media to another?

 

JANE: I do work in all three media and love aspects of each of them. I generally use pastel when working plein-air because I find I can build the atmosphere of a scene more quickly and aesthetically. The subtleness of color is more intuitive for me by selecting and altering color properties with the layering of pastel. I organize my pastel by value so am less confused by the glare of sunlight and all the other outdoor elements that make mixing the right value difficult. I generally work from large shapes of color/value to smaller detail and I use this approach with all three
mediums. I also tend to work from mid-tones toward the light and dark end of the value scale so this approach works with all the media also. With pastel and oil, I start with the darker range of mid-tones and with watercolor; I start with the lighter end of the mid-tone scale. I also like to tone my paper in sections instead of an overall single tone which also works well with all three media.

I am currently using oil more in the studio to facilitate larger work. Finished Pastel in a large format becomes hard to handle because of glass and framing. Watercolor was my passion for many years but I currently use it more for small initial or quick studies. Also it is compact and easy to handle in a plein-air situation where one is traveling constantly and setting up an easel is impossible. Twenty minutes at a restaurant table or sitting on a cathedral step waiting for a group to gather for the next site is perfect for a small 6x9 watercolor. I take photos but every plein-air artist knows that standing still for a period of time, even a short time, analyzing, and intently absorbing ones surroundings with paper and paint seals an intimate relationship with a scene that can never be found in a few quick photos.

 

PAWa: It seems like the your majority of your work is in pastel. What is it about pastel in particular that lends itself to being your choice in media for Plein Air painting?

JANE: I think I answered this in the previous question; but beyond what I mentioned, I find it easier to transport the materials and paintings. I try to limit the number of pastels I carry to a small number to reduce the weight and bulk. Cleanup is easy with a couple of baby wipes and the pastels can be taped one on top of the other with a piece of glassine on top and popped back into a backpack for easy smudge free transport.


PAWa: What subject matter do you like to paint and why?

JANE: I am generally inspired by all types of subject matter. I love to paint portraits and figures, street scenes, landscapes and still life. More than the subject, it is the puzzle of laying one color next to another or layering one over the other to create the illusion of form and space that
fascinates me. One of my workshop instructors said he thought I found my muse in trees. I don't think it is trees as a subject as much as it is the complexity of positive form, negative space and texture that causes me to seek the subject of trees. The bigger the jumble of trunks and limbs, the more excited I become with how color and its changes in value, temperature and intensity along with a tactile suggestion can sort out those ambiguities into a visual sense of that subject on paper.


PAWa: You have been painting for many years. With that much experience it would be easy fall into picture making... repeating what has worked in the past. How do you keep challenging yourself to continue growing as a artist?

JANE: I guess you could say I have been painting SERIOUSLY for 30 years. Seriously, meaning I have worked, attended workshops and exhibited with a conscious effort to improve and grow in the craft and aesthetic of painting. I think it is that intent which creates the challenge and the growth. It is the question, "What if...?" and the questions "How was that done?", “What is the thought behind that?" and "What is around the next corner?" that creates the need to keep exploring and painting. There is repetition involved; but it is always with an eye toward improvement.

 

PAWa: Where do you consistently like to paint in the Northwest?

JANE: I would love to say there is one spot here in the Northwest that keeps drawing me back. It sounds so romantic like Monet and his garden. I have not found that yet. I was surprised last year to find that I loved the end of winter, beginning of spring stirrings at Walla Walla. It was not a spot that I would have chosen to drive to and paint but I loved the flat planes, distant mountains, sycamore and cottonwood trees, and a sense of a tie with the pioneers that I found there. Over the years when I have set out to paint some preconceived thing I have in mind, I will drive and drive and never find it. Therefore, I most like to paint with a group of people and "happen" to fall in love with what I find.


PAWa: I understand that you will be doing a workshop. What will you be
focusing on during the Bainbridge Is. Workshop?

JANE: The focus of the workshop will be on the "tools" needed to paint plein-air and create a personal expression. The "tools" meaning how to see, plan, and execute a painting from the vast array of things one finds in the landscape, and how to use a method of working and management of color to create a composition that tailors to the individual taste from the more abstract to the more realistic.


PAWa: What media will you be emphasizing?

JANE: I will demo and provide assistance in pastel, oil and watercolor and
discuss the relationship of working in each.


PAWa: What level of student can attend this workshop?

JANE: The student should at least have a drawing background and some practice in the media of choice.


PAWa: How do you individualize your instruction so the various levels of
students can each benefit?

JANE: My instruction and demos emphasize concepts and methods of approaching the painting process that can be applied to any medium. As I demo in each medium, I point out practical tips of its handling, I help each student as they work solve problems they encounter with the media and the concepts, and finally we evaluate the positive results and individual personal solutions through group critiques.

 

Thank you Jane