Values by Armand Cabrera

I believe value to be more important to the success of a painting than the actual color used. While we can key a painting’s value to use a limited part of the total value scale, we cannot manipulate values in the same way that we can manipulate color. All good paintings start with good value plans. This arrangement is what gives strength to your paintings.

The Value Scale

The value scale is the scale that we are limited to in pigment between black and white. While we can divide the scale into as many steps as we want, usually it is divided into ten steps or less. I divide this scale from 0 (black) to 9 (white).

Read more ....

Color by Stefan Baumann

Since launching Observations of Nature, we have been inundated with
questions concerning color and the definition of terms that describe its
characteristics. These basic components of location painting may sometimes seem elusive and confusing, but when broken down into core elements, they are very easy to apply.

First, the theory of color and the colors of the color wheel are based on the purity of light from the sun. On a grand scale, rainbows illustrate the pure tones that make up a beam of light. What becomes confusing is that paint pigments are made up of organic substances, and not completely pure in tone. To compensate for this innate flaw, paint companies produce hundreds of tones for the fine artist.

Read more ....

MARIN/SCAPES 2004
16th ANNUAL EXHIBIT & SALE OF MARIN COUNTY LANDSCAPE ART

Marin/Scapes celebrates the spectacular beauty of Marin County, California and supports Buckelew Programs, a non-profit agency that helps adults with mental illness gain employment and live independently.

This popular event and sale of fine art features the work of 60 well-known, contemporary artists from all over California. Marin/Scapes is held at the classic Escalle Winery in the heart of downtown Larkspur, just 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Opening Night Gala, sponsored by Fireman’s Fund, gives collectors the opportunity to view and purchase artwork before the exhibition is open to the public for the Fourth of July weekend.

Opening Night Gala: Thursday, June 24th; 6:30 - 9:30PM
Tickets: $125 per person; Call (415) 457-6966, ext. 273

Exhibition and Sale: Friday, July 2 - Monday, July 5th; 12 Noon to 6PM
Location: Escalle Winery, 771 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur
Admission: $12 admission at the door

For more information and directions: www.marinscapes.org

Master Outdoor Painters

Isaac Levitan Isaac Levitan’s art represented the culmination of Russian Landscape painting of the 19th century. His paintings go beyond depicting objective representations of nature; they are suffused with profound philosophical and social significance.

Isaac Levitan was born in 1860 in Kybartai, Russia (now Lithuania). His father moved the family to Moscow in the early 1870’s to seek greater fame and fortune. Isaacs’s mother and father died while he was attending the Moscow College of Painting. Only seventeen, Levitan became homeless. He stayed with friends and family and even slept in the empty classrooms of the college. His tuition was waived because of undue hardship.... .
Learn more ....

Quote of the Month

“Can anything be more tragic than to feel the infinite beauty of your surroundings, to read natures innermost secrets and, conscious of your own helplessness, to be incapable of expressing those powerful emotions? .”

Isaac Levitan

Be a part of history. Plein Air Magazine is a new, the first of it's kind, full-color publication devoted to the fine art of outdoor painting – 12 annual issues for collectors and artists. It is one of highest quality fine art publications available - exquisite reproductions on rich paper stock. Subscribe today to "The Most Beautiful Art Magazine in America TM",

pleinairmagazine.com

Discover the secrets of outdoor painting and learn from plein air masters, Stefan Baumann and Armand Cabrera, on location.

The techniques acquired in these dynamic classes will broaden your skill and teach you timeless secrets of the craft. Learn More...

Solicitations: We do not accept ads or unsolicited articles, although we enjoy receiving email and letters from our readers (which we reserve the right to edit and publish).

Usage: Commercial use of any information in this newsletter is strictly forbidden, however we are open to share in content with newspapers and magazines.
Please email for permission:info@outdoorpainting.com