How to paint a Hurricane

Hurricane Evacuation

Yesterday, I quickly packed to evacuate my island home and run from Hurricane Matthew. Hurricanes are scary. I grabbed a stack of art books to pass the time as I sit in my comfortable hotel room in Orlando while the storm passes.

Painting the Elements

So my best hurricane book is "Painting the Elements" by Kelly Messerly. She encourages us to analyze weak design and fix a bad painting. There are basics -- color, contrast, composition, and design, as well as sunlight, shadows. And very useful for me today is the chapter on clouds, mist, rain...

So how do you paint a hurricane?

1. Use great design and color. 
2. Understand how to paint.
3. Most of all, live it.

Living the Hurricane

While I can't really go out to paint plein air during the hurricane, I'm watching the swath of destruction on TV. I'm sketching while viewing through the window how the palms are blowing sideways (even in Orlando we're experiencing hurricane force winds).

I'm actively worried about how my house and gallery are faring. I'm eating too many snacks. I'm feeling this storm. It's personally affecting me to my very bones. Totally a way to create a meaningful "worried" point of view on canvas. I can't even think straight enough to paint, but I'm sketching and I'll eventually take the sketches to create paintings of dark, moody, and scary.

Stay dry!

--Mary Hubley

Distractions in Plein Air Painting: At the Carousel

Plein air painting includes many distractions - usually it's the cold, wind, heat, insects, and rain. But on this perfect June day at the carousel, little did  I know there would be different distractions than Mother Nature.


When I arrived, I toured the grounds to decide what to paint. There was, of course, the carousel. Front and center. This vintage piece of childhood goodness is a bit overwhelming to paint. Lots of detail. Way more red than I'm used to painting in a landscape. And it moves.

So... I considered alternatives. - there were trees. Everywhere. And children. Hmm. But the carousel would not let me avoid it, as much as I tried.

"You can't paint me - I'm too complicated for you,"  it teased.

I stood there and took a breath. I studied the structure. Hmm. I plunged into the carousel's challenge.
 
I started in on painting the carousel. My friends in the Anastasia Plein Air group joined me.



That's when the distractions arrived. Children. Running, jumping, yelling, throwing things. I ignored them and continued to paint.

They noticed us. They approached. Watched.

One said, "Hey, you're a good artist."

"Thank you," I replied.

A little boy took a fancy to me. He told me he was four. He reached out, picked up a brush and played with the bristles. He took a critical look at what I was doing and gave me pointers.

"You should put a kid in that painting," He said. "And other people."

"Thank you. I will."

He looked up at the carousel and squinted. "It should be redder," he continued.

"You're right. . . Are you an artist?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," he assured me. "I'll paint after lunch. I like blue."

What a super-welcome distraction. A delight. Refreshing. I took the boy's advice and added a kid, and made some deeper reds in the carousel. Best advice I've gotten in a long time.

-- Mary Hubley

 

Painting Demo: St. Augustine Lighthouse

This is what I painted during a recent plein air day in St. Augustine by the lighthouse. I've taken progressive snapshots of my painting process, below:

Above - here's the location where I'm painting - I'm on the beach at the St. Augustine Florida lighthouse, next to a big wide palm tree. In the foreground is my paint box and where I've set myself up in front of a lovely sailboat. Below, you see a close up of the very beginnings of my painting - here, I've done the initial drawing, added a few greens, and blocked in the darks:

 

It's about a half-hour later, and I've added the blue of the sky, a few pops of red, and have started to bring in some textural detail in the foreground.

And below is the finished piece. I've added the rest of the detail in the plants. I also added more paint, and at the very end created the lightest lights and redefined the darks:

"Palm by the Lighthouse" 8 x 10, Mary Hubley

To see more of my paintings, go to www.maryhubley.com.

I'll be posting more of these painting demos soon! Thanks.

--Mary Hubley

Plein Air Season in Florida

Plein Air season in Florida is just about over - another month or so before it gets too  hot to paint outside and once again I'll relegate myself to the cool cave of my studio. I have amassed many small plein air studies I'll use as reference for my larger studio paintings.

Painting Tree-Fort - photo of fort.

Final Tree-Fort Plein Air Study - subtleties are glowing.

I find that a season or two of plein air has brought me deeper into my art. Colors have appeared this year on my canvases that I've never spent much time with before - more purples, deep blues, and non-browns. Working only from photographs is limiting, and I'll never go back in that direction again. Sure. photos are great for reference. They provide you with a good basis for initial sketching and setting up composition. But snapshots don't capture color well - you can't see the purples in deep shadow, or the vibrancy of blue in the sky, or nuances in a green landscape.

It seems that plein air painting draws me out a few times a month. I go with my plein air group, Anastasia Plein Air, and join up with the Flagler plein air group as well. These take me all over the region, painting along back sandy roads, boat yards, and cobbled streets of the old city in St. Augustine, Florida.

Photo taken of Mary Hubley by St. Augustine Record during the National Park paintout in April 2016.

Last month I did two week-long paintouts. There was a National Park paintout celebrating the park system's 100th anniversary. I was asked to give the demo for the event, and I found my picture and an interview on the front page of the local paper. Then I won second prize at the Flagler Plein Air paintout. Yay! 


Next month, in May, the beginning of summer heat, I crazily have seven plein air dates scheduled, including two paintouts. A last hurrah before true blistering summer.

Painting Authenticity in Historic Places

White Window (c) Mary Hubley

St. Augustine History

I live in old St. Augustine, Florida, a place that abounds with historic colonial Spanish, French and British sites. There are grand Victorian hotels, a couple of authentic old Spanish forts, and a tall black and white spiral lighthouse. The maze of ancient homes on old-world streets is an artist's dream.

Yesterday, friend Wendy and I did a photo shoot of hidden St. Augustine. We trekked the hidden cobbled streets that most people never see. We took photos of the private gardens, dark shadows of mossy walled courtyards, and secret alleyways. I've lived here for 20 years, and I still find places that are new wonders waiting for me to paint.

Use Photos as a Reference

Yesterday's photos will become references for some new paintings. I'll sort them to find the most promising. I'll make a few sketches. Then, I'll finally go back to the best places later on, and reconnect in person with pencils and paints. I'll sit there for a few hours to do some plein air painting. You can't get any more authentic than sitting and painting right at the source of the inspiration.

When painting a historic site or a recognizable place, you need to consider everything - perspective, color, contrast, composition, just like in every other painting.

St. Augustine Lion (c) Mary Hubley

Authenticity

There's one big difference, though, when painting something everyone recognizes: you need to be authentic. Paint everything that's there - even the seemingly insignificant things. Keep in all the messy stop signs, telephone lines, trash cans, and mailboxes. Why? Because it's authentic. It's a part of the historic fabric of a famous landmark. And, removing ugly details from a well-known place will be noticed. People will pick apart the details and judge your painting by all the wrong reasons.

I actually like the messy little details. They add character to the piece. They're authentic.

You can sometimes make slight changes, though. Move a trash can a bit. Downplay contrasts, deaden a color. Or if all else fails, hide an intrusive object behind overgrown grass, a car, or a passing pedestrian.
 

How to Paint Sunsets

Sailboat Sunset (c) Mary Hubley

Some of my students have asked how to do a great sunset. Gradients are difficult for them. Some of their skies end up neon with the foreground in flat black.

The awesome drama of changing color sours to a muddy mess. What to do?

Sunset Painting Tips:

• Paint plein air -- outside as the sunset is happening. Go there. Arrive at your scene an hour before the sunset begins.
• Lay out all your paints and materials. Get ready for the show. 
• Mix colors (oranges, pinks, purples) you think you'll use beforehand so you don't waste a lot of time doing this while the sky is changing. To avoid the neon look, do not use colors right out of the tube; mix your colors to tone them down a bit.
• Before the sky changes, work on the preliminary painting -- I generally paint the under painting first - I do the paint sketch and initial color blocks done before the light show. 
• Once the sunset starts happening, work quickly. Use large brushes. Use long strokes and paint loosely.
• To smooth the transition of different bright colors, try using a large soft dry brush and a soft stroke to feather colors together. 
• Foregrounds are never pure black, except for in photographs. Really look at the landscape before you and try to capture the subtle colors and tones in the shadows.
• Don't forget to stop for a second here and there to enjoy the scene - your impression will be passed on in the painting.
• Get a photo for reference later on in case you need to finish in your studio.

Genre: Landscape
Painting Name: Sailboat Sunset
Size: 8" x 10"
Media: Oil on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Ready, Set, Action: On Location with a Film Crew

Plein Air Painting on St. Augustine Beach

Here are a few photos from a very special plein air painting session I taught yesterday. Special, because we were met on location by a film crew taping a promotional video. They met us on the beach to film us -- me, Sheree, Nancy, and Ellen -- painting on the beach.

The weather couldn't have been better. As luck would have it, the fog had just lifted and it turned out to be one of the first beautiful warm days of the year. The sunshine drew the sunbathers out - they were busy soaking up the rays. We painted that deep blue umbrella, seagulls, and people playing by the waves.

Close-up of my quick study of the beach

The cameras are at the right, taping us as we're painting. See the Beach pier in back of us.

As we painted, we moved, we stopped, and we started on queue from the filmographers. They took views of us as a group, with the luscious blue sky and bright beach backdrop. Then they moved in for some closeups of my hand adding paint to the canvas, scanning out to the scene I was capturing in front of me. Eventually, the film is intended to be part of a promotional video for the St. Johns County Cultural Center.

Janice and Donald Jones, our videographers from CycleHereMedia

It was fun! Thanks so much, Janice and Donald Jones, our videographers from CycleHereMedia! Hope the day's filming makes it to the final cut!

--Mary Hubley
www.maryhubley.com

Painting Workshop in St. Augustine

Painting at the Fatio House in St. Augustine Florida

A beautiful day in November! My painting workshop was held at the Fatio House in downtown St. Augustine, in a large garden surrounded by 18th century buildings. Here, I'm working with my workshop students as they're working their way through their paintings.

Second painting of the day! Painting Workshop

I generally do a quick demo for my students in a workshop, showing them how do do the underpainting and then applying blocks of color. Then, I move between them as they're working, offering hints and suggestions.

At the end of this day, we walked over to GNG Gallery, which is just around the corner, and took these photos of the day's work:

Painting workshop with Mary Hubley

--Mary Hubley

A New Way to Think About Painting Still Life

"Moonshell" (c) Mary Hubley

Still Life = Boring?

Still life means Still. Dull. Mundane. A bowl of boring fruit... A vase of dead flowers. Sigh. Poor still life. What a wretched reputation.

But I still believe. I hope my still lifes accomplish energy. I try to animate the still objects that I pick up on the beach. Seashells are energized with light and color. Flowers are explosions of composition, mood, and light.


Here's how I switch the mundane still life to extraordinary:  

• Connect with the subject. I paint things that mean something. Combine Grammy's old bowls and fresh cut oranges. Those oranges smell great. Happy. Paint the memories. 
• Treasure hunt. Go to the beach and find a pocket of the shells, stones, and sea glass. Get in the car on Saturday for a couple hours of garage sales.
• Set it up. Experiment. Move things around for an hour or two before you get started. Go for unusual angles. Make objects go off the page. View from above or underneath.
• Contrast. Use strong lights and shadows. Place a shiny object next to something furry; something organic against something man-made. Place patterns in the background.
• Practice, huh? Getting good means you need to do it. Jump in.

This painting is available - please contact Mary Hubley for details.
 
Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Moonshell
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


Mary Hubley
www.maryhubley.com

Mystery of the Missing Art Supply Store

I cried when our old local art supply store closed. Big-box craft places moved in, and we lost personal attention.

The Quest for Elusive Masterson Sta-Wet Palettes

A couple of months ago, my painting students were having trouble finding Masterson Sta-Wet palettes after Michaels had dropped them.

Voila! Magic. A tiny new store appeared. The Red Sable opened in St. Augustine. I walked in, and what did I find? Sta-Wet palettes stacked in the corner.

Yay!!!!! Dance the dance of art supply nirvana!!

The clerk was excited to order even more if I needed them. Soo coool. On the down side, the store is tiny, and there aren't many things on the shelves yet, but I'm encouraged to hear that bigger is planned.

-- Mary.

Challenges of Painting at Night

Castillo at Night (c) Mary Hubley

St. Augustine's Spanish Castle

This is a quick painting of the St. Augustine Spanish Fort. The electric lighting casts a golden glow on the normally white coquina stone wall, with dark blue sky and signature surrounding Florida palms.

The fort in St. Augustine is a national monument, called the Castillo de San Marcos. The fort has existed since 1672, making it one of the oldest structures in America. 

Painting at night is a challenge!

I grabbed my painting gear and headed out to grab my spot in the dark. Night painting is a trick. You have to see the canvas in the dark, but be able to tell the difference between red, blue, brown, etc.. I guess you could use a flashlight, but jeez, it's just another thing to bring. Here, there was enough light from street lights and shop windows.

Reference photos (for later tweaking in the studio) are difficult, too. My night photos always come out black with one or two little lights in them. I leave night photos to the professional photographers. If I have to tweak, I'll go from memory, a few on-the-spot gestural drawings, and my original painting.


Genre: Landscape
Painting Name: Castillo at Night
Size: 7" x 5"
Media: Acrylic on Canvas Board

-- Mary Hubley

White Pelican Painting

White Pelican (c) Mary Hubley

White Pelican Oil Painting

The Florida landscape enjoys its pelicans, flying down the beach in formation, dipping into the surf to catch a fish, and sitting around the boat yard looking for handouts from fishermen who bring their catch ashore. This pelican was perched on a dock piling, waiting for the days' catch to appear.

This pelican painting almost painted itself - the sky was a perfect dark ultramarine blue, which made the whites in the pelican and the clouds stand out.

Genre: Animals
Painting Name: White Pelican
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Egret in Marsh

Egret in Marsh (c) Mary Hubley

White Egret Painting

The egret is one of the most recognized birds here in my state of Florida. They're in all the marshes, skimming the water for little snacks of fish and frogs. One of my favorite subjects for bird paintings.

Genre: Animals
Painting Name: Egret in Marsh
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


--Mary Hubley

Using an Artist Viewfinder

A Week at the Beach (c) Mary Hubley

This is a tiny little painting - only 5" x 7". It may be a small painting, but it's quite a big view.

Painting Large Spaces

It's not all that easy to stand there, at the edge of the surf, and consider doing this as a small painting. You're looking at large things - a great blue sky, long beach, and immense ocean. Vastness is intimidating. Many of my art students are too overwhelmed with the expanse of ocean, surf, and beach to try to capture it at all, yet alone doing it on a small canvas. It's just too big.

But it doesn't have to be intimidating; there is one trick that makes this do-able. When a landscape is too big, I use a viewfinder to quickly figure it out.

Using an Artist's Viewfinder

An artist's viewfinder is kind of like using a camera lens; you hold it up to the subject, squint and look through one eye, and move it around until you frame the perfect composition. Instead of taking a snapshot, you paint what you see through the viewfinder.

With this painting, I used my viewfinder to crop out much of the sky and the ocean, making the beach the largest element in the foreground. I could have done the opposite - cropping off much of the beach, leaving a great blue sky and larger body of water. I liked this view better.

Genre: Landscape
Painting Name: A Week at the Beach
Size: 5" x 7"
Media: Oil on Canvasboard


--Mary Hubley

Paint Out St. Augustine

St. Augustine Aviles Street (c) Mary Hubley

During St. Augustine's Romanza Festival this past weekend, I was one of the lucky plein air artists invited to paint along Aviles Street.

My spot had a perfect view of the historic Fatio House. At the Fatio house, you can take tours to view colonial Spanish life.

The early morning light hit the front of the white building and palm trees. The early sky was still quite blue, not yet giving into the gray-white of later morning humidity. The breeze rustled the palm leaves. People stopped by to view my progress.

I painted until noonish, when I took a short break with other artists for lunch - how could I resist? The street is lined with quaint cafes offering cold iced tea and fresh salads. Later, I got back to work and finished. Here, I am holding my plein air painting at the end of the day.


Genre: Landscape Painting
Name: St. Augustine Aviles Street
Size: 10" x 10"
Media: Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Seashells and Beach Pebble Painting

"What's in My Pocket" (c) Mary Hubley

Seashells and pebbles

"What's in My Pocket" is what I find after a day at the beach. When I get home after beach combing, I eventually clear out my pocket... Wet and sandy pockets. What emerges is treasure.

Painting Sea Shells

Painting seashells takes patience. The good thing is, they are good models - they are obedient posers, are very relaxed, and take direction well. They don't mind sitting for hours and hours, and stay put when they're being rearranged when sorting out composition and lighting. What emerges just happens, from careful observation to quick brushstrokes.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: What's in My Pocket
Size: 7" x 5"
Media: Oil on Canvasboard


--Mary Hubley

Scallop Shell Painting

Soft Shell (c) Mary Hubley

The Scallop

Seafood! Cooked to perfection, scallops are my favorite food. They also make good paintings. This is what they look like on the beach. This scallop is a small painting I just finished, based on a prize scallop shell I found on the beach.

Scallops in Art

In ancient art, scallop shells often symbolized the feminine. Venus was often painted with a scallop shell in the painting to identify her, as in Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Soft Shell
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


--Mary Hubley

Cockle Shell Beach Seashell

Shell - a Cockle Shell (c) Mary Hubley

Cockle Shell

This is a little cockle shell that I found in my pocket. Cockles are quite common in Florida beaches. You can find them strewn up and down the shoreline. Remember the nursery rhyme?


"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row."

What is a Cockle?

My name is Mary, and I got this rhyme quite a bit when I was a child.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Shell
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Moon Shell Seashell Painting

Dark Moonshell (c) Mary Hubley

Moonshell

Occasionally I find a nice dark moonshell at my beach. I found this early in the morning, before the other beachcombers arrived. I tried to capture the shiny reflection.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Dark Moonshell
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Beach Whelk Sea Shell Painting

Seashell Beach Whelk Painting (c) Mary Hubley

Beach Shell Paintings

I walk to the beach from where I live. I go to experience the changing sky, waves, and the people and animals busy in the sand. I go for the shells yet to find. Small gifts of tiny whelks waiting to be taken home and painted.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Beach Whelk 3
Size: 6" x 6"
Media: Oil on Canvas



--Mary Hubley