|
|
|
Channels:
|
Search for:
|
Author: Wayne_Gaudon, Contributing Editor
 |
| I read about pochade studies in the book titled "Fill Your Paintings With Light" by Kevin MacPherson, but it wasn't the first time I had heard of pochades. I previously had considered experimenting with this study technique. Canada's famed "Group of Seven" had some wonderful little eight by ten inch pochades that they turned into great masterpieces. I decided if it worked for them then maybe I could get a piece of the action!
It is not as easy as it looks. One has to capture something in as few strokes and as quickly as possible. It is quite an accomplishment for an artist if they can capture the moment in minimal time. We know that when we go outside to paint, everything is changing quickly, so if you want to capture the mood of a setting you need to work fast. Plein aire painting is not the same as a pochade study. Plein Air is a painting while pochades are studies that a painting can be based on. Plein aire paintings are getting more and more refined. I feel they are losing some of the pontaneity that made them appealing to many art collectors. This is only my opinion. Let's consider what is needed to produce a pochade study. It is recommended that the artist use six by eight inch panels, so the studies can be finished in ten minutes or less. I find a panel of that size is not conducive to my preferences, so I opt for an eight by ten inch panels. I would recommend the biggest brushes possible so the artist is not focused on details. Capturing light, value, and some degree of form is the purpose of a pochade. The time frame I impose on myself is to make me move quickly. I do not believe there is a specific time limit for producing a pochade. The brushes and tools I use to apply paint are a number 8, 12, and 18 flat brushes. I also used a long blade pallet knife. A two inch brush is ideal for laying the basic color for the sky in with one stroke. Each artist choses the brushes the prefer. I must state emphatically the smaller brushes are not conducive to what you want to accomplish in doing a pochade study. Sometimes I just use a knife. The color pallet is the choice of the individual artist, but the more color laid out will take away time and the spontaneity of the study while the artist tries to decide on the next color to use. Five to seven colors should be more than adequate. I am doing a few pochades from photos and outside for comparison to make notes for further pochades. When I do a pochade from a photograh I first choose my color pallet and lay out my brushes. I use photos saved on my computer for these studies, but a printed photo will suffice. Once I have chosen a photo to work from I check the clock to set my time limit for the pochade. I now try to get down the basics of the photo in less than ten minutes. If I go over ten minutes I stop painting. The objective is to learn how to get as much information on the panel in the time the artist has set for themselves. I keep all these small panels for future reference to do complete paintings from. Remember, these are studies only, so they don't have to look like perfect paintings. Do the best you can to denote only vital information that will allow you to use the pochades as references. Try to nail down the big color areas by getting the darks and lights. They will constitute a good part of your essentials for any painting. |
| Here is an example of a little Pochade. It took me three minutes to set out my paint and mix in my copal painting medium, and six minutes to do this little eight by ten inch study using only a pallet knife. As you can see, the object was to capture some of the essence of what I saw before me. Remember, these are learning exercises, and if you expect to see a beautiful painting when you are finished these exercises are not for you. |
 |
| I do not count the time I spent laying out my paint, but I did mention here, just to give you the information as I am recording it for my journal. I think it is helpful to keep a painting journal, as you can see your progress take shape and it is encouraging to know one is make progress; no matter how little. |
 |
| I did this in 6 minutes and had 4 minutes to spare. I used Ultra Marine Blue, Rose Madder, Terre Verte, Pale Yellow, and Titanium White. I use copal to speed drying, as I have a storage factor, and using it, these little guys are dry in a maximum of 3 days. I can then just stack them up in a plastic container.
If I had a studio, I would have them hanging on the walls for reference. If nothing else, they could be a marker to show me how far I have progressed in doing my little studies. I went outside today with my easel and did a painting and 2 Pochades. When I had finished them, I loaded up my stuff and, while driving home, made a decision to not do any more plein air paintings but to concentrate on plein air pochades. I was really happy with my little pochades. On closer examination, they were a little weak in color and the little red tree was dead center, but hey, these are studies, so they are allowed to be incorrect. |
 |
| A day later, and still liking the better of the two pochades, I decided to make a painting using the Pochade below and my memory as the guide.
|
 |
| Quick Jump: | ||||
 |
||
|
||
Copyright © 1998-2009, F+W Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FA |
||
