289: Daily Painting

–I RECENTLY received an advanced copy of Daily Painting by Carol Marine. As I opened the packaging I read the title on the back page–Do you want to bring the joy back to your art?  I answered inwardly with a resounding YES!

Since taking a plein air trip two weeks ago, I'd been ruminating on how to get my plein air mojo back. I lost aforementioned mojo in the summer of 2014 at a prestigious plein air event where due to a variety of factors like large prizes and famous participants I performed far beneath my ability. Since then, try as I might, I couldn’t return to the previous joy I experienced painting out-of-doors.

I experimented with James Gurney’s methods outlined in Gouache in the Wild. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it. If you are experiencing a plein air funk there is surely something in Gurney’s video to help you evolve your own plein air process. From the novel ideas I learned about gouache I began experimenting with acrylic markers in plein air. I had some success on my last trip and ordered 12 more empty acrylic markers to expand my previous collection of 6 pigments.

Although Daily Painting is not specifically about plein air painting it provided me with the last component to what I hope will be new found joy of painting in the field. Not only was the book good inspiration–I found Marine’s paintings fresh and energetic–but she also included some great tips (like using Murphy Oil Soap to clean brushes). There are also a variety of paintings by other artists along with their experiences with daily painting (which appears to have evolved into a cottage industry for many artists).

My interest in daily painting is to find an entry point where my plein air work is authentic and easy–that is, to use daily painting as a way to improve faster. With my full schedule of gallery shows and projects I need something to carry me forward with as little friction as possible–and something that will lead me to a more successful plein air experience. I feel at some point I will transition back to oils but will lean on acrylic markers and my drawing ability to get to a more confident state.

At this stage I’m still formulating my theory and assembling a plein air kit but here are my specific needs:

Keep the equipment light and easy to transport (my former approach with oils was too complex).

Keep the process easy (focus on my strengths like basic drawing skills).

Make the process challenging enough that I routinely employ essential plein air skills.

Keep the process less time consuming than previous plein air sessions (the entire experience, finding a motif and painting, should take less than two hours).

Get the joy factor up so you want to paint every day.

The last item is the most important for me and I think I can do it by changing mediums and painting small–two factors that will help keep my ego out of the way and allow me to relax and enjoy the process.

If you’ve had success with daily painting I hope you will share your experience below.

Brad Teare –June 2016

328: The Mystery of Plein Air Painting

–"YOU can't till you can" sounds like a quip from baseball's low-brow philosopher Yogi Bera. But it's actually a quote from über-intellectual and color theorist Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. What he meant is that there is often an inexplicable alchemy that, after a long duration, allows you to do what you previously couldn't.

I recently crossed into that territory with my plein air paintings after a long dry spell. People were kind to me, telling me that my plein air paintings were fine. But in my gut, I knew the paintings lacked some essential ingredient. So how did I close the gap between my studio and my plein air paintings? Did I dive intently into painting in the field creating painting after painting without regard to success? Did I study everything I could find about the subject until I couldn't cram anything else into my brain?

I took none of those reasonable steps. I basically failed at a plein air event in the summer of 2014 and didn't do another plein air painting until a week ago. I didn't practice, study, or think about plein air painting in any way. Until waking up one day last week and walking up a nearby canyon with my plein air gear I had experienced zero success with plein air painting–because I made no attempt to succeed. But that evening I set up my easel and with effort as easy as breathing I knocked out a passable painting, large for a field painting, as if I had been painting en plein air for a decade.

I mention this transformation because I haven't read of any parallels in the success literature I tend to peruse. Plus, I like narratives that contravene convention. Plus, I'm thrilled, if mystified, by my transformation. In the end, art is more magic than science, more alchemy than chemistry. I'm thankful for that.

In the following video, I make a few corrections to my plein air painting. Here is a link to the clips I use to transport my paintings.

Brad Teare –June 2017

View from City Creek, plein air, 24" x 24", oil on canvas, available at Anthony's Fine Art

337: Smashing a Creative Block

–ALTHOUGH I always loved painting outdoors, my plein air work lagged far behind the authenticity of my studio work. On a good day, I could achieve an imitation of a good painting. But an absence of genuineness dogged my efforts. Even if others overlooked my plein air inadequacies, I knew I was faking it. I was using studio techniques in the field without fully immersing myself in the observational and recording process necessary to discovering nature's subtleties. I was capturing the form of the landscape but not the essence. I wondered if I could ever paint with full confidence in the field.

Over a decade ago I attended a prestigious artists residency where at the end of the day my host asked to see my field paintings. I was embarrassed they weren't better and said, "plein air painting is like fishing–sometimes you don't return with a fish." It was a sentiment I read somewhere (and it is often true), but I knew it was an excuse. I should have said, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm here hoping that by some path I don't understand one day I will paint successfully in the field". At the time outdoor painting seemed so complicated, I despaired that my plein air work would ever have the same vitality as my studio paintings.

After a particularly humbling effort at a well-known plein air festival in 2014, I stowed my Gloucester easel and retired my plein air credentials. Three years later I was interviewed on a podcast about my painting career and asked if I painted outdoors like the early impressionists. I explained that I had tried my hand at the art but had been frustrated by its complexity and the lack of satisfaction my efforts gave me.

I prematurely assumed it wasn't possible to paint in the field with the same confidence as in the studio–especially since my intention was to paint with thick strokes of vibrating color, exactly as I did in the studio. I consoled myself with the probability that there was a reason most painters avoided painting impasto in the field. But the desire persisted–Pissarro painted with heavy paint. So did Van Gogh. I always knew I would return to plein air painting and the interviewer's question rekindled the spark of earlier enthusiasm. 

Coincidental to these realizations, I made a breakthrough in the studio by sidestepping the issue of excellence and allowing myself to embrace mediocrity. I even taped a sign on the wall that read, "Just Be Mediocre." Paradoxically, the relaxation encouraged by such a humorously blasé attitude allowed me to paint at a higher level. Performance anxiety was apparently playing a larger role in my painting than I thought. With nearly twenty years of deliberate practice behind me, I was able to relax into a routine. Being mediocre, or performing at a routine level, was exactly what I needed to do–provided that the routine produced a satisfying painting. I shifted my focus from trying for excellence to creating paintings that allowed a sense of exploration and achieved a satisfying aesthetic effect. I also had recently read that if I displaced negative internal dialog such as "I'm really nervous" with a more positive phrase like "I'm so excited" I subverted self-destructive negativity and would achieve the emotional balance necessary to produce more satisfying work.

In the interview mentioned above, I stated that although I wasn't currently painting en plein air, it felt inevitable that someday I would. That day arrived sooner than expected. Within a few days and armed with the counterintuitive notion of just being mediocre, I ventured into the field, palette in hand and easel on my back. I found a suitable motif in a canyon within walking distance of my studio in Salt Lake City. As I set up my gear, I could feel the familiar anxiety rise. I told myself all I had to do was be mediocre–nothing more than performing at a routine level. I also told myself that I was excited, not nervous, to be in the field painting again.

The painting went well. There were moments when I felt the familiar specter of anxiety arise. I entered unknown territory and risked losing control of the painting. But I told myself that anxiety arose not from being in unknown territory but from the fear the unknown induced. I tamped down the fear with my clichéd affirmations and pressed forward. Eventually, I found the verbal part of my consciousness strangely silent as I effortlessly mixed and applied color. In that internal silence, I calmly pushed forward to a state of flow–a state I recognized accompanied my work in the studio. I had misunderstood why I painted in the field. I thought it was to record interesting and beautiful visual information for future paintings. Actually, it was to achieve the state of flow essential to producing unique expressions in paint.

I subsequently painted a half dozen large, saleable paintings within a few weeks. I wasn't faking it. Nor was I discouraged by any momentarily perceived failures. I had successfully smashed the mental block that kept me from successful plein air painting.

What is the formula for achieving plein air success? Certainly the fact I trained myself to see value was a contributing factor. Although I no longer use a value finder I used one for years in the studio and the field. Simplifying my process certainly helped. I recently started using palette knives exclusively, which in the field meant no more solvents. But above all taming the demons of fear and anxiety allowed me to move forward and harness all the techniques I use in the studio.

The irony is that my breakthrough came at the end of a three-year avoidance of plein air painting. From books I've read on achievement, this isn't the way it's supposed to work. But that is one of the hallmarks of the artist's journey–every journey is profoundly different.

(This article originally appeared in Plein Air Magazine online.)

Brad Teare –November 2017

Above: Summer Fields, 16" x 20" oil on canvas, available at Anthony's Fine Art

55 Interview with Edward Martinez

I first met Edward Martinez in the summer of 2006 at an artists residency at Forbes Trinchera Ranch hosted by Christopher Forbes and American Artist magazine. Along with eight other artists we spent ten days painting en plein air at various locations on the ranch. One of the things I remember most about Martinez was his incredible field work. One of his paintings was later chosen for the cover of the American Artist magazine that covered the event (the same painting was later chosen to represent the American Artist Special Edition on plein air painting in 2010). My wife and I later caught up with Ed and his wife, watercolorist Deborah Chabrian, in New York City where we had a group show at the Forbes Galleries in March 2007.

BRAD TEARE One of the really amazing aspects of your plein air work is your ability to keep the darks really saturated and colorful. Even at a distance your work is always very rich. Is that something you think about in the field as you paint? Or is it a result of another focus, such as a concern with values?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I think that darks and lights are hard to achieve in the field since you don't have the benefit of dry paint that would allow you to over paint . You have to get the values correct right away, or your painting will start to fall apart quickly. I start with my darks first, with paint slightly thinned with turps to establish my composition. Then I paint the darks in again, this time not thinned with turps, just straight from my palette. I apply it thinly, so that I can make subtle value changes easily. If you apply the paint too thickly you will struggle with making value and color changes, the changes get lost in the too thick paint. For judging the lights, I like to leave the white of the canvas showing somewhere, this helps me gauge the lightest values. In most cases this means the sky which is usually lighter than you think. I then paint in my lights at the very end.

BRAD TEARE In blog entry number 5 I demonstrate how I use a nine value grayscale to identify values in the field. Have you used anything similar? What are the strengths and weaknesses of using such a method?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I can't count while I am painting so I ignore how many values I have going on. I don't believe I paint with that sort of subtle nuances in plein air, but I think I will try your method.

BRAD TEARE Do you have any special tools or supplies you feel gives you an added advantage?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I used to use a canvas with deep nooks and crannies and it took forever to get paint to cover the surface. Now I use a smooth canvas the L600 oil primed mounted on gator board. The paint just flows on easily and allows you to articulate even the finest detail. I get this from AE Art Canvas in the Bronx, NY. I also like the "Silver" brushes, Grand Prix Flats in assorted sizes.

BRAD TEARE When I'm painting en plein air my darks and lights have a tendency to lose their saturation and the painting takes on an overall gray appearance. Any ideas why that would happen?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I talked a little bit about dealing with darks and lights in an earlier question, but it's worth mentioning to build up your paint gradually and carefully. A solid understanding of warm and cool colors helps too. Don't over use white too soon!

BRAD TEARE When you are out in the field are there motifs you avoid? Is there a special time of day you prefer to paint?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I used to paint cows... until I got chased by a bull. I just barely made it out of the field with my life and paint box. Definitely a motif I avoid. My least favorite time of day is mid afternoon. The sun isn't usually creating very interesting shadows at that time of day.

BRAD TEARE How long does it take you to paint a painting en plein air? Obviously the light changes as you paint in the field. How do you compensate for that change?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I work small, usually 9x12 and I spend about 2 hours. The light doesn't change too much in a 2 hour window. If the light changes and will enhance my painting I will go with it.

BRAD TEARE Do you do a preliminary sketch before you begin painting on canvas?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I don't... but I have. I have mixed feelings about this. I feel like I can make compositional changes in my thin paint lay in, therefore a sketch is not that necessary.

BRAD TEARE Are there any plein air cliches that bother you? How do you avoid these cliches when you're out painting in the field?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I don't think I know any. Is it that you have to wear a french hat and stay under an umbrella?

BRAD TEARE How do your plein air methods differ from when you're painting in the studio?

EDWARD MARTINEZ When I am painting in the studio I am usually painting portraits from photos, so I really enjoy going out and painting nature and finding the colors it offers. This has helped my painting overall including portraits.

BRAD TEARE What would be the most important piece of advice you could give a beginning plein air painter?

EDWARD MARTINEZ Learn to see multiple things at the same time. If you are painting a tree, don't just look at the tree, look at the environment around the tree so that your eye can register the true color and value in comparison to the surroundings.

BRAD TEARE I really admire the way you painted the aspen in Deb Painting Spring Creek, 22” x 14”. They read as white yet there are warm and cool greens in the shadows and yellows in the highlights that make these trees appear fully saturated with light. It looks like you used anything but white. Do you view plein air painting as an exercise in accurately depicting the color you see? Or is it the ability to infuse the painting with optical illusions that give the appearance of reality?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I have a tendency to paint too dark. I am getting better at it now so that I can see light color values better. Having the white of the canvas has helped me visualize the lights better. In the Aspen painting I just enjoyed seeing the variations of reflected color. The trees in Connecticut are for the most part dark and don't reflect light like the Aspens did in Colorodo.

BRAD TEARE Did plein air painting come easily to you? Or was it something you consciously had to try to improve? Do you remember if there was a moment when you finally thought to yourself I finally figured this out!? If that was the case, what was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed you to come to grips with plein air painting?

EDWARD MARTINEZ Plein air painting does not come easily to me even now. It did get better at it after painting at Trinchera, because we painted so much everyday, for many consecutive days. Once I could accurately see color values at the same time the world opened up. The canvas and brushes help too.

BRAD TEARE Do you think about the texture of the paint as you apply pigment? Is texture ever a problem and do you ever consciously minimize thick applications?

EDWARD MARTINEZ I only think about the application of paint in that, is it the right amount to let me define what I am trying to articulate? It needs to be the right consistency to draw and create the textures you need. Again I would say not to get too thick too soon.

BRAD TEARE I'm looking forward to getting into the field to try these ideas. Many thanks Ed!


EDWARD MARTINEZ studied at the Parson School of Design as well as with legendary painter Burton Silverman. He has worked as an illustrator for a wide variety of national and international clients. His fine art work is represented by The Gregory James Gallery, New Milford, CT, The Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, and The Portrait Source, Hendersonville, NC. Martinez was one of ten artists invited to the 2006 Forbes Trinchera Ranch residency hosted by Christopher Forbes and American Artist Magazine. His paintings have appeared in numerous national exhibitions and publications including most recently the cover of American Artist’s 2010 Special Edition on Plein Air painting.

Martinez was born in Argentina and currently resides in Kent, CT where he shares a studio with his wife, watercolorist Deborah Chabrian.

Words by Brad Teare © 2010, words and images by Edward Martinez © 2010

177 The challenge of plein air painting

Many people wonder why painting in plein air is so difficult. I consider it the greatest painting challenge. Contrasting plein air painting to studio painting reveals the challenges of painting in the field. 

In the studio we have plenty of time. We can easily adjust the paint so it will dry slowly. We work from a sketch, a plein air painting, or a photograph. All of which we can prepare and study at our leisure without worry about the passage of time. In the studio we can transfer the drawing one day, do a full-value color underpainting the next day, and on another day we can oil up the canvas and begin applying the final coat of color—in several painting sessions if need be.

A process that takes two or three days in the studio is compressed into two or three hours in the field . It is the compression of time that causes difficulty for plein air painters.

The best solution is to break the plein air process into steps. There is no reason not to do a sketch one day, an underpainting the next, adding the final coat of paint on the third day (provided the light is consistent). Once this more lengthy process is mastered the painter can begin compressing a few steps into one. For example a painter might do a preliminary sketch, a thumbnail, and transfer the drawing onto the canvas in one session. The following day the painter might paint an underpainting and on the third day add the final coat of paint.

Some might object that this unduly lengthens the process. But if all else fails this is the most reliable method to begin painting quality outdoor paintings.

It's important to practise getting quality results. Floundering in the field painting one bad painting after another is not the best way to learn how to paint well. I've heard it said that one needs to get mileage on the brush. But it is best to practice painting well—no matter how long it takes—rather than practice painting badly. 

Brad Teare — June 2014 

View from the Capital, 11" x 14", plein air sketch 

51 Door County Plein Air Festival

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to attend the Door County Plein Air Festival 2010. I was pleased, of course, and after investigating the geographic uniqueness of Door County, Wisconsin, decided to accept the invitation. After the invitees were posted on the festival website I received an e-mail from a previous attendee who is also a reader of this blog. She reassured me that the event was absolutely first-class and that I would enjoy it immensely. Everything I've learned about the festival leads me to the same conclusion.

The festival organizers are incredibly generous and offered me and my wife lodging while attending the seven day festival. Such hospitality is hard to beat and for that reason, and others, we look forward to our visit to Door County. I will be conducting a least one workshop while I'm there. It should be a lot of fun. If you are in the area from July 19 to July 26 I hope you will join me.

Over the last year, due to a hard winter here in Utah, I have focused primarily on studio painting and like an athlete who has dropped out for a few seasons I definitely feel out of shape.

To remedy that I intend to begin an intense regimen of outdoor painting. I hope to fuse some of the things I've learned over the last year in the studio with my former plein air techniques. So over the course of the next two months I will be sharing my plein air experiences with you. I've also asked a few of the best plein air painters in America to share their views and techniques with the readers of Thick Paint.

The first interview will be long-time plein air painter Edward Martinez from Kent, Connecticut. I look forward to learning from such an extraordinary painter. Please feel free to post your questions and comments.

Brad Teare © 2010

185: Plein air revolution

I've been searching for a way to simplify and streamline painting in the field. My oil painting gear has expanded to the point I feel I'm on safari for even the most impromptu forays. And I've lost much of my original impetus for painting en plein air–which was to record the effects of nature rather than create gallery worthy paintings in the field.

In such a frame of mind I encountered James Gurney's newest video Watercolor in the Wild (available from his website on DVD, $US 32, or by digital download, $US 14.99). In addition to being one of America's foremost oil painters James Gurney has a rare gift for defining artistic problems and articulating solutions. In this latest offering I found what I was subconsciously yearning for–a means to recover the fun and immediacy of plein air painting while fusing my love of drawing and painting. 

In this 73 minute video Gurney shows how to simplify plein air gear to the bare essentials. He uses a combination of pan water colors, special mechanical watercolor brushes you load with water or inks (I didn't know such brushes existed), along with graphite and water-soluble colored pencils. It's an ingenious fusion of techniques that allow the seasoned painter, as well as the neophyte, to come to grips with the often maddening complexity of plein air painting.

The ideas in the video promise a return to the roots of why I started painting in the field–to absorb the beauty of nature, record its fleeting effects, and use the sketch to enhance my studio paintings. If you're looking for a way to revitalize your plein air efforts or need a bridge between your drawing skills and your ability to paint out-of-doors you might want to try this method with me. I will share my efforts in future blog entries.

Brad Teare–August 2014

75 The slow painting movement

THE PLEIN AIR movement has been good for painters and landscape painting. It sparked a renaissance in the art of observation and a return to artistic fundamentals. It helped refocus landscape painter's attention back to the source of its inspiration. I have benefited artistically by painting in the field and financially from invitations to various art festivals. I commend these festivals for substantially enlarging the number of landscape collectors in America. I plan to continue painting en plein air as well as attending plein air festivals.

However an unintended consequence of the resurgence of plein air painting has been an emphasis, perhaps an overemphasis, on painting as a virtuoso performance for the benefit of spectators. At such events the most prized paintings are often the paintings done the quickest. I don't criticize these events. They're a lot of fun. But the trick is to compartmentalize this mental state and relegate it to the proper moment. And the proper moment for a virtuoso performance is not when you're in the studio struggling to express your inner vision.


Recently I've noticed that the mental state I have while performing at plein air events has invaded my studio painting. While painting in the studio I not only habitually intend that each painting be a virtuoso performance, but often that each brush stroke be one as well. The pressure became so great I needed an escape. So I have switched, perhaps for just a season, to a completely different medium. The medium I chanced on is encaustic. There is a roughhewn quality with encaustic reminiscent of the art of woodcut, accompanied by the mental state I associate with sculpting. Encaustic is a medium that can't be hurried. It is also a medium that doesn't need to hurry. The drying time is indefinite and I can reactivate the painting surface simply by reheating it.

I will explore this medium for as long as it takes to unshackle myself from the burden of virtuosity. I intend to immerse myself in the encaustic process until painting becomes a kind of meditation and I relearn the art of painting slowly.

Brad Teare © 2011

101 Palette knife en plein air

LATELY I'VE BEEN painting en plein air with the palette knife. I don't use the palette knife for the entire painting. At the right you can see a painting I did a few weeks ago where I used a palette knife on the first 90% of the painting. At the the very end of the session I went in with a bristle bright and gave texture and direction to the knife strokes (click the painting to see enlarged strokes).

Rather than painting with a brush in my right hand while loading it with a palette knife in my left (like I normally do) I simply held the knife in my right hand and picked up paint mixtures and applied them directly to the canvas. This allowed for a very quick application of paint (always a good thing in the field). Additionally, this method allowed me to focus on major value shapes and to apply those as flat value zones and it encouraged all of the initial lines to be very hard. In other words, it remedied my major faults of painting en plein air; not focusing enough on value zones and allowing edges to become too soft.

I don't think that using the palette knife exclusively in plein air would be satisfying to me. I enjoy the direction and texture of brushstrokes too much. But choosing the right tool at the right time can force a painter to focus on the important task at hand, reserving concern for texture and line quality until the end.

Give it a try let me know how it works for you.

Brad Teare September 2012

Persistence of Vision by Brad Teare | Make Your Own Book

184: Door County Show

I JUST got back from the Door County Plein Air Festival. It was a great experience. The painters in attendance were amazing and the resulting show was by far the best plein air show I've seen. The event was extraordinarily well planned by the staff of The Peninsula School of Art and it was a pleasure to meet fellow artists. My personal performance was good although the overwhelming greens of Door County threw my desert dwelling sensibilities a curve. But after the first painting–which took a record five hours to paint–I successfully adjusted my palette.

By Friday evening everyone had four paintings in the gallery. I felt my work was competent and adequately exhibited my thick style–with perhaps less broken color which I attribute to excessive focus on getting the greens right.

I didn't sell as many paintings as I did in 2010 which was surprising. But such challenges gives us opportunity to review our motivations and methods. I'm not advocating taking counsel from our fears or giving up but setbacks can induce the type of introspection that incites meaningful change.

I embrace the feedback from Door County only to the degree that it confirms my own intuition. Two ways lie before me–retreat to a thinner style with more accurate representation or distance my style even further from conventional plein air technique.

Brad Teare, August 2014

Above: Door County Canopy, 16" x 20", oil on linen, painted en plein air July 22, 2014

Photo courtesy of fellow painter Scott Gellatly

191: Interview with Dale Roberts

(UPDATE: click here to see the latest video of Roberts' recent work.)

I first became acquainted with the encaustic paintings of Dale Roberts at the Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. His work has a textural, luminous quality using layers of rich, vibrating color. His paintings are characterized by a contemporary quality rather than subject matter and the light in his painting varies from mid-day veils of fog to the glow of twilight. Due to the translucent nature of encaustic his work is nearly impossible to photograph (the best way to perceive the luminosity is via video which gives a more comprehensive glimpse of the refracted light). By fusing a distinctive compositional sensibility with a novel painting style Roberts has created a uniquely beautiful body of work.

BRAD TEARE In my experience encaustic is a very demanding medium. Did you embrace encaustic because of the innate beauty of the luminous pigment or were there other aspects–either technical or aesthetic–that drew you to the medium?

DALE ROBERTS The intrinsic beauty of the paint was and is very attractive. I was drawn to the vast range of application possibilities, everything from smooth and flowing to thick and encrusted. The quality of light passing through translucent layers and unlimited open working time were both aspects particularly suited to my temperament.

BRAD The freshness and spontaneity of your work suggests you are an excellent draughtsman but having never seen your sketches until recently I was surprised at the accuracy of your sketches since the corresponding paintings are more loosely rendered. How do you decide how to abbreviate form as you work from your sketches to the final painting?

DALE After analyzing forms and compositional elements through careful studies and preparatory drawings I discover the salient qualities that serve the aim of each encaustic that follows. Deeply understanding my subject allows for freedom when honing in on what is important visually. Successful painting is often the product of intelligent and even visceral editing.




BRAD Your urban scenes, especially the paintings of bridges–which nearly constitutes a sub-genre of your work–have an abstract quality to them. Most artists concede that abstraction is the basis of composition yet not all artists express such a contemporary sensibility. Did you study abstraction? Have you ever painted purely abstract images?

DALE During my years at art school, Rochester institute of technology and Tyler School of Art, I availed myself of a full range of study. I dove headlong into a deep immersion of figurative painting and the importance of craft as well as exposure and practice of the most contemporary abstraction. Both streams find their way into my present work.

BRAD Is your compositional method a conscious one or purely intuitive? What formed your compositional methods? Were there specific theories or teachers that helped form those ideas?

DALE Composition for me involves a kind of flirting with the boundaries- boundaries of forms, panel edges, divisions and compositional conventions. I will often make multiple preparatory sketches using a variety of mediums–editing, reworking, and sometimes reassembling them to arrive at the most effective result. The process is a combination of intuition and study. The main impulse is to keep the process–including work on the final panel–as fluid as possible allowing for changes from minor to cataclysmic whenever necessary. I’ve studied dynamic symmetry, episode and cinematic strategies, as well as compositional solutions throughout the history of art. Roger Anliker and Charles Schmidt both from Tyler advocated a wide range of compositional solutions with the salient principals being internalized for an intuitive response.

BRAD How do you discover your motifs? Is sketching always a part of that process?

DALE Since compulsive sketching, plein air Watercolor, Gouache and Pastel studies are my practice the motifs I paint are an outcome of that discipline. I also do a lot of mental composing when I’m not in the presence of the subject as well.

BRAD Did the technical skills necessary to paint in encaustic come intuitively or did you struggle to become proficient? I've heard artists say they could never do woodcuts because their mind doesn't work that way–removing the negative space to reveal the positive. Are there certain gifts or traits that facilitate working in encaustic?



DALE When I started working in Encaustic some 35 years ago, the training I had available was a brief discussion in the Ralph Mayer technical manual, my own stubborn ingenuity, and years of more or less successful attempts. It seemed that through that experience my own sensibilities began to fuse with the revealed character of the encaustic process. It’s come to the point where I think in those terms as I address a potential theme and subject. Early on the skills required were rather utilitarian, while later they assumed much more sophistication and specificity. I’m still in the practice of adding new approaches sometimes out of the pure joy of discovery. Encaustic does lend itself to a physical approach, and as the son of a carpenter, the building process of the medium was sympathetic to my aptitudes.

BRAD From your videos I see you work from black and white sketches. Do you ever do a color study or do you rely on memory to paint color? Do you have a guiding theory of color that allows you get such beautiful color harmony in your work?

DALE I do color studies from the subject in gouache, watercolor or pastel. Often I will paint several variations experimenting with the color intensity, value range and potential layers I might use. This practice has resulted in a trove of small versions of many of my larger encaustic compositions. In spite of all that planning, the painting ultimately has it’s own internal color character as it develops allowing the color studies and other notes to serve as a scaffold to launch from. 

BRAD Encaustics seem like a medium typically practiced in the studio. I was surprised you paint in the field on occasion. Is plein air painting an integral part of your process? How does your plein air process contrast with your studio methods?

DALE Whenever the opportunity presents itself, the right combination of subject, electrical availability (for heating paints) and a sensible stretch of time, the prospect of plein air encaustic is wonderful. Working outside from life tends to elicit a decisive approach as I deal with the transient nature of light, weather or other unforeseen constraints.

BRAD Is texture a conscious concern or do you let texture build as the layers require? Do you ever add anything to your paint, like chalk, to build up texture?

DALE I suppose I can characterize my use of texture as a responsive one, both to the subject and to the paint film as it develops. I will use inert elements such as string, acid free paper, and occasionally marble dust to build texture and interest. My tools are a combination of studio and shop items which help me achieve the ends I have in mind.

BRAD One of the surprising aspects of encaustic is that the paint can be reworked at any stage. How does this effect your process? Do you tend to work on one painting at a time or do you rotate each painting through multiple stages? How long does it take to paint one of your larger paintings?

DALE Whenever I teach about a medium I will often begin with its application and then how to remove it. Understanding the medium/solvent aspect of any medium is crucial to working with a level of expertise and even abandon. The thermoplastic nature of encaustic is particularly freeing to me in that context. I am in the practice of working on as many as 11 paintings during a given studio season and even reworking something years later. My larger paintings, up to 6’ x 4’ might take a couple of years to come to fruition.

BRAD I understand it is important to have good ventilation while painting with encaustics. Can you share what ventilation system you use or what might be adequate for the beginning encaustic painter?

DALE I use two Honeywell HEPA units as well as fans and open windows. I’m careful not to burn the paint using a cooking thermometer to monitor the temperature at 205 degrees. Also there is no turpentine in my mixture, which I make by hand using beeswax and dry pigments.



BRAD After watching one of your videos I bought a set of encaustics and found I really enjoyed the medium. One thing I was unsure about was the idea of fusing the layers, that is, applying heat to fuse the new layer into the lower layer. It seems that such a method blurs all of the hard won detail that might be in that layer. Any tips on how to fuse without losing detail?

DALE I suppose working from general to specific has its merits when faced with a necessary step that can obliterate details accomplished in early stages. I’ve made and lost countless such moments on the way to figuring this process out. A tip for fusing without losing detail would be to heat it ONLY until the area begins to exhibit a shine, and then move the heat source away.

BRAD If an artist wants to paint urban scenes it's necessary to paint chain link fences effectively. But painting chain link drives me crazy. Any hints how to paint such detail in encaustic?

DALE   One method is to paint the area behind the fence, and then score the lines for the fence into the film. Fill the void with the colors you want and then scrape away the excess using a razor blade. You might also invert that method, painting the fence first and then painting the background over it…scrape the film down to reveal the fence embedded in the image.

BRAD You are an amazingly prolific artist especially since you worked a demanding day job for many years. How were you able to advance your painting career and hold down a 9-to-5 job? Are there any words of advice you might give artists pursuing a similar path?

DALE In the inspirational words of a former professor The first MILLION are practice, and If you have 20 minutes you can do something wonderful. I will also add that to balance such a life an artist needs to understand that it’s about doing the good hard work, with discipline and consistency over time. Painting is all about the long haul, certainly not an easy road.

BRAD I love your work and appreciate you taking time from painting to share your ideas and methods with the readers of Thick Paint. Many thanks!

Brad Teare–September, 2014

44 PLEIN AIR BOOT CAMP Part 1

IT has been a long winter and here in Utah it isn’t over yet. It snowed eight inches yesterday. I occasionally paint in the winter but didn't this year, preferring to stay in the studio painting with a hot mug of chocolate nearby. But spring will be here eventually and that means it’s time to organize our field kits, grab our french easels, and start painting in the field.

Painting from photos is a great advantage but in the absence of painting from life your interpretation of nature can become impoverished. Painting shadows too dark is a common error of painting from photographs as is painting highlights devoid of color. Even in high and low values the natural world maintains saturated colors. Which is impossible to replicate with the limited value range of pigments. The wide value range that maintain their color intensity in nature is one of my biggest problems when painting outdoors. I tend to match values but because of the inability of paint to capture the high and low values and still preserve saturation I lose color in the high and low value areas of my painting.

This year I intend to consciously focus on forcing my value range more toward middle values, sacrificing an accurate value range in favor of a richer range of colors. In the field I may have relied too heavily on my value scale, but value is only one aspect of a painting. When I painted en plein air my lights would look washed out and my darks like black holes punched in the canvas. My values were accurate but I lost the sense of luminosity.

The remedy is to observe accurate value, record where the important value zones are, but then compress the values to allow more color in those areas. For example the lights should be in the 6 to 7 range and the darks in the 2 to 3 values. That leaves values 4 and 5 for the middle range. In other words to paint effectively outside you must consciously compress your value range to give the illusion of saturated color. Does that mean the 9 value finder is of no importance in the field? Not at all. It will give you accurate measurements you can then decide how to manipulate on your canvas.

The reason plein air painting is so difficult is the need for subtle value shifts, and the necessity of using illusion to maintain saturation. It can be hard to differentiate one zone from the next and still maintain the necessary pattern. If you lose this pattern you lose your overall design and the painting becomes indecipherable. One way to preserve these subtle shifts in to be sure to maintain hard edges and to keep value patches discrete. If edges become too soft or blurred the value zones will no longer fulfill their compositional function.

Nature is the ultimate teacher for the landscape painter and the time is at hand to resume our eduction.

Brad Teare © 2010

61 Mental preparation

LIKE an athlete preparing for a major marathon I have been getting ready for the plein air festival on the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin. And like many athletes I discovered that the most important preparation is mental. After getting myself worked into a frenzy, worrying about all the incredible artists I would be painting with, some of whom undoubtably paint entirely en plein air, I decided I needed to go back to basics, simplify my process, and stop worrying about competition. Above all I realized that given the highly personal nature of art the only competition is with myself.

Last Wednesday I picked up my painting Road to Eden (see entry 29 Advanced Underpainting 1 of 5) from the Springville Art Museum. As I looked to see if my painting had been included in the catalog I discovered that not only was it included but it had won a merit award as well. It was a well timed confidence booster.

As I went painting last night and came home with a perfectly acceptable painting I noted the changes that occurred in my thinking. First I realized that excessive dependence on formula can cause creative paralysis. Sure, it is good to know certain principles, but there comes a time when these have to be lightly held and not hovering in the forefront of the mind. Second, I have to simplify my process, not make things more complicated in the field. Hone complex painting procedures in the studio, then simplify them, and practice them intuitively in the field. Fourth, there is no substitute for getting the color right. By right I mean achieving a complex and nearly indescribable relationship between value and hue that reflects the color you see but, most importantly, replicates the color relationships seen in the motif. In other words, it is the relationship of color rather than absolute accuracy (which is impossible anyway given the limited nature of paint versus the nearly unlimited nature of light).

Mentally preparing myself was an interesting process, even though I thought I was preparing myself technically. Of course, it had a great deal to do with the fortuitous merit award for which I am grateful, but maybe next time I will understand that the greatest challenges in painting happen within the walls of our own mind.

I will be giving a demonstration of my painting techniques at the Door County Plein Air Festival (July 19-24, 2010). The exact time is yet to be determined but if you are in the area be sure to drop by. For more info call 920-868-3455 or email info@doorcountypleinair.com.

Brad Teare © 2010

297: Finding Your Style

–AT A CRITICAL moment in my plein air development I attended a prestigious art festival. My studio painting was in a precarious evolutionary phase–I was slathering on massive amounts of highly textured oils–and I opted to replicate the technique in my plein air routine.

Although I painted a few satisfying paintings at the festival overall, the experiment failed, and I left feeling the need to develop an alternative technique. I was disappointed because I enjoyed the festival and looked forward to a return visit.

But more importantly, I felt an obligation to develop my style further–to push my technique further. On the upside the disappointment made me rethink many ideas about painting both in the studio as well as in the field. Much of my current success is attributable to that public failure.

I began to wonder why the thick paint of the oils didn't translate well into plein air oil painting. In contrast, I wondered why my sketches of the event were so strong. How did I lose something so critical between the sketch and the final painting? The answer was that adding heavy texture caused me to focus on surface texture rather than overall design. 
The more verisimilitude I included, the less the abstract design could carry the composition. This discovery answered the question why my woodcuts achieved a higher aesthetic appeal than my paintings generally did.

In an intuitive leap, I began doing acrylic abstracts. Painting abstractly I was able to explore design while using texture untethered from the real world. This further reinforced the idea that recreating realistic surface texture is irrelevant to my artistic project. It simultaneously demonstrated that realistic values shifts were equally irrelevant–my concern was with value relationships and using value to create focal points. I also started using palette knives exclusively which helped maintain sharp lines and sharp linear detail–a strength also seen in my woodcuts.

During this process, I discovered that my artistic concerns were very different from many painter's concerns with verisimilitude. Any attempt to imitate such success by painting images dependent on highly nuanced value fluctuations and realistic surface textures were bound to fail. Those virtues, as beautiful as they are in other people's paintings, were not relevant to my artistic journey.

I needed to focus on broad patterns, heightened and invented value shifts that reinforced design, and pleasing but arbitrary surface texture. Tellingly these were all aspects I accidentally incorporated into my woodcuts. I succeeded as a woodcut artist because woodcut effortlessly fused all my natural strengths.

These insights have clarified the path forward–I need to focus on broad, puzzle-like design, invent or interpret value contrasts to reinforce design, and add surface texture for aesthetic effect rather than verisimilitude. Following these guidelines yielded the painting seen above, which was painted in acrylics in the field. The results satisfy my expectations for a properly painted motif while tapping into all my strengths yet eliminating aesthetic elements that require strengths I don't have.

The above painting is not an exact portrait of the observed motif but, more importantly, it captures the essence and energy of the scene. It also has thick texture and exists not only as a painting but as an artifact of that particular moment. It is also a style that is uniquely my own and essentially inimitable. For these reasons, I find the painting deeply satisfying.

I wish you the best in finding a style that is a unique expression of your unique view of the world.

Brad Teare –August 2016