The Best of an Emergency

Famously, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) once remarked that making watercolor paintings was to "Make the best of an emergency!" In the event he was talking about his personal approach to outdoor watercolors, which he did mostly while vacationing. Those works by Mr. Sargent certainly show speed and masterful brushwork, loose and painterly, and his broad command of color. Just looking at one or two of his pieces is a refreshing exercise. In "Bridge of Sighs, Venice," he shows us the 17th century landmark from a gondola on the Rio di Palazzo, giving us dazzling light and beautiful, open shadows. At the time his work was considered startling and not at all conventional. His lights in this particular work were made by reserving whites (as many do) but also by scratching and by using opaque white. The buildings are simply shapes in color, juxtaposed against one another, showing the aspiring painter that minute, detailed drawing is unnecessary.

John Sargent, "Bridge of Sighs," 1903

Below is another well-known watercolor by Mr. Sargent. In Muddy Alligators he again shows us bright light, attention to form and color and less attention to detail. the trees are little more than stripes of color and the alligators are deftly delineated with his dazzling brush.

John Sargent, "Muddy Alligators," 1917

 

Carrying a Sargent-like attitude into plein air work is something to strive for, seems to me. In my more recent oils that's been the idea--shapes and color not lines and details. For one thing, when working outdoors in changing light and unforgiving weather, speed is important. For me that means looking and thinking more and smearing paint less. It sounds paradoxical, the if you spend enough time looking, you don't have to use as many strokes of paint. Furthermore, descending into the rabbit-hole of minute details and "fiddling" are excellent ways to make dull work. Better the bold statements and contrasts of Sargent's watercolors. 

Here is a plein air oil from this week. The bridge is a city bridge over the Des Moines River, painted from the river bank. It was early morning, with the sun slanting across from right to left. Although standing in the middle of the city the sounds on the river were few--a calling bird or two, a nearby splash from a fish--and the scene might as easily have been out in the countryside some place. As I usually do, I toned the panel with burnt sienna and then drew the basic composition with my brush. After laying in lights and darks came broad areas of color, working top to bottom. That is, sky (mostly cerulean and white), then the foliage colors, the river, and lastly the bridge. The idea was to do most of the surroundings before the center of interest. The greens are a mix of sap green, cad lemon, cobalt blue, ivory black and sometimes raw umber). Give how quickly the light was changing, this was finished in about ninety minutes.

'Sixth Avenue Bridge," oil on panel, 9x12