Traveling with Oil Paints

 

Above is my brand new, never used, Yarka easel. It's loaded with paint, brushes, spare parts, hand wipes, and even a few sheets of paper toweling, for packing. I took this photo last year, just before going to India.

This was the second Yarka easel I'd purchased. The first one was made when the Soviet Union was still the Soviet Union; and the one pictured above was made after the Soviet Union broke up. The first easel was a real work horse, but 12 years later, I purchased second Yarka as a backup,

and it was actually $5.00 cheaper, but not as sturdy!

You can see that it held quite a lot of painting materials.

If you were on my mailing list for emails from India last year, you will know that I left this easel in India with a fine young woman artist named Uma.

Here are some tips if you are flying with oils.

In the above photo you can see at the upper right, the small canister for turps. You cannot take solvents, or Liquin, etc., on a plane, not even in your checked baggage. If you use your turp can a lot at home, make sure that you take some time cleaning this turp can - Murphy's Oil Soap is great for this. Pu tin the soap, fill with boiling water, and let it sit. If your can is really dirty, you might have to repeat this several times. You will buy the solvents you need after you arrive at your destination.

In the photo, outside the easel, you will also see some plastic containers with lids, like you store food in. The ones I have, have snap on lids and are great for carrying oil paints. The paint tubes do not get crushed, and if they leak, your luggage is safe! Again, these should be packed in your checked baggage

and labeled with signs saying:

 Artist Oil Colors
 Flash Point 440 °F

The flash point is the temperature that something will burst into flame.

The higher the number the better off you are, but 440 °F

is the flash point for artist oil colors.

Don't use the words "oil paints", which could signal to the airline checkers that there is a petroleum based product involved. Artist oil colors are vegetable based oils, and are just fine for flying.

If you are traveling with pastels, on the x-ray machine, the pastel sticks look sort of like bullets, so let the folks know what you are carrying, and don't be surprised if you get a search.

I have had instances where I have been pulled aside and my backpack searched because of my solvent can. They open it, smell it, wince, then swab it, while I am asked questions about what it is. If this happens to you, don't panic. Let the person checking you know that you are an artist. They are usually pretty interested, and once the swab is complete, they give you your stuff back and let you go!

Sometimes they want to look at your sketchbook.

Now, I just take the turp canister out of my backpack, and send it through through the x-ray with my shoes. Much simpler. They can see it, you aren't "hiding it". So maybe no search.

Palette knifes, put them in your easel, put your easel in your checked baggage

tell the x-ray tech that you are an artist and that you have an easel in your baggage.

When you open your luggage at your destination, you might find a paper with a message about carrying hazardous materials. It's all normal.

Painting on l"Ile de Re, France

Fourth of July on the l'Ile de Re, France
8" x 10" - Oil on RayMar Panel
Copyright 2006 DJ Dawson

In 2006, I traveled to France with three wonderful women.

One I had only just met, the other two I'd never met.

Those three had met and formed a friendship

during overseas workshops.

Susie, lives in Columbus.

We are physically 30 miles apart,

but we rarely see each other.

Meg lives in Chicago, and Margie, she lives in Georgia.

If Susie and I never see each other, well, you know that
Meg and Margie and I never see each other.

Still we managed a 2008 reunion, in Georgia - and

added two more women, Janet and Elle, who also met at workshops.

They are all fine artists, who work hard and produce wonderful works.

This photo of me, with blonde hair, was taken with my camera by

a French tourist who possessed some photographic abilities.

I am using my brand new EasyL 12" x 16" easel.

Minutes later a wind blew up and a tiny sticker from the nearby antique shop

flew into my easel. It said, "neuf 65 Euros" - meaning "new 65 Euros".

I stuck the price tag on the the bottom right corner as a keepsake.

It stills lives there as a fond memory of that trip.

The glue is getting worn out,

and the sticker may someday fly away

to enrich someone else's memories.

My Gnome, My Sherpa, My Husband

"Art Matters" - Oil on Panel
Copyright 2006 - DJ Dawson

This was painted outside the Columbus Museum of Art. My husband, an avid reader and sherpa extraordinaire, shows up in my paintings quite a bit. Here he is on a Sunday morning with his paper, reading alongside the Henry Moore sculpture in front of the museum's Broad St. entrance. I wanted to post this for his birthday, May Day, but it's never to late to show him off and to say what a wonderful man he is.

The painting's title refers to the Museum's slogan.

We were given free t-shirts that day which said:

"Art matters, join the conversation."

How to Build a Hen House

"Hughs' Hen House, Grey Day
8" x 6" - Oil on Canvas, Copyright 2010

I did go back to paint the hen house last evening. I arrived at 4:30 PM, and the farmer arrived just after me. The rain had stopped but it was still cloudy. I set up and chatted with Mr. Hughs as he prepared to feed the chickens. He said, "They love bread. You'll see, they will fight over bread." I didn't see any fighting, but they all came running out of the house and gulped it down. Next he threw some grain on the ground. It was such a flurry of action. I decided to take this opportunity to make some small drawings of chickens in various positions.

The hen house drawing above is the study for the previous days painting. I had a blank page on the left side and filled it with more chicken drawings. I did use some of these little drawings in the painting. The rooster, who is considerable larger than any of the chickens, and the chicken standing next to him. Although I don't consider these painting perfect, I think they have a certain charm, and am enjoying the series. I am wondering now if the hen house is lit at night. There is a solar collector there, no pole with a light that I could see, but it would be an interesting painting. Still, I wouldn't want to go alone, I hear there are coyotes "in them thar hills!"

Hen House Redux

"Hughs' Hen House, Afternoon"

8" x 6", Oil on Canvas

Copyright 2010

I was so enamored of that hen house during the weekend workshop that I was eager to get back out there and paint it again. I'd studied it in the afternoon light while helping a student and said to myself, "I am coming back out here to paint it in the afternoon. I arrived at 2:30 PM yesterday, set up and went to work.

When I went to pick up my knife, I realize that my favorite palette knife was lost in my car somewhere in the plethora of stuff from the workshop. I used the newer model J-2, but it didn't feel or respond like my old friend J-2. A struggle ensued, and the above painting is the result.

Comparing the two, there are some things I like best in the morning painting and some I like better in the afternoon one. Today it's raining, but I'd really like to get out there and see what it looks like in the rain; see if the chickens do come out of that hen house. Time will tell. Rain usually comes with wind, and that would mean an umbrella in the wind. Not good.

Crazy For Color Workshop

Yesterday I wrapped up a 2-day workshop entitled "Crazy for Color". Below is my first day demo, a value study done on site at a wonderful abandoned farm in Ohio. All of the buildings are red with green roofs, perfect in my mind for a workshop.

"Grey Day Value Demo" - 8" x 8" - Oil on Gessoboard

After 10 days of great painting weather, Mother Nature turned, and the workshop was delivered in spitting rain, high winds and cold temperatures. That is plein air painting, but someone usually whines. Not this wonderful group, they got down to it and endured!!!

DAY 1:

While I set up my equipment I asked the students to start looking around for something they were interested in painting, and gave them instructions on doing a thumbnail of interesting shapes, using only three values. We had discussed the the importance of having an idea first - a poetic intent. This idea would guide all the consequent decisions they would make in the composing and painting process. While they sketched so did I. Once I had my idea and my value thumbnail I gathered all the students.

The demo started around 9:30 am on Saturday morning with winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour. I wore layers of clothes: a silk turtleneck, then a cotton one on top, and a scarf around my neck for extra warmth. On top of that, a hooded sweat shirt purchased after a trip on a tall ship in Michigan (if it's good for sailors, it's warm). Fourth layer, a cotton sweater, and topping it all off was my Dad's old hat, a sort of Alpine style hat with a little feather on the side and a fleece interior. Thick hiking socks and boots kept my feet warm.

I used a Loew-Cornell palette knife size J-2, my favorite knife. I've used it so much that it's pretty sharp on the edges. I've never cut into a canvas, but I have punctured or sliced my fingers by accident. I've owned it since the early 90's, and although I have since purchased others in this size by the same company, my original knife is my favorite. It just feels right in my hand.

My workshop was sponsored by Sunbear Studio, an:d I was not far from finishing my demo when Meredith Marten, owner of the studio, arrived to take some photos and to let my students know that they could come back to the studio for coffee and muffins. WOW! No sooner I was finished, they all took off "to use the toilet". We took a lunch break at that point, an hour early, 11:00 am instead of Noon. I heard that the class had mutinied and were not going back outside. They decided to do their value paintings in the studio from their thumbnails.

I got a chuckle out of this, and went with the flow. It was actually nice to have all the students corralled in one room, they couldn't get away, and I could get to them all easily. I worked with each student to make sure they had a poetic intent, and strengthen their drawings in terms of good shapes and values that would support their idea. By the end of the day, most of the them had completed an interesting value painting from their morning thumbnails. Those that completed the value painting quickly went on to work that same design in a color version.

DAY 2: SUN and WARMER TEMPS!!!

Below is my demo from day 2.

"Huges' Hen House, Morning, 8" x 6", oil on canvas.

During my demo I talked about mixing the prismatic palette of colors and the benefits of using a limited palette. I had my thumbnail handy discussed it with them. The painting was started with a tone of cad red light thinned with OMS and wiped to a light pink. I laid down a few placement lines with the same color and switched to my palette knife. I painted and talked about what I was doing, and at some point the thought crossed my mind that I was taking too long, so I asked if they wanted me to just paint, or to talk as I painted, which would take a little longer. They said to talk. So I explained everything, every step of the process of my decision making and everything I was physically doing and as much as I could about what colors I was mixing. At times I couldn't tell them what colors I mixed together because I make great use of mixing from pile to pile to create subtle nuances of tones. At the end, I added some hens that had walked out. I said I hadn't had much practice painting chickens from life and one student said they were really just two triangles. She was right!

I think that this painting could benefit from a little more detail in the focal area, but I was more interested in getting the students working and helping them at their easels. It was a great day in the sun, but still chilly in the shade. I did my painting standing with the easel and painting both in the sun, no umbrella.

Permanent Collection RAM

"Making Paper"
24" x 24", Oil on Panel
Copyright 2009

This painting was included in the "Encountering India and Bhutan" exhibition at the Richmond Art Museum. That exhibition closed on April 4th. Today I got a call saying that the Museum has purchased the painting for their permanent collection. A great honor for a painting that I love.

Thank you to the Board of Trustees and the Museum Director.

Dancing with the Stars

Writing from Maryland today, and posting some photos from

the "Art at the Arnold" Painting and Drawing Juried Competition.

Day One of the Competition we painted from live athletes.

 Day Two, Arnold's good friend, Sylvester Stallone showed up.

Here is my friend Carrie Lewis (center) and I

sneaking into a photo with Sly.

Notice my 3-D sunglasses?

I'd recently seen Avitar, and I wore my glasses

to lessen the glare from the blanket of snow on the ground in Ohio.

The glasses fit comfortably over my regular glasses,

and I forgot I had them on.

Above is a photo of me (far right) with the man himself.

The Terminator, The Governor,

signing his autograph in my sketchbook.

And just after getting the autograph,
here he is looking at my painting.

"This reminds me of the movie, They Shoot Horses Don't They?"

he said. I told him it was ballroom dancing,

to The Matrix. Mr. Stallone said,

"Arnold, it looks like you and me dancing."

So here I was, 'dancing with the stars':

Arnold, Sylvester and my winning painting.

Dark glasses, the key to success.

Thanks to my good frineds Edie Dean and Ray Hassard for the photos.

Columbus Museum of Art Permanent Collection

The Columbus Museum of Art was home to one of possibly only two surviving public gardens designed by renowned landscape designer, Russell Page. The garden has been home to several wonderful sculptures, a reflecting pool, and served as a quiet place in the city to have lunch or take in a concert on Sundays in the summer. The garden was also in demand for wedding receptions and parties.

When the museum decided it would finally start on a much needed expansion, it was a sad day for this garden and it's visitors. The expansion would mean the destruction of this garden.

Late 2008, The Garden Club of the Museum asked members of Ohio Plein Air Society to come and paint scenes in the Russell Page Garden. The Club wanted the artists to make a record in paint in different seasons.

September 2009, the works were juried by a panel of 3 jurors, and about 25 paintings were singled out for a week-long exhibition at the museum. The works were moved from the exhibition site to the garden for a Saturday night gala event. One of the works would be purchased by the Garden Club and donated to the Museum's Permanent Collection. My 14" x 11" oil entitled "The Russell Page Garden in Spring" was selected for purchase by a committeee which included the Museum's Director and the Curator of Collections, among others. I received the happy news by way of text message from my friend Edie, while I was in India.

Happy Birthday Ginger Rogers

Continuing on the dance theme, I'm posting a tribute to the ballroom dance queen, Ginger Rogers. TCM began airing movies with Ginger and Fred at midnight. I watched one in the early hours of today and continued watching again at 7am this morning.

While googling for a photo of Ginger, I found a blog you might like if you like old movies: Hollywood Dreamland, Musings on the Golden Age of Hollywood

Art at the Arnold Press

Links to Arnold Press:

Artists compete at weekend's Arnold Classic

http://www.asfnews.com/generalnews/art-at-the-arnold-winners/

Shall We Dance?

The snow has almost melted here in Ohio after 5 days of temps in the 40's and 50's. I drank my morning tea to scenes of blooming snow drops and a robin gathering worms.

Spring! What better time for the tale of a dance?

"Ballroom Dancing to The Matrix"

16" x 20", oil on canvas, copywrite 2010
Top Prize Winner at the Art at the Arnold

. . . to be continued.

Blizzard if 2010

Maryland doesn't often get big snow storms, but I remember several blizzards from my childhood where we'd get three feet of snow all at once go. Our house, 11 miles south of Baltimore City, was on a dead end road, and since we lived on a dead end, it might take days, or up to a week to for that plow to come to us. That left my Dad, Mom and us kids to shovel the long drive by hand. One year we shoveled past the end of our drive and out into the road so that Daddy could drive into the field across the street. With tires on turf, he could finally get the traction he needed to get the car to the plowed streets and get it work. Another year, because of drifting snow, my sister and I were unable to open the front door. But somehow, Daddy got out and worked for hours shoveling trails just wide enough to walk through. I was young around 10 years old, and the side walls of the trails he dug were almost taller than I was. We let the dog out to go to the bathroom and never saw him again. That was Sparky, our Scottie. We never found a trace of him, and so thought someone picked him up. Much later, in the 80's, I remember my boss driving his 4-wheel drive to the top of the road, and me wading through snow up to my hips to reach his vehicle just so I could get to work.

So, it's interesting to be in Maryland now during the Blizzard of 2010. We could get 24" - 36" by the time it's all over. It was certainly beautiful to see around 5:00 PM today. Right now, gale force winds and wet snow are causing white outs and slippery roads. Last I looked, there was about 9" on the road outside my daughter's house, and the snow is to continue falling tomorrow at a rate of 1-3" an hour.

My easel is in the car, and I am under a blanket on the sofa watching reruns of Inspector Morse, and writing to you.

New Website

"Paan Raja"
10" x 8", Oil on Canvas


I have been in Maryland for over a week now, working on cleaning out my Mom's house and readying it for sale. So what to do with any downtime???

First of all, I crushed my primary hand, my painting hand, in the car door, resulting in a trip to the emergency room. No breaks, thank heavens, but my poor hand that serves me so well, is bruised and still swollen and sore.

I remembered that I promised myself I would work on building a new website. The template one offered by Fine Art Studio Online. There's a learning curve, and things to work out, but I have been working a little for the past two nights, and making progress on that, but not ready to unveil it just yet, especially since I don't have access to all of my photos.

But I did have this photo above of a paan stall in Kumbakonam, India. I loved the colors of this scene, and the sign above that shielded the man from the sun. I tried to copy the Tamil writing at first (I started at the left of the writing), but I quickly ran out of room.

There are lots of paan sellers in India. Paan is sort of a "hand-built chewing tobacco", which starts with a betel leaf. Various things, like tobacco, spices, and gosh knows what else, are placed in the middle of the leaf, and rolled or folded up into a packet. Sometimes you might get a paan at the end of a meal. You pop it into your mouth, and chew away, and like with chewing tobacco, you spit. But the leaves are a gorgeous color green, and are fanned out in piles for sale, and it's always a treat to see the paan seller, even if you don't chew.

You're Invited

Encountering India & Bhutan

Over six years in the making!
A cast of billions!!
Spanning two oceans and several continents!
You won't want to miss Encountering India & Bhutan!
Opening Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at the Richmond Art Museum.
2:00 - 4:00 PM

Twitter Widget

Well, I don't think I got that widget thing correct. HUM? Maybe someone will clue me in. I am off for bed.

Twitter widget

Twitter widget

Why am I up so late? Watching the earthquake coverage, again. After making a donation, I finally succombed to starting a Twitter Account. Now what do I do with that?

Merry Christmas!

Here is the Christmas card video that Ray sent to me. It's too good not to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-5ar30_tgg

Cincinnati Art Club India Slide Lecture

I've been pretty busy lately and feeling like I want to blog, but haven't had time. Here is a photo of "Slumdog" - the neighborhood - from the air as we flew out of Mumbai and on to Chennai. Amazing isn't it? How it butts right up against those gleaming white highrises.

And now for something completely different:

February 19, 2010.
Ray Hassard and I will be wowing our audience with
tales from our recent trip to India at the
February Meeting of the Cincinnati Art Club.

Not positive if it's possible for the public to come.
http://www.cincinnatiartclub.com/

Here's the blurb that I hope will appear in the art club newsletter, The Dragonfly:

"Just back from their third painting trip to India in six years, this intrepid duo will again delight audiences with tales of their adventures in their own inimitable style. A seven week trip in a foreign land offers its own rewards and frustrations, and preferring a bit more adventure, this duo never takes the “luxury route”.

Their Indian adventure involved more than a tour bus and the Golden Triangle. It was an intimate road lined with cherished friends and friendly people, con men, holy men, beautiful women, beggars, babies, actors, monsoon rains, mountain leeches, elephants, bats, and so much more. Sanity came in the form of teaching a workshop at Adobe Industries in Delhi, and then, it was right back on the road for an unexpected “awakening” in the holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River. With time on their side, these artists covered over 4400 miles, revisiting some of their favorite haunts in the south and exploring new locations in both south, central and northern India. And, this crazy pair, tried to paint it all, everywhere they went.

So, if you are someone that says, I NEVER want to go to India, or are afraid to go to India, or want to go but for some reason can’t, this is the lecture you want to attend. Using slides of memorable sights and encounters, as well as some of the art they produced on site, you will come away from this evening with an understanding of the fortitude it takes to travel and paint in this developing third world country. If you attended their previous talks, you know to expect a most enjoyable evening's entertainment. If you missed previous occasions, you're in for a treat."

Breakfast in Mumbai

Something else that is great here is that they serve some great things for breakfast. In addition to Indian specialties, they also serve one of Martin's favorites, Baked Bean on Toast. Of course with a bit of an Indian twist. As we heard from the mouth of one Indian, Indians always put their own spin on everything.
ABOVE: first morning, me drawing.

ABOVE: Parsi Omelette, Toast Butter Jam and a Malarone pill, for malaria! The omelette is yummy! The jam tastes like spreadable strawberry Jello. Top it all off with a Masala Chai, tea laced with spices and hot milk. We hold the sugar and add our own since the Indians make it SOOOO sweet.

Way better than Starbucks ever dreamed or made.

RIGHT: My handsome husband, easy traveler, Martin, also know as "Sherpa Extraordinaire". He dreamed of going to India long before I ever did. 2007 was his first trip, my second. Well, Martin had forgotten to bring a hat, so Ray loaned "the sherpa" the Ohio Plein Air Society golf cap. I'd recently given the cap to Ray, since it's always been too large for me.

Seemed funny to see Martin in a cap like that, but the sun in India is brutal on the eyes, even early in the AM. Too bright not to have a hat to shield a foreigner's eyes.

LEFT: Martin's Baked Beans on Toast. Looks like a rich sauce, maybe they added a little spice and parsley or coriander leaves ? I didn't taste them. I only know he ate them happily.