Diana K. Gibson

  This Spring has been absolutely beautiful and it has been a pleasure to experience. It always passes too quickly but perhaps that’s what makes it special. Its ephemeral quality makes us cherish all the more the reawakening landscape and the proliferation of blooms and requires from us to be present in the moment to fully appreciate its revelations. Every year I look forward to painting in the lilac gardens surrounded by the aromatic perfume wafting in the air. There is something magical happening. There is a connection being made, a commune with nature that’s soothing and liberating. Plein air painting teaches us to observe to be very present in the moment. In many ways it can be like meditation. Plein Air painting has taught me to stay in the moment and let go of control. And what I mean by letting go of control is to allow oneself to be willing to accept what happens with the weather, with the lighting conditions, with the way the painting is evolving. It’s a lesson not...

Some quick tips that I offer to my students in regard to creating further distance in their landscape paintings are as follows: COMPOSITION: *Look for the ellipses in the landscape and translate them upon the canvas. The ellipses help to create movement and draws the viewers' eye through the picture. *Be aware of scale and perspective. Contrast and compare the shape and scale of the objects. Things get smaller as they recede into the distance. Think about how much of the sky will appear in the picture. By merely raising or lowering the horizon line, one can shift the perspective creating more or less depth within the painting. *Be cognizant of any kind of repetition that maybe occurring within the painting. We may sometimes be unaware of the consistent repetitive shapes or equally spaced out items we are creating. Shapes and spacing are quite varied in nature and are not as systematic as we sometimes unconsciously portray them. Constantly observe, compare your work to the ...

Above are pictures depicting mixing colors. These colors were pre-mixed with the intent to paint a sunrise. The palette was prepared the night before and a dark toned panel was selected. My gear was readied and awaited the morning. The start to my day went a little differently than planned. At 4:30 AM the house woke to two cats hissing and growling outside in the yard below. Being up earlier than planned afforded time to watch the very early dawn of the day. The sky was still dark but there were tell tale signs that the sun was soon to rise. Quick preparations and a short walk down the road, my gear was set up and I stood waiting for the magical moment for when the sun would break over the horizon. Knowing speed is critical for painting a sunrise, the land masses were massed in and I anticipated the sky to burst into color. I glanced over my shoulder to track the progress of the sun in the sky when I noticed a cloud bank moving up towards the sun. In the distance a large bank ...

Getting outside to paint en plein aire this summer has really been a challenge since the majority of this summer has been subject to much heavy rainfall. This piece was actually started on a misty rainy day and was worked on over a period of a few days. In the past my plein aire work was completed in one session however lately I have taken a different approach and have started to work on the same piece over a span of a few days. That means I start a picture and then return to the same site at the same time of day under the same lighting conditions until I consider the painting finished. This new approach has been beneficial for me because I have learned considerably more through intensive direct observation. I have also taken a new approach in modifying my palette in hopes to create more saturated naturalistic vibrant colors.

Sometimes I find that setting up a still life is the most complicated part of painting. Trying to find the right combination of textures, colors, surfaces etc. can drive me bats. Then there is the composition. For whatever reason I have a tendency to keep my compositions simple. Perhaps there is beauty in simplicity, who knows. Well once all of the still life objects are set up and a pleasing composition is arrived upon, I work to set up the easel. A toned linen canvas is placed upon the easel and the palette is prepared. Time is taken to prepare the palette and as you can see in the pictures, lots of paint is mixed. After the palette is prepped, a rough sketch is made upon the canvas and once the drawing is place then the painting process begins.

Alla prima is a painting technique that means "at first." An artist completes a painting in one sitting. This grouping of photos shows how I start an alla prima painting. I first prepare my palette by laying out the colors according to their value (degree of lightness or darkness.) Once the colors are laid out I start to mix piles of colors. These piles of color help me to cover the canvas quickly. I always make it a point to take the ten minutes to prepare my palette ensuring that I always have enough prepared mixed pigment available. Time is of the essence and I find more time is lost trying to remix or reclaim a particular mixture of colors. Ergo, the desire for a prepared palette. The painting is started with a rudimentary drawing. Thereafter with a loaded brush, the shadows are massed followed by the addition of the light masses. I am extremely careful to keep my shadow brushes separate from my light brushes. That is a few brushes are strictly designated for paintin...