Summer 2018: 60 Minutes to Better Painting?

My quick sketch of "The Turning Point"
Block Sketching 1: Ottawa Urban Sketchers

Artist Craig Nelson believes that you can drastically improve your art by practicing daily quick (less than an hour) paintings and I intend to practice what he preaches this summer.

60 Minutes to Better Painting; Craig Nelson

 Craig says that by painting quick studies you will:

• break inhibitions
• not be afraid of mistakes
• learn the difference between line and mass
• learn brushwork
• understand how to see
• get started
• learn, explore and enjoy

 Craig suggests three basic time frames

1. 25 to 30 minutes
2. 40 to 45 minutes
3. 60 minutes

I do a lot of sketching and painting in watercolour in short time frames with the Ottawa Urban Sketching group (see my blog here: http://ottawaurbansketchers.blogspot.com/) but I have NOT undertaken quick studies in acrylic around Ottawa but I intend to start in June.

Return of My "One-Hour Bike-n-Sketch"

My old, unsophisticated bicycle that I bought three years ago for $60 at re-Cycles on Bronson Ave. in Ottawa is still in service and has been out and about to do some of my One-Hour Bike-n-Sketches.

(See my 2014 blog post about Artist's Bike Easels)

My bike parked recently at the Patterson Creek Pavilion in the shade.

My One-Hour Bike-n-Sketch of the Cartier Square Drill Hall

My "One-Hour Bike-n-Sketch" of Patterson Creek, Ottawa; June 2018

Not ALL of my "One-Hour Bike-n-Sketches" turn out great but I learn a LOT more from my failures than I could ever possibly learn from the ones that went well for me.

Limited Palettes

I'm still working with my limited three-colour (plus white) Holbein acrylic palette (that I love so much) and this, I think would work extremely well for my "One-Hour Bike-n-Sketches" by minimizing what I will have to carry on my bike.

1. PY 175 Yellow Imidazolone 
2. PB 15 Blue Phthalo
3. PR 254 Pyrrole Red

The painting below, "Porch Pumpkins", was painted in two hours with just these three colours (plus white) last week. I like the colour mixes that I can easily achieve with just the three primaries.

"Porch Pumpkins" by Cindi Moynahan-Foreman; June 2018

I am also interested in trying other palettes and have always wanted to experiment with the Zorn Palette or this one from Golden Paints: Classic Colour Mixing Palette.

The Golden Paints Classic collection promises to produce a wide range of traditional mixes, creating a spectrum of colors often found in nature.

It includes:

• Cadmium Yellow Light, 
• Indian Yellow Hue, 
• Cadmium Red Light, 
• Alizarin Crimson Hue, 
• Ultramarine Blue, 
• Prussian Blue Hue, 
• Viridian Green Hue, 
• Titanium White,

Golden Paints: Classic Colour Mixing Palette.

I am looking forward to the "learning, exploring and enjoying" promised in artist Craig Nelson's book "60 Minutes to Better Painting" over throughout the summer and will post another update later in July.

In the meantime, I'm off to paint....

"Off We Go"; self-portrait; watercolour by Cindi Moynahan-Foreman; 2014