Crowdsourcing Lights for Plein-Air Nocturnes

On Instagram, Paul T Levin asks: "James, you did a video about plein air nocturnes a while back where you talked about good lights but I can’t find it. What do you recommend if I may ask?"

I answer: I don't know to be honest, since everything is changing so fast in the LED space. Anybody have a suggestion for good book light or headlamp with adjustable light levels?

Cleve Page answers: "I got a Lumecube 2.0. It has adjustable light levels and there are attachments like barn doors or snap-on color filters. It's an excellent product. It also has 1/4-20 threads so you can add it to a separate structure. It's more pricey than a headlamp, but it's much more capable."

Fiona Fleming adds: "I just purchased a Vekkia 19 LED Music Stand Light with a nice substantial clip, and a flexible arm…the light alters to warm, medium or cool and can be directed right onto the surface. I haven’t road tested it on the easel at night yet, but I might tonight! It charges with a USB cable."

J. Owens says: "(There are) a few different headlamps for camping and I believe most have adjustable levels. Mine is a PTEC, (Princeton Tec) it has three levels along with a red light."

Drew Baker I've mused about putting something using srtip LEDs from Waveformlighting. My thinking is a very high CRI source would be a better approach than something with tunable temperature and questionable CRI.

Edgeprogear sells a light for their pochade boxes. It's essentially a Vidpro LED-230 on a gooseneck, with a bespoke mount for the Paintbook. (At least, that's what mine is.)

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Brian Meyer I paint at night, at concerts, etc. Basically I have bought every light you can get. The ones I prefer now are rechargeable, which can last 2-3 hours.

The last one I got is the best so far, its designed for musicians, its battery on bright lasts an entire session of 5 hours, and it goes from 4 to 3 on its power display, I have used it two sessions in a row without recharging.
(photos from Brian Meyer)

Vekkia clip-on book light.

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• The issue with most lights is the bulb is exposed, which is blinding if you have an audience, this light has it in a recess so all the light is directed towards the paper. Prior to this I was setting up a hood.
  
  Julie Bloch I got little clip on rechargeable LED lights that are tiny. I bought 2 for my plein-air backpack.
  
  Damian Kinsella I try to limit the light as much as possible so these do well to not give me so much light that I lose the sense of what I'm looking at. Eric Merrell brought up the idea of taping a piece of vellum over them and that diffuses the light a bit more and warms it up slightly as well (depending on the vellum). They don't work well with my Yarka rig, but for a Gurney-style flip easel they're practically perfect.

The kit I purchased can run off the included 12-hour lithium batteries so this would allow painting on location far away from any other electrical source for an extended period of time.

Although I haven't used them for an en plein air nocturne, I do plein air oils and am always looking for an efficient means of transporting my gear. I can envision these old bones including such a light in an excursion. The kit essentially could be doing triple-duty (copywork, studio painting, and night painting on location) if I decide to try a nocturne. Their use in conjunction with polarizing filters on the lights and camera lens makes a remarkable improvement when copying art. Because of such versatility, they may be worth consideration.

I paint at night, at concerts, etc. Basically I have bought every light you can get.The ones I prefer now are rechargeable, which can last 2-3 hours.

The last one I got is the best so far, its designed for musicians, its battery on bright lasts an entire session of 5 hours, and it goes from 4 to 3 on its power display, I have used it two sessions in a row without recharging.

Royal Super Bright 29 LED Music Stand Light, Clip On Orchestra Piano Lights, Infinite Levels Dimmable, 

Good for extra light, like on your palette and paint mixing areas, or as a backup main light. Its also better light, good for when recording with a GoPro.

Always plan on the batteries dying and have a spare.

Your Questions about Plein-Air Painting in Oil

On Instagram, I posted about this plein-air still life in oil, and some of you had questions:

fefecru: "Can I ask you what umbrella is that? Anyone in particular you’ll recommend? 

A: It’s a Jullian umbrella, designed to clamp onto a French easel, but I keep it on a C-stand so that it doesn’t blow over and bring my painting into the wreckage."

agustin.poratti "How'd you build that camera trípod easel?"

A: That’s an Open Box M easel, which may not be made anymore, but there are others like it, and there's a Facebook group about building your own.

bencrastinate "Does painting with an easel help? Ive always painted my canvas flat on my desk. What are the benefits of painting on a vertical surface?"

A: I find it helps my speed and accuracy to have my painting set up perpendicular to my line of sight, and directly adjacent to, the same size as, and in the same light as my subject.

grinningink "Since you used oil here, wasn’t it still wet when you sold it that same day? Was there something to protect it when the customer took it?"

A: Yes, this was for a paint-out. I framed it and it was auctioned same day. I knew the owner, and after it was thoroughly dry I borrowed it back to varnish and photograph it.

thefrankryan "Is this palette approach inspired by Carolous Duran’s method?"

A: A lot of oil painters have used premixed colors. I was thinking mainly of Frank Reilly, but using an adapted version of his practice.

janice_skivington "Please list the names of oil colors on the pallet, looks like three primaries and white." 

It’s the 5-color palette recommended by John Stobart in his book The Pleasures of Painting Outdoors: titanium white, cad yellow light, pyrrole red, burnt sienna, and ultramarine blue. You can paint almost anything with those five colors.

tomkatermurr "Would you also premix your colors when you paint with other mediums?"

In theory you could premix with water media, but the pools of color would tend to dry too fast.

Related previous posts: Painting Pumpkins 

Turner's Small Watercolor Kits

J.M.W. Turner's super-portable watercolor set consisted of a small set of cake colors in a leather pocket pouch.

He also had slightly larger sets with flasks. This is his paintbox, found in his studio after his death in 1851

(Tate Archive 7315.6)

To learn more about 19th century watercolor sets, check out the website whimsie.com or the Tate Archive

Can you take casein on an airplane?

Paul asks: "Have you ever taken the plane with casein? Is it possible to travel with it (either checked in or in carry-on)?"

Paul, there's no problem packing the tubes of casein in your checked luggage. If you want to take them as carry-on, it's also OK because the tubes are smaller than the 3.4 ounce maximum limit. The average Richeson tube is 1.25oz. But be careful because the big tubes of white are 5 oz. or 150ml. 

The good thing about casein for a remote painting adventure is that you don't need to worry about bringing mineral spirits or oil solvent, which you can't take on an airplane, checked or otherwise.

However I would not recommend casein for actually painting in airports, or other enclosed spaces. That's because it has a rather strong smell that not everyone loves. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you paint with it, you'll need to clean up fairly quickly after finishing the painting. If it dries on your brush, the dried paint can wreck the fibers. That's not such a problem with gouache because you can reactivate paint that has dried on your brush.

Portfolio Sketching Easel

Drawing with your pad on a flat table or desk is not ideal, because your drawing surface should be perpendicular to your line of sight. If it's oblique, it's bad for your posture and harder to achieve accuracy.

In an old art magazine, I found this ad for "The Criterion Portfolio and Sketching Outfit."

The portfolio easel sets up on top of a flat table. It's easy to make one yourself. It consists of two thin plywood boards hinged at the top and held at a maximum opening angle by a string or chain between the backs of the boards. It folds flat for carrying or storage. In this complete kit, elastic loops on the outside hold onto the pencil, ruler, compass, triangle, pad, and envelope for finished drawings.

What's in Your Kit?

Charlie asks: What’s in your kit?
Everything I need for drawing or basic painting lives in a belt pouch which I bring everywhere. It's small enough to take everywhere and big enough to hold a whole painting kit.

What are your favorite watercolor art supplies to use? 

I have a 12-color watercolor pan set and a small, changing set of gouache. 

What brands do you prefer in watercolor and gouache? 

I keep coming back to M. Graham and Winsor and Newton, but I have samples of most brands. I keep a several different brands in play at any given time, and combine colors from more than one brand in any given painting. Holbein makes a good starter set, and Shinhan Pass makes a watercolor/gouache hybrid set that is quite reasonable with a wide variety of colors. People who watch my videos know I also use Richeson casein occasionally, both for doing finished paintings, and for underpainting. 

What brushes do you use?

I use flats and rounds the most. A good starter set is the short-handled travel brush set made by Richeson.

What kind of paper do you recommend? 

I use a Pentalic watercolor sketchbook, which has heavyweight, medium-textured watercolor paper that works for all my water media paintings and sketches. I use illustration board and linen canvas for my separate framable oil paintings. 

What cameras and audio do you use to capture your videos?

Lately, I've been using a Canon M6, which is great for video, stills, and onboard timelapse. I keep a compact point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot Elph on a belt holster. For a digital audio recorder, I use a Zoom H2N, and that's handy for capturing voiceover and for room tone. I also include a Rode Video microphone.

What else do you carry?

I also carry a couple of water cups with lids that hold on well. In the metal box I carry a water-soluble colored pencil set, plus graphite pencils, a few pastels, a fountain pen, erasers, and water brushes, which work with the colored pencils in tight spaces. And of course I need a paint rag. 

Where can I learn more about your easel?

I use a homemade sketch easel and a tripod. Here's a link to a tutorial on how to make one, and here's a link to a Facebook group of other builders.

How to Make a Lego-Powered Camera Slider

How to make a smooth camera slider from Legos and kitchen cabinet hardware (Link to YouTube video).

Stuff you'll need
Drawer slides, pair
Tripod (Amazon basics)
Canon M6 camera for time lapse
LEGO AAA Battery Box
Lego motors

Join our Facebook Group: Sketch Easel Builders

Meredith's Sketch Easel Innovations

Meredith Moles shared her build of a sketch easel:

"I wanted a perfectly flat easel made from only two pieces of wood. I chose 1/4" cherry plywood, which was a fraction thicker than the oak plywood at my local store. The T-nut for holding the quick-connect plate would have protruded, so I cut it shorter with a Dremel. It still holds the quick-connect quite securely.

"My solution for the hinges is inspired by the one on your blog from Paul Savoie. I used nylon flat head screws, and deepened the holes for the screws with a countersink drill bit (very gently, with a hand crank drill, after breaking a hinge with a power drill!). Here they are installed.



"The combination of countersinking and the give in the nylon allows the easel to close, even without recessing the hinges. The easel sits a bit open naturally, but closes all the way with gentle finger pressure, which I figure means that whatever happens in my backpack will be fine.

"Here is the easel all set up. Two cup-holder binder clips hold five things: Brush cup, water cup, paper towel, test paper, and cloth towel. The cup-holder clips happen to fit 4 oz and 8 oz Nalgene containers perfectly. A modified merchandise sign clip, using the wide parts of two clips, holds a light diffuser. It's probably not sturdy enough for windy days, but works great otherwise, providing a completely adjustable angle. I built the easel with a tab for holding the diffuser clip, so the rest of the panel fits my sketchbook precisely and the clip doesn't get in the sketchbook's way. The diffuser itself is made from translucent corrugated plastic, which lets more light through than white corrugated plastic.



"This easel -- and probably most other folks' builds as well -- can simply be turned 90 degrees to work in portrait mode, using the two panels side by side."

Thanks, Meredith!
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Check out our Facebook group, "Sketch Easel Builders"
Download the video "How to Make a Sketch Easel"
DVD: How to Make a Sketch Easel

Sketch Easel with Side Flanges

Riko Colin Chock shared the following sketch easel design on our new Facebook Group page.

I love the side flanges, which held on with additional adjustable torque hinges. He says:

"Here is my easel. Built from ACM (aluminum composite material). The wing with the fountain pen tray liner can be tilted down for brush drying. I stitched it with a cut piece of hair elastic to hold the brushes, pencils, etc. in place.

"The palette is held on currently with Blu Tack. I've epoxied magnets to the underside of it and will maybe mount a thin sheet of tin to the platform of the easel.

"Canvas clips and clamps hold the bottom of the book/panel. Shelf liner is used to give the book/panel a little bit of grippiness so it doesn't slide around. Water cups have magnets on the bottom and cap which attach to the binder clips and arms.

"Folds pretty flat, maybe an inch or so. Pardon the camera shake on the last pic which is the bottom showing the nuts and bolts (and the few corrections on placement!). Also, pardon the clutter in the background!

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Check out the Facebook group Sketch Easel Builders, and share your design.

Improved Diffuser

Here's an improved diffuser for your plein-air easel. It delivers beautiful light on your painting panel or sketchbook, and it's lightweight, robust, adjustable, and easy to build.

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Previous video on light diffusers

I have released a video showing how to make the sketch easel plus four different diffuser designs. It explains what tools and materials you'll need, and demonstrates all the steps.

The HD download of "How to Make a Sketch Easel" is more than an hour long and costs only $14.95.

It's available now from Gumroad and Sellfy. The DVD version is available for $24.50, and it includes a slide show. The DVD is also available on Amazon.

There is also a Facebook group called "Sketch Easel Builders" where you can share your build or ask questions of fellow builders. It's free to join.

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Previously:
Lightweight Sketch Easel

Your DIY Sketch Easel Designs

Will that van stay parked?

It's grocery day, so while Jeanette does the hunting and gathering, I am out in the parking lot scouting for a new slice of ordinariness.

Here's a short video (link to video on Facebook).

I use two tripods, one for the sketch easel, and the other for the camera, which is held out on an extension bar. The camera I'm using is a Canon EOS M6 mirrorless, which has a built in time lapse function.

Here's my setup (product links below). The casein underpainting color is just a random page; I didn't paint it for this particular composition. I just like to have a few pre-primed page in the book. The priming gives unexpected energy to the colors.

The sky is overcast, making the sky flat and nearly white. With overcast lighting, there's no clear light side or shadow side. On the van, the planes that face more upward receive more light from the sky and are therefore lighter. I liked the fact that the white on the hood of the van was the brightest white in the composition.
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Resources
The brushes are from a pocket travel brush set and I'm painting in a Pentalic Aqua Journal with gouache over the casein underpainting. Everything is attached to the homebuilt sketch easel. I made a video explaining how to make one.
Full-length painting tutorials on Gouache, Casein, and Watercolor.

Also available on DVD from the manufacturer or from Amazon
Casein starter set
Related posts
Overcast Light

How to Video Your Art
Visit my Instagram
My Pinterest page

Deal with variable light on your painting

Judy P asks:
"James, I've can't remember if you ever discussed the topic about painting in daylight, and the value problems it causes. Umbrellas are a pain, so often I paint in the sun, with my canvas and palette aimed away, not getting hit by the light. But even if I am in shade, often my painting ends up way too dark, with little contrast, when I get it inside. 

That just happened yesterday. My painting looked successful while I was working, good value contrast, strong color and temperature variation. Then I bring it inside, and all of that is lost. I'm been doing plein air about 6 years now- how long does it take to make that automatic eye adjustment, to paint lighter and brighter than you perceive? Do you have any tips to keep on top of this problem during painting? So far my only aid is to use the middle grey paper palette to keep track- lighter or darker than middle. But 'paint what you see' is problematic!"

Painting under an umbrella held on a C-stand at right

Judy, You've got two important questions here. The first is how to set up your artwork so that the light on it isn't jarringly different from the scene you're looking at. The second is how to accommodate your eye and brain to the inevitable differences in illumination.

The answer to the first question is that you ideally want the illumination on the artwork—both the painting and the palette—to be identical to the light in the scene—identical both in terms of brightness and color. 

A close match of illumination levels makes color choices easier

If you're painting a front-lit subject, the full sun shining on your painting may be OK, but it may be too harsh and bright. This can be a problem for gouache and other water media because it makes the paint dry too fast.

One of the worst problems is dancing shadows and dappled light from a tree or the line of a cast shadow going across half your picture or your palette. This makes accurate color judgments almost impossible.

To solve all these problems, a diffuser can smooth out variations in illumination and reduce the brightness of the sun. It also makes a softer light that's nicer to work under. A diffuser is a layer of thin, translucent white nylon cloth suspended above your painting and easel. It might be a white umbrella or a smaller frame that's held closer to your work and that's less susceptible to wind.


Here's a video trailer that introduces some of the options of diffusers. (Link to YouTube)

Painting toward the light (or contre-jour) gets rid of the problem of uneven, dappled, or overly bright light, but it can sometimes be hard to get enough light on your work.

Using a diffuser while painting contre-jour

In some instances, like pubs or concerts, there's nothing I can do about the light being way too dim or differently colored on my work relative to the subject. In that case, I often work in black and white.

In the video below, I share some tips for increasing the light on your painting when you're facing toward the light. If you're working in deep shadow, there are ways to bounce light or use portable illumination to get the light levels higher and more even. I show how to build several basic diffusers in my video tutorial How to Make a Sketch Easel .


Most of these things can be made from inexpensive materials. (Link to YouTube)

The second problem has to do with accommodating your eyes to different light levels and getting the right contrast within your painting. A gray palette can reduce glare, but you need a white palette for transparent mixtures. Also, even if you use the gray palette, I find it's helpful to always have at least a patch of pure white and pure black in view somewhere as a reference to calibrate the rest of your values.

When I'm painting in bright sun, the problem for me is that my pupils get fatigued from alternately opening and closing. That can cause headaches as well as making it hard to judge relative values. The ability of your pupils to rapidly dilate and constrict diminishes with age.

In direct sun I tend to misjudge the variations in the colors, and either make the lights too dark or the darks too light. Regardless of the relative illumination levels, you have to always be conscious of comparing values within the little universe of your composition. To avoid "middle value mumbling," it helps to group the light values together and the dark values together, and keep the lights and darks separate.
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How to Make a Sketch Easel (video tutorial) on Gumroad
Previously on GurneyJourney 
White Umbrellas
Contre-jour Lighting
Middle Value Mumbling

Your Questions on Materials and Techniques

You all have been asking some great questions about materials....

Kent Strabala asks: "Can you please tell me the main differences between gouache and casein? I know how they're made, i.e. gum arabic vs. a milk binder, but I want to know the differences in how they lay down, are used, and how they look when a painting is finished."

Jack Richeson Casein 6 Pack with Brush Set

James Gurney Kent, the biggest difference is that gouache remains soluble after it dries. Casein, because of its milk-based binder, resists reactivation after it's dry. Casein also lays down differently. Casein has more body and feels more like oil paint as it comes off the brush. Unlike acrylic, it doesn't get sticky as it starts to set up, because its emulsion is weaker than acrylic polymer. Both casein and gouache dry with a matte finish. Gouache is more delicate and more suitable to extremely fine details. The final difference is that gouache tends to look better in transparent washes, since most gouache is just pigment and gum arabic.
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Sros6 asks: "What brand of flat brushes are you using?"

I like synthetic flats in varying sizes. I'm mainly using the Jack Richeson pocket plein-air brush set and some cheap synthetic "Artist Loft" brushes. I find even those latter mass-produced brands are often very good, but watch out, because sometimes the ferrules fall off and you have to glue them back.
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Frances Wilcock asks: "Do you prime with casein to seal the paper or just for a colour wash? I have used gesso with gouache, which gave a somewhat rough surface, and matte medium (which I didn’t like much as it felt too slick). What would be the nearest alternative to casein for those of us who don’t have it?"

I prime with casein mainly to set up for an interesting underpainting, and sometimes to cover up a failed start. Casein does seal the surface, making it less absorbent to the gouache, so you might not like it if you don't like the acrylic matte medium. The nearest alternative is Acryla Gouache (see next question).

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Naomi asks: "I wonder if acrylic gouache can be used in place of the casein and then continue with traditional water gouache?"

Yes. I often use Holbein Acryla Gouache for priming. It seals the paper but has a matte surface, which makes it receptive to the gouache.

Sunshinearts asks: "How do you carry your gouache tubes? Mine always have the gum Arabic come out and it becomes a crazy sticky mess."

James Gurney I just carry my gouache tubes in a zippered pencil bag, or one of those plastic sandwich containers. If you have trouble with the gum arabic leaking out the top, you can try kneading the tube with the cap on to distribute the liquid. Also, with gouache and watercolor tubes, you can clean off the threads of the tube and the cap by taking the cap off and using a damp paper towel and a toothpick.

Robert asks: "Do you ever start a watercolor portrait of someone with a detailed pencil outline drawing of their portrait first and then start painting? Or do you almost always start with large, simplified masses and then get the likeness and details of their portrait as you paint?"

James Gurney Robert, I don't usually have time for a detailed pencil drawing on location. However, I usually try to get the measurements right and try to have an accurate map or foundation to work over.

Dusty asks "I've seen you use those ShinHan Pass watercolour and gouache hybrid paints a few times and I'm wondering if all the colors are usable or if you just use a few because you can't get those pigments from other brands? Quality gouache is very expensive and these Pass paints are much more affordable in comparison."

James Gurney I haven't tried all the colors in the Shinhan Pass watercolor/gouache set yet. I just bring them out to replace other colors that have run out. When I head outdoors, I just bring a few colors at a time to keep my life simple, usually 8 or fewer. I'm just using a small mixing surface, and a small number of colors lends harmony to the final painting. I'll eventually work my way through all those colors in the Shinhan set. The only criticism I have about the ShinHan colors is that they tend to be too runny unless you massage the tube to even out the ingredients.

Bryan Coombes asks: "I'd sure like to know your thoughts on how you cultivate your motivation to paint and do it so often. It's so easy to put it off... I guess this is a 'success principle' question."

I'm just happiest when I'm doing art. There are always spare moments in the day, and I love the challenge of facing a difficult subject and capturing some aspect of it. I also like having something tangible to show for my time. I think the best tip if you keep 'putting it off' is to find a sketching buddy nearby and go out with your sketchbooks on a regular basis.
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Previous posts:
Gouache Ingredients: Info from Manufacturers
Questions about Gouache
Gouache Materials List