View of the Wicomico River, Whitehaven, Maryland

After the first day of painting I found that the Terra Rosa underpainting was too warm and didn’t work as well with the colors of the landscape around me.  After the third day of painting I had used all of the canvases and boards that had been washed with the Permanent Mauve.  Those paintings were more satisfying.

the second wash on the remaining panels

As I became more tuned in to the marshes, I liked the Terra Rosa even less.  It’s great for the farmland surrounding me in New Jersey, but doesn’t make it for me in the Chesapeake Bay area.  After setting up my easel at Broad Creek, I brushed a wash of Permanent Mauve over the remaining Terra Rosa panels and let them dry in the sun on the trunk of my K-car.

En plein air easel setup at Broad Creek

Here is my Broad Creek setup.  This was the last of the canvases that had been originally washed with Permanent Mauve.  It felt as if the marshes painted themselves over this underpainting color.

Close up of painting and palette at Broad Creek

That big glob of cadmium red on my palette remained a big glob throughout the week.  I used this color the least, only a touch every now and then to tone down the greens.  Viridian took the prize for the most used color.  Thanks to the Richard Schmid Color Charts I was able to use it to mix all the various greens as well as some gorgeous purple/lavendars ! with it.  Viridian and Alizarin plus white surprised me.  I had forgotten that the mix can lean toward purple.

With all of these new color experiences in mind, I will experiment with other underpainting wash colors to create various moods and illusions of light.

Painting:  painted en plein air, 5″ x 5″ oil painting on gessoed birch panel washed with dilution of Terra Rosa oil paint. View of the Wicomico River, Whitehaven, Maryland.

Broad Creek, 5″ x 5″ en plein air oil painting

It amazes me that such depth of distance can be created on a 5″ x 5″ panel.  After several days of painting the marshes I was able to create the feeling of the bright light, the expansive space as well as the variations of texture and color in the various grasses with minimal brush strokes.  Before I return in October, I might warm up a few days prior to departure by painting quick studies from photographs.  As much as I don’t like working from photos, it’ll be worth it to get right down to business without wasting a few days on site getting accustomed to the marshes again.

Painting:  oil on gessoed birch panel, 5″ x 5″ en plein air. Painted over an underpainting wash of Permanent Mauve.

Late Afternoon along the Wicomico River, 5″ x 5″ oil painting en plein air

I preferred the underpainting of Permanent Mauve to the underpainting of Terra Rosa for most of the Maryland plein air oil paintings.  The Permanent Mauve works better to suggest the brilliant light in the area of the Chesapeake Bay.  For me, the Terra Rosa only worked for the mid-day paintings.  Even then, I preferred the Permanent Mauve.  I’ll be experimenting more with variations of underpainting washes.  It’s great to get a head start on the mood of the environment with a quick underpainting wash!

Painting: 5″ x 5″ oil on gessoed birch panel.  Painted en plein air.