Intense Detail, Heavy Rain, Changing Lighting Conditions: Painting a Pottery Shop on Location Using Gouache

Last August 30, I tried to paint the pottery shop just outside the apartment complex where I live. I always found it as an interesting subject but the task just seems too daunting due to all the detail. I was inspired by Mr. James Gurney’s county fair video to finally give it a try.

I decided to use gouache as I wanted to practice using transparent and opaque layers too. I used the triad of burnt sienna, ultramarine deep, and permanent yellow deep and titanium white. Near the end of the painting, I used a bit of carmine for the lone red pot and the iron bars.

Again, the rain fell while I was painting. This time it was heavy. I felt somewhat used to it but still it caused me to slow down as the paint seemed to dry slower. I had to hold the umbrella on one hand, limiting my mobility. I also paused a couple of times to take a few clips and still photos. When it stopped I barely had enough time to finish the painting. There were still a number of details missing and I wanted to stick to the lighting earlier, so I opted to finish it at home. Mr. Gurney’s plein air painting setup was so convenient and portable that I did not have to pack up anything – I just carried the tripod as it was to my room.

I worked on the painting again for another 45 minutes, mostly on textures using water-soluble colored pencils and crayons and the remaining fine detail using a small round brush. The entire process took about six hours.

I examined why I was not able to finish the panting faster. Here’s what I came up with, including other observations:

1. My color mixes were often inadequate thus I spent a lot of time mixing the same color. It also prevented me from laying in colors efficiently, as many parts of the painting actually had the same color and I could have worked on them all at once if I had enough.
2. I ran out of paint a couple of times. Getting the tubes from the bag and squeezing out more paint not only took some time, but also somehow ruined my momentum. I need to be more familiar with the strength of the colors I use so I can squeeze out the right quantities before starting, instead of just having the nearly the same amount of color on my palette. In this session, I ran out of ultramarine deep thrice, titanium white once, and ended up with a lot of leftover burnt sienna (it’s really strong).
3. Taking clips and photos by hand while painting decreased my efficiency, focus, and momentum.
4. I tried to capture too much detail, down to the exact number and placement of pots in the scene. I could have saved some time by focusing only on a specific area and leaving the rest subdued.
5. I need to improve my home / studio practice exercises and routines. Perhaps doing more swatches and color tests, washes (especially for transparent and opaque applications), setting time limits and simulating conditions on location may help. Skills and familiarity of the medium take time to build up, and efficient practice routines can probably help accelerate the process.
6. I need to improve my planning, especially if I already knew what the subject / location would be. For this painting, I only thought about the colors and the challenge of painting a lot of detail. I could have studied it in advance using Google Earth Street View and identified potential objects of interest and difficulty. I also should have tried practicing how to paint some specific objects in the scene, like the pots. Doing this, however, might reduce the spontaneity of the painting, or the feeling and satisfaction of encountering things first hand and overcoming challenges on location.

Here’s the video of the session: https://youtu.be/c_uTGZfIANw