Some recent plein air

These were done recently. First 2 at the parc de Grand Couteau in Mascouche. Next 2 are from Vieux Beloeil.

Gloriette at the parc 6x8 oil

the bench oil 6x8

Maison Pierre-Tessier 6x8 oil

Marina vieux Beloeil 6x8 oil

Plein air in Tremblant

I was very lucky to be invited again this year to paint in tremblant along Quebec's talented artists. Michel normandeau was the mastermind of this awesome event. It was to celebrate 100 years of plein air painting where Maurice Cullen and edwin Holgate went to paint. 

This is the whole gang. (From top left) Helmut Langeder, Gabriel, Marie-Claude Courteau, Sue Querles, George Dedoyard, Michel Normandeau, Gordon Harris, Anne Letourneau, Juan Cristobal. (Bottom left) Angelo Galerio, Raynald Murphy, Kim C Pelletier and me. 

First afternoon was about -26c with wind blowing. Almost took out my tripod a couple of times so I decided to paint inside the car. 

8x16. Oil on paper mounted on board. 

Second day was spent at the river cachee. Transportation was done by snowmobile. Got to ride on a trailer towed by the snowmobile. Fun but hard on the behind. 

Last day Sunday, slept in a bit and did a last on a trail beside the lake in old Tremblant, view with the church. 

2nd plein air outing in Beloeil

Last weekend in Beloeil, I had a chance to go paint with fantastic artists like last year. We had great weather. Here are some pictures of my effort. 

Watercolor I did in the morning. My first since a long time. 

Spent a long time unwrapping the tiny wc blocks. Lol

Behind the church in vieux Beloeil. Tried a sight size technique. Close enough. Hehe

L'eglise vieux Beloeil 9x12 oil

Old houses. Vieux Beloeil

And I finally gave George Dedoyard's portrait to him. :)

PSEC portrait challenge 2013

I was invited again this year to participate in the PSEC portrait challenge. This is year has the same line up. Master pastelliste Denis Jacques, master pastelliste Juan Cristobal, last year's grand prize winner Ann Rochefort and me. I feel tiny among giants...hehe. Butterflies are coming back...Oh! its this Friday November 1st at Ogilvy's (5th floor) in Montreal. Pastels starts flyin' at 4pm and finishes at 6pm. Then its the PSEC exhibition opening or vernissage at 7pm. Oh I cannot wait! For details...pastelsec.com

I wonder who is our next victim?

A Saturday in Tremblant

I had a chance to go paint with several artists in Tremblant. It was fun and we had perfect weather. Here are some pictures of that beautiful Saturday.

 Helmut and Michel

 Anne Letourneau

 Georges Dedoyard

 Monique Gosselin

 devil's river

 bridge near Brebeuf

canola fields

Rawdon 2013 plein air

Plein air day at Rawdon, Dorwin falls.

DIY pochade box - lid support detail

A fellow artist who made a Serett pochade box asked me some pictures of the lid support installation and position.

I installed the end part (with pivot) of lid support to the top part of the pochade box about 1 inch away from the back. With the pivot, it gives about 1 3/4 in away from the back. I then installed a bolt for the wing nut 3 inches away from the back. This makes it possible to open the pochade box to its maximum.

DIY pochade box

My recent project is a homemade pochade box for plein air painting. It is light and compact. The palette is built in into the box like the open box M. I started from plans of Jim Serrett at pochade box paintings. His plans were easy to follow. Thanks Jim for sharing this. I hope we will meet someday and paint together! Cheers.

I made mine from scraps of 1/4 plywood and 1x4 oak planks I have lying around. I had to cut it into 1/2 x 3/4 inch square dowels. I have one that is 3/4 x 3/4 for the backside of the box where the hinge and tripod support will be attached. I used a piano hinge cut to length, lid support (I could not find the table leg brackets), 1/4 T nut which is standard for the tripod attachments, a bolt and a wingnut and some washers, plexi glass and a bungie cord with hooks.

I took me several nights to put it together with some error or miscalculations. (very typical of me) I worked hard on this box and I now know why the profesionally made ones are so expensive! ($300 and up) In the near future, I might do some modification of the attachment system for panels. I like the bungie system but if the panel is painted, it would be a bit of a mess removing it.