Too big to paint on location: Marcia’s method

quarter scale version of "Fog, Sun, and Tides" painted on location

"Fog, Sun, and Tides" quintych, two panels 48"x78", three panels 78"x48"

IN THE LAST two or three years I have painted some very large-scale works for hospital settings. The tallest was 8 feet tall; the widest was 11 feet wide.

Marcia’s Supply List:

PAINTS:

Golden heavy body acrylics:
Golden ACRY 8oz Titanium White
Golden ACRY 2oz Primary Yellow
Golden ACRY 2oz Cadmium Yellow Medium
Golden ACRY 2oz Cadmium Orange
Golden ACRY 2oz Cadmium Red Light
Golden ACRY 2 oz Primary Magenta
Golden ACRY 2oz Dioxazine Purple
Golden ACRY 2oz. Chrome Oxide Green
Golden ACRY 2oz Permanent Green Light
Golden ACRY 2 oz Turquois
Golden ACRY 2oz Primary Cyan
Golden ACRY 2oz Cobalt Blue
Golden ACRY 2oz Ultramarine Blue
Golden ACRY 2oz Violet Oxide
For Hooker’s Green, I highly recommend you buy Miami Brera 60ML Hookers Green.

Summer in the Tyrol, 14x18 inches

Travel Tips for painters

Painting with Acrylics

by Marcia Burtt

Here is a brief description of how I use acrylic paints outdoors. I’ve highlighted the absolute minimum you will need to bring to participate in my workshops.

Acrylics dry fast and thin, enabling me to continually repaint areas without losing freshness. When my first thin wash works, I can leave it alone and enjoy almost the brilliance of watercolor. If, as usually happens, I want to rework or adjust shapes, I am able to paint over the dry layer immediately.

I’ve now been a landscape painter for over 30 years, and am still crazy about acrylics. In order to adapt to the special requirements of painting on location, I’ve devised a simple paint-and-time-saving system for taking acrylics into the open air—and, in fact, I use the basic elements of this system in the studio.

Painting for Beginners

by Marcia Burtt

Great news! If you’ve never made a painting before you won’t be hampered by all the “dos and don’ts” that confuse and constrict people who have studied art.

Remember: 1) no one but you can make a painting just like yours; 2) you’ll truly enjoy yourself if you don’t worry about what anyone else would say or do; and 3) if something bothers you about your painting, change it.
Art is the one activity in which you make the rules.

Because they are quick drying and opaque, acrylic paints do not demand planning. Changing your mind constantly is not a problem and in fact can add to the spontaneity and freshness of the end product.
However if you prefer to plan you may draw out your design first in pencil, charcoal, or with thin lines of paint. Just remember that what you liked in linear form may not look as good to you when painted, so feel free to paint outside the lines or completely obliterate them as you go.

American Artist Sept. 2010

American Artist June 2010

Additional Resources

Plein Air painting in cold snowy conditions with acrylics

When you are painting at high altitudes or in extremely hot dry conditions, you can modify acrylics by using glazing medium instead of water, allowing them to stay moist long enough to at least get your brush to the canvas before the paint dries.

But what do you do in cold snowy conditions?

Golden’s Open Formula acrylics

I jumped on Golden’s Open Formula acrylics as soon as I heard about them, thinking they would provide a great medium for revision in the studio, since working on field paintings in the studio can be tricky with acrylics.

Violet Oxide or Burnt Sienna?

Paintbox alternative

Marcia received this tip from Susan Watson:

“I like an OXO Good Grips ice cube tray to hold my paints because it has a lid and the compartments are rounded at the bottom, which makes for very easy cleaning.

Occasionally, I need to clean out one of the compartments if the color has become too muddy. I put on some rubber gloves and scoop out the muddy color with a paper towel and then add fresh paint . . . very easy.

The lid slides on. It is not air-tight, but I spray the paint before I slide the lid on and then put it in a plastic bag to make sure that the paint will not dry out. Hefty Jumbo 2.5 Gallon plastic zip lock bags are large enough for the tray to slip in easily.

The lid is a nice feature because it keeps the moisture in and keeps the paint from getting inside a plastic bag (the problem with a regular ice cube tray).

The ice cube tray also fits nicely on my Soltek easel with plenty of room for a water container and a palette.”

–Susan Watson

Create Better Paintings

Find out why Marcia prefers acrylic to oil and painting on location rather than in a studio:

Workshop Magazine, Winter 2005

Southwest Art, “Artistic License” April 2002

American Artist, “A Systematic Approach to Acrylic Landscapes,” January 1996