ERIK KOEPPEL

Workshop in the White Mts. this summer with Lauren Sansaricq

2012-02-13T14:42:00.001-05:00

Erik Koeppel "View from Blackcap" 16x24 inches. oil on panel

The following workshop will be held in beautiful Jackson, NH and will be hosted by the Grand Central Academy of Art. It will run alongside the Hudson River Fellowship, also in the White Mountains, which Lauren and I have been a part of for the last three years.

Painting in the Tradition of the Hudson River School
Erik Koeppel • Lauren Sansaricq
July 16 - 26, 2011 (10 instructed days, 1 free uninstructed day)
$1350 (includes park fees, a lecture, and 2 group meals)
Shared lodging is $350 (a house with kitchen)
Single room housing is available at local hotels.
Class open, accepting registrations. Limited to 8 students.

In this workshop we will attempt to place ourselves in the mindset of the great American Landscape Painters of the 19th Century. By painting in locations actually portrayed by the Hudson River School, we will discover a deeper understanding of how these artists approached the challenge of rendering the landscape before them. This workshop is open to all levels, and will address compositional sketching, light and atmosphere in grisaille, and outdoor painting in color. Download Full Course Description and Materials List

QUESTIONS AND ENROLLMENT:

If you have any specific concerns or questions that need to be addressed before you sign up for the workshop, please feel free to contact Justine Kalb directly at:
grandcentralacademy@gmail.com

To make a payment, contact the GCA Registrar, Joy Tomasko at:
gcaclasses@gmail.com

New Studio in Jackson, NH!

2012-01-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the hiatus while Lauren and I were moving our studio to Jackson, NH in the beautiful White Mountains. New address info is on my website www.erikkoeppel.com

Here are some great historic paintings of the White Mts.:


Albert Bierstadt, Mt. Chocorua from Conway, NH


Asher B. Durand, Mt. Washington from Intervale, NH


Albert Bierstadt, Moat Mts. with Cathedral and White Horse Ledges


Sanford Gifford, Mt. Washington


Thomas Cole, Crawford Notch

....and all these spots are within 30min of my new studio! I'm going to be having workshops here next summer, and also the Hudson River Fellowship will be held here hosted by the Grand Central Academy, and the Jackson Historical Society.

Here's one of my paintings from a similar spot to the above Durand painting:

Erik Koeppel, Mt. Washington from Intervale, NH, 24 x 34 inches, oil on panel

Thanks for reading!

White Mountain Winter Landscape Paintings

2012-01-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

I find it too chilly to do precise winter paintings outdoors, but love to make winter paintings by drawing outdoors and then painting the subject from memory in the studio. Here are four winter paintings I made based on drawings from my December visit to the White Mountains in New Hampshire where I am preparing to move my studio this month:

Erik Koeppel, Moat Mts. and Whitehorse Ledge (Saco River in the foreground)

Erik Koeppel, Mt. Washington

Erik Koeppel, Mt. Chocorua


Erik Koeppel, The Wildcat River (In Jackson, NH)

I don't recall the exact sizes, because I left the paintings in NH to dry. They're all oil on panel, and around postcard sized.

Thanks for reading.

Full Article: Revisiting the Hudson River School, American Artist: Plein Air Painting, Fall 2011

2011-12-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

If you'd like to get the magazine follow the link: http://www.artistdaily.com/blogs/specialissues/default.aspx

Thank you for reading.

Grisaille to Color in 3 hours

2011-12-19T17:24:00.000-05:00

Erik Koeppel Grisaille 9am (made with burnt umber and white)

Colored painting at noon

This painting isn't finished yet, but I hope it gives an idea of how useful an under-painting can be if it's kept light, and has good warm/cool relationships. Now I just have to spend a few months refining it.


Palette used (Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, A mixed Royal Blue, and White)

Thanks for reading.

Part 3 The Imagined Landscape Workshop

2011-12-19T17:07:00.000-05:00

Imagined Landscape Painting by Erik Koeppel

In the third lesson, I did glazing and highlighting on the demo from last class, and Lauren did a sun painting demo. Lauren asked me not to post the sun painting lesson until it's finished so here are some photos from the first half:


Student's homework along with Erik and Laurens demos upper left


Erik's Imagined Demo painting

Student Homework


Student Homework

This was a fun series of classes, and hopefully I'll post on the Sun Painting Demo soon. If you haven't already, please have a look at Part 1 and Part 2

Thanks for reading.

GCA Blog: Hudson River Fellowship News!

2011-12-13T17:31:00.000-05:00

GCA Blog: Hudson River Fellowship News!: We are pleased to announce that the 2012 Hudson River Fellowship is moving to the heart of the White Mountain National...

Part 2 The Imagined Landscape Workshop

2011-12-08T13:51:00.000-05:00


An Imagined Landscape by Erik Koeppel


We Started by gathering around the art-books and reviewing principles from last time

Below are some student homework drawings. They're much more dynamic than last class. Students were encouraged to study master tree drawings, and emphasize those characteristics of the tree that reveal its sculptural qualities and movements through space. Three dimensional thinking and proportional design are very important in imagined/invented work. I believe that working these things out in the studio helps a lot to make sense of what we see outdoors.

I went on to do a demo where I added a tree into the sky and earth transition we created last class:


The panel on the side was used to demonstrate and clarify principles as we went.

This is as far as I got, so I'll try another layer on it next week and demonstrate some glazing

Lauren also worked on her demo from last week, which was very helpful for everyone.


Lauren Sansaricq Demo

We also discussed paint layers in a studio painting in progress

A student painting in progress

Discussion comparing an outdoor study to the larger studio painting

A Claude Lorrain drawing we talked about

Another great Claude Lorrain drawing in a really great Italian book one student brought. Thank you!

Thank you for reading!

Drawings from the Skyline Drive, and a Visit to the National Gallery in Washington

2011-11-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

Erik Koeppel Sketch of Monticello (back view)

On Black Friday, while many Americans were tearing down the walls of retailers for Christmas shopping deals Lauren and I were sketching on the Skyline Drive near Charlottesville, VA. This stretch of highway in the Shenandoah National Park runs along a beautiful ridge with countless views in every direction. We didn't have our paints with us so we did a number of quick pencil sketches from the various vistas, and then found some great spots to just take in the sunset, and afterglow. Our goal in pencil sketches like these is to capture the gesture and placement of the mountains, and get an idea of how we might compose them in a painting in the studio. If I go on to paint any of these later, I'll use principles of light and atmosphere, combined with imagination to fill in the missing information. Lauren asked me not to post her sketchbook pages, but here are mine:

Erik Koeppel, Sketchbook

This was such a spectacular place, and I can't wait to go back with paints!

On the way home, we went to Washington, D.C. to the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery to check out the Hudson River School paintings and other masterpieces therein. We looked at tons of fantastic work, but also sneaked a few photos of things that we don't already have pictures of in our art-book collection.

Thomas Cole, Arcadian Scene

Thomas Cole, detail from Crawford Notch, NH

Corot detail from a very large painting

Cropsey

George Inness

I thought this Inness tree detail was well suited to our imagined tree drawing workshop discussion

It was a very inspiring trip, and we're excited to be back in the studio painting away!

Thank you for reading.

Studio Workshop: The Imagined Landscape Part 1

2011-11-20T20:17:00.000-05:00


An Imagined Landscape by Erik Koeppel

Some students got together to hire Lauren and I for some studio landscape painting lessons. We both do invented/imagined landscapes all the time, and thought it would be fun to teach the big principles of landscape painting by having the students work from their imaginations by our instructions. I've always felt that working from the mind without references is a great way of testing your knowledge of a subject. After developing a body of guiding principles in the studio, you can take what you learn outdoors with a more clear understanding of what you're seeing. Likewise, the studies you do outdoors will enhance your imagined work.

Here's the schedule:
Day 1 (today):
-Erik taught Tree Drawing Principles
-Lauren demonstrated Sky Painting Principles with the transition of land from background to foreground, while the class follows along.
-Homework: Practice Tree Drawing, and sketch an invented tree into the sky painting
Day 2 week later
-Erik will demonstrate the principles of Tree Painting by painting a tree into the sky composition from Day 1. The class will add their trees too.
-Lauren will demonstrate a new Sun Painting while everybody follows along.
Day 3 week later
We'll both teach glazing, highlighting, and general re-working on the two paintings, and propose a method for continuing this process for a resolved multi-layered painting.

Here are some pictures from today:


Erik's Imagined Tree

Student Imagined Tree


Discussion of Harmonic Proportions within the Tree, distribution of foliage, and gesture.

Discussion of Tree Design and principles for subdividing the greater masses


Principles for a sculptural description of the main trunks and branch connections, and 'thinking in space'


We observed all of these principles in master drawings (Durand, Claude, Constable, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, etc.)

Then Lauren began the Sky painting:


Student in progress, and Lauren demonsrating

Lauren Demonstrating

Student in progress

Student near completion of day 1

another student near completion

It was a busy day, but everyone was very happy to use their imaginations combined with solid principles for a lovely result. We're all excited to add trees into these paintings, and our hope is that the knowledge acquired in the studio will be very helpful in accurately observing the complex and ever changing subjects we find painting outdoors.

Thank you for reading.

Mt. Adams Painting Re-worked

2011-11-11T22:54:00.000-05:00

Erik Koeppel, "Mt. Adams" (Re-worked) 32 x 48 inches Oil on Canvas

I like to let my paintings rest in my studio a while before accepting them as finished because I find that little changes near the end of a painting can make a big difference.

After Before

In addition to adding more blue to the picture as a whole, to bring out the warm atmosphere of the light, I also made a structural change to emphasize space in the painting. I had studied the ridge-line thoroughly, and new from my drawings the way that the mountains were layered in space.

Mt. Jefferson Mt. Adams Mt. Madison

Before re-working I had chosen to emphasize the ridge-line over the layering of the mountains to enhance the light effect, but it occurred to me last week that the mountains looked too flat. So I added a lot of atmosphere to Mt. Jefferson (left of Adams) setting it back, and added atmosphere to Mt Adams setting it behind Mt. Madison. This opened up a nice conduit in the center of the picture that I drew further attention to by sharpening the contour of Madison against the sky (sharpening one thing to make another look softer).

After Before

I feel that taken at a distance the composition has more power as it is now: opened in the center with a nice volume of light-filled space. I don't know if the painting is fully finished, but it's getting there. In my opinion, these little things can add a lot of depth of feeling. Design is important.

Thank you for reading.

Making a Studio Painting of Mt. Adams

2011-11-04T17:38:00.000-04:00

Erik Koeppel, "Mt. Adams" 32 x 48 inches, Oil on canvas

I'm almost finished with this studio painting of Mt. Adams in the White Mts. of New Hampshire. This was a breathtaking spot to see the sun go down, and with Mt. Washington (to the left under clouds) constantly experiencing severe weather it also shows incredible light effects.

Even though I didn't do any outdoor painted studies from this vista, I didn't use photographs to create the studio painting. Instead I chose to draw the location very carefully several times in pencil. By making a number of careful studies of the ridge-line, I set out to combine those with knowledge of light, color, and atmosphere that I've acquired from studying light effects like this many times (sun-beams bursting through clouds). I also modified the foreground quite a bit to improve the design. My main concern while painting the picture was to capture the beautiful memory of the light effects I witnessed while drawing there. Below are the sketchbook pages of Mt. Adams, as well as one of many studies I've done of sublime light effects.


Koeppel, NH Sun-beam Study from life

I always enjoy looking at historic precedents of the subjects I paint. Here are some 19th Century paintings of Mt. Adams courtesy of www.WhiteMountainArt.com


Samuel Lancaster Gerry's Mt. Adams


H. H. Howe's Mt. Adams

Alvan Fisher's Mt. Adams

Thank you for reading.

White Mountain Art Show, New Hampshire

2011-10-25T15:55:00.000-04:00

Erik Koeppel, "Jackson Village" 10 x 16 inches, oil on panel, Collection of the Jackson Historical Society

I was invited to take part in the Jackson Historical Society's annual White Mountain Art Show and Sale where my work hangs beside the 19th Century Landscape painters of this region (many of whom were also well known Hudson River School Painters). For more information on the artistic history of the White Mountains of New Hampshire check out http://www.whitemountainart.com/. Gifford, Durand, Cole, and the rest all painted in this beautiful region. This small town show consigns work from some very fine collections of historic White Mt. art, and has seen and sold the likes of William Trost Richards, Alfred Thompson Bricher, Benjamin Champney, and William Hart. Here are some of the historic highlights (in my opinion) this year:

William Hart

Joseph Hekking

Benjamin Champney

Here are some of the paintings I have at the show:

Erik Koeppel, "Doublehead from Whitney Hill", 10 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Erik Koeppel, "View from the Ellis River" 11 x 14 inches, oil on panel

Erik Koeppel, "Mt. Chocorua from Blackcap" 12 x 16 inches, oil on panel

Erik Koeppel, "Pine of Jackson Falls", 14 x 11 inches, oil on panel

Before the Show

For more information please see the Society's website: http://www.jacksonhistory.org/
Thank you for your interest. More studies from this summer are on the way.

American Artist Covers Erik Koeppel Workshop

2011-10-12T20:11:00.000-04:00

American Artist asked artist/writer, John Parks to write an article on my workshop this summer through the Grand Central Academy. John came out with us for a couple of days, interviewed the students and I, and wrote this very kind article which just came out in American Artist: Plein Air Painting Fall 2011 issue. I'm very flattered to be included, and I hope anyone who's interested will pick up a copy and check it out.

Excerpt:
"During the twentieth century attention to the Hudson River School became largely historical as artists moved on to other kinds of painting. But the recent upswing in interest in traditional techniques and approaches has rekindled an awareness of the group. This summer the painter Erik Koeppel, in conjunction with the Grand Central Academy in New York, offered a workshop in a particular landscape technique which allows painters to recreate the look, feel and philosophy of the Hudson Valley painters. Remarkably, much of the scenery that inspired the nineteenth century painters remains intact and unspoiled so that students can experience many views exactly as they were nearly two centuries ago. Painting in some of the famed locations beloved of painters like Cole, Durand, Kensett and Gifford, Koeppel spelled out the parameters of the style and approach while conducting daily demonstrations of a technique that is very much akin to that used in the nineteenth century. "

Here are some of the paintings from the article, which also contains lots of demo shots, and technical advice:

Erik Koeppel, "Sunrise at Kaaterskill Creek", 16 x 20 inches, oil on panel

Erik Koeppel, "Morning in the Catskills", 20 x 16 inches, oil on panel

Erik Koeppel, "The Poet's Reply" 32 x 40 inches, oil on panel

Thank you for reading. The next post may be about NH studies.

Outdoor Painting in France

2011-10-09T13:44:00.000-04:00

We had a beautiful time painting in a quiet southern region of France called Aveyron. Small stone Medieval villages surround the hills of the Tarn River, and are walled in by white cliffs capped with expansive plateaus. In this region, things are still done the old way. Flocks graze on the plateaus. Produce is grown organically in local gardens. Castles crumble on the hilltops, and life is refreshingly simple. Lauren and I had the pleasure of meeting many of the locals in the tiny village of Liaucous where we stayed, and they were very generous and hospitable. Here is the work I created on this trip:

Outdoor paintings:

Koeppel, "Liaucous Morning" 10 x16 inches, oil on panel

Koeppel, "Sunset over Mostuejouls", 8 x 12 inches, oil on panel

Koeppel, "Notre-dame des Champs", 9 x 12 inches oil on panel

Koeppel, "The River Tarn", 10 x 16 inches, oil on panel

Koeppel, "Gateway to the Tarn Gorge" 5 x 11 inches, oil on panel

Koeppel, "Le Chateau de Peyrelade (unfinished)". 8 x 12 inches oil on panel

Koeppel, "View from the Causse Noir", 8 x 10 inches, oil on panel

Koeppel, "Tarn Valley Afterglow", 5 x 7 inches, oil on panel

Sketchbook:

Special thanks to Adrienne Pascal-Chattot for sharing this magical place with us, and to the people of Liaucous for welcoming us.

We are planning to return to this region next September so if anyone would be interested either in a workshop in this area, or just joining a group of artists to paint outdoors please email me, erik@erikkoeppel.com

Thanks you for reading. Next post may cover our subsequent visit to the Louvre.

Imagination, Ideal Trees, Cow Geometry

2011-10-03T12:38:00.002-04:00

Lori said...

"Erik, I'm curious as to how much of these compositions are from your imagination. I'm also wondering how you might have re-designed the tree shapes in these paintings. I've often noted that the trees I see in nature are not as elegant in form as those in HRS paintings. "

Thu Sep 22, 11:47:00 AM EDT

Koeppel, some studies of cow structure

REPLY:

Hi Lori, thank you for your comment. In the most basic sense these three paintings are entirely from the imagination as I didn't use any photos or outdoors studies as references to create them. However study from Nature played a major role in the creation of these works. When I study nature I try to study it in a way that I can remember its forms and 're-create' them. For instance, the bull in the Europa Painting wasn't done from one study of a specific bull, but I have done many studies of cows and bulls from life (and mini-sculptures) in an effort to know and understand their form (basically to have a sculptural ideal in my mind of what makes up a bull, and how it's different from other quadrupeds, and how it's the same). This is basically the way that I study all the elements in my paintings (from rocks and trees to figures and architecture to light and atmosphere). I start with a basic geometric knowledge of a thing's form, and build up to a more subtle understanding of its character. Something that I really enjoy about working in this way is that everything I study is re-usable. Rather than drawing one view of a bull in one position and one light, I now have a concept that I can continue to work with and re-combine endlessly.

Here's a study of the mathematical diminution of tree branch

Koeppel, Tree Geometry

diameter based on Da Vinci's theory that the ideal tree would have the sum of its branches (area of cross-sections) equal to the base trunk. Reducing this formula, I found that placing right triangles of different proportions in the forks of trees fits the equations and is useful for 'imagining' trees or analyzing them spatially from life.

I'd like to do another post later to more thoroughly cover tree-design, but I do re-design trees quite a bit with regard to balance and elegance. I find it very important in landscape painting that the trees express the mood or intended feeling of the painting. Something more wild and sublime would demand a tree of one character, and a pastoral would demand another. I feel that all the parts of a painting should align to support its intended expression.

So in answer, yes, I make paintings of places (mts, trees, rocks, rivers, etc.) that are imagined and do not exist, but I make every effort to understand the things that I paint in such a way as to present an Ideal Reality that could exist.

Thank you for reading. Next post will be studies from France!

Painting at Boscobel

2011-09-21T10:36:00.000-04:00

Last Friday Lauren and I went painting at Boscobel, an elegant Federal period house museum set on lovely landscaped grounds with breathtaking views of the Hudson River. I was picking up two drawings from a show at the museum called, Hudson River Contemporary: Works on Paper, (catalog) organize by James McElhinney from the Art Students League. Here are the two drawings from the show, but what Lauren and I were really excited about was the fantastic 'Claudian' view of the Hudson River, which we both painted.

Koeppel, Kaaterskill Clove, ink heightened with white

Koeppel, Hudson Valley, ink

When I say that the view is Claudian, I'm talking about it being 'setup' both by its natural backdrop and its composed foreground landscaping to resemble the Classical Landscape. Particularly as it was developed by Claude Lorrain. The key features are a dominant foreground tree arching over a 'stage' where the figure story is told, and then one large swoop of space around the other side of the picture to a very deep space (usually mountains and water). This compositional structure has been very popular through all subsequent ages of landscape painting because of its poetic and philosophical significance as a metaphor. The metaphor is the transition that the mind goes through in the discovery of Beauty from being focused on the human detail and worldly action of the foreground (all of which is fleeting) to the elusive unifying atmosphere of the deep space which is irridescent and intangible. The goal ultimately is to realize that the two things are in fact the same. This trancendental principle was later adapted by the Hudson River School to reflect American scenery as discussed a little here.

Here are the sketches that Lauren and I did to try to capture this view. I feel like they're both fairly romantic, but that was also an inherent quality of the view. I've also begun a larger 30x24 vertical adaptation of the composition that I may even go bigger with later. The first day of intitial lay-in of the compostion is shown below. I added a Large Oak which would originally been a part of the view if it hadn't been 'subtracted' by hurricane Irene.

Erik Koeppel, "View from Boscobel", 10x16 inches, oil on panel

Lauren Sansaricq, "View from Boscobel", 10 x 16 inches., oil on panel

Erik's Sketchbook page of Boscobel view

Erik's 30x24 painting, Day 1

Thank you for reading. More painting trips will be posted soon.

Our websites : Erik Koeppel and Lauren Sansaricq

Visiting the National Academy of Design Museum

2011-09-18T17:12:00.000-04:00

The Morning of Life

The Evening of Life

Today Lauren and I visited the Museum of the National Academy of Design which has now re-opened, and has free entry for the weekend. We were excited to find that their collection of Hudson River School paintings was fairly well represented. Especially in the lobby where they now have hanging two six-foot-plus paintings by Asher B. Durand. I was excited to see these two prominantly displayed, because they are strong allegorical landscapes which find their foundations in the European tradition, and refer to the Classical landscapes of Claude Lorrain and Poussin. Although the common view of American landscape painting is as a fairly naturalistic representational school, it is important to note that those leanings grew from a solid understanding of how the landscape can reflect philosphical, theological, and poetic ideals. Also worthy of note is that Durand, and all of the artists of the Hudson River School were capable of painting very naturalistically from their imaginations as the European masters did. Having understood how artists of the past had orchestrated ideal landscapes from the creativity of their own minds to convey human meaning, Durand and others were able to convey those ideals in the same fashion using elements and poetic devices found in their detailed outdoor study of nature in the United States.

Landscape, 1850

In this "Landscape, 1850" (also at the National Academy) we see a very similar design to "the Morning of Life", but applied to an American Hudson River view. Instead of Greek costumes the story is told with a conversation between two artists holding their portfolios. My feeling is that all of these are great paintings, and that regardless of the 'clothing' the figure-landscape is an exceptional vehicle for artists to express the human condition, and address as philosophers and poets, those issues that we all face. Here are some of my recent attempts at the Ideal Landscape:

Erik Koeppel, "Europa" 36 x 42 inches, oil on canvas 2011

Erik Koeppel, "Heart of the Catskills" 35 x 46 inches oil on canvas

Erik Koeppel, "Vision in the Wilderness"58 x 38 inches, oil on canvas

Thank you for reading. Images from summer painting trips are next.

Making the 6ft Painting, "Kaaterskill Falls" Part 3 final

2011-09-15T16:59:00.000-04:00

When I first got home from the Catskills, I wanted to start a smaller version testing my ideas for the painting before going to the full-sized canvas. This 24 x 36 in. painting is the result. For this one I painted the evening view before sunset when a lot of warm light was shining into the amphitheater of the Falls. I enjoyed the soft light and peaceful contemplative feeling of that hour. If you look at the last post, you'll see some outdoor studies of this time of day. Even though I ended up changing the time of day in the final version, all the work that went into this smaller finished painting really helped to prepare for some of the challenges of the six-footer. This painting had several compositonal changes in it's developement like moving the waterfall to the left, and lowering the horizon line. I was happy not to have to make these changes in the larger version. Another difference from the studies is that I removed a big tree from the center-left of the composition to open up the view of the cliffs behind the fall, and make the space into one large swoop.

Erik Koeppel, "Kaaterskill Falls, Evening", 24 x 36 inches, oil on canvas, Private Collection

Although the evening view worked well for this painting, I felt that for the large one, I wanted to celebrate the grandeur of the Falls shining in full daylight with blue sky and glistening green leaves. Although it isn't as quiet and contemplative a time of day, I thought that it had the kind impact that would work well at a large scale. I also feel that additional poetic details and life add a lot to a large composition. So I added the stags (lower right), the birds flying in the mist (small birds give a great sense of scale), the additional trickle of water at the far left, and of course the rainbow. I had never made a study of the rainbow, but it was a reoccurring phenomenon at this time of day on sunny days, and in my feeling adds a sense of magic that is truly present at this site. When I spent time on these ledges I began to feel like I was in a romantic paradise bursting with life; And the source of life in this spot is this powerful infinite cascade of water. I added the lovers beneath the fall to emphasize the humanity of the experience.

Erik Koeppel, "Kaaterskill Falls", 48 x 72 inches, oil on canvas, Private Collection

Well that's all for "Kaaterskill Falls". Next I'll post some great places that I painted this summer with some great artists, and the results. Thanks for reading.

Making the 6ft. Painting, "Kaaterskill Falls", Part 2

2011-09-12T12:51:00.000-04:00

This post will be devoted to the painted studies that I made for this large studio painting. There are too many studies for me to label with all the details, but all of them are under 18 inches, and done outdoors. Some are more finished than others depending on what I was trying to capture and how much time I had to capture it. For instance there was a moment each evening as the sun was going down where areas of the landscape glistened with highlights. There was no time to make a finished picture of this, but I did several very quick paintings making bright notes of where the highlights fell. Other studies were intended to capture the mood of the sky, or the transitions of atmosphere through the deep space in varying conditions of light. As I studied here day after day, the studies began to take on poetic content about what it felt like to exist in this beautiful and amazing place. As with the drawings, I didn't sit and systematically study each area, but rather studied the things that moved me, and over time developed a thorough knowledge of the place that I feel extended beyond its appearance to a more true sense of it's essential beauty.

Looking over these studies I noticed that there is a lot of material that was collected that didn't actually go into the final painting directly. This is part of what I consider an organic approach to studying the landscape. Even though there are lots of ideas that I didn't use on this painting, I can always use them later on another painting. I just paint what is inspiring and beautiful, and sort it out later in the studio.

In the next post, on "Kaaterskill Falls" I'll talk about the 24 x 36 inch small version, and the development of the big one.

Landscape Painting Demo from Workshop in the Catskills this summer

2011-09-09T13:37:00.000-04:00

Erik Koeppel
Sunrise Over the Kaaterskill Creek
14 x 10 in., oil on canvas

Before I continue with the Kaaterskill Falls studies, I wanted to show a series of photos from a demo that I did as part of my workshop in the Catskills this summer through the Grand Central Academy of Art. There will be more about the workshop in American Artist Magazine this fall.

First I chose a spot that I had painted a week before, and wanted to do further studies of at a similar hour for a larger painting. I based my demo on this painting, but backed up one more pool to study the foreground a little further. I love this spot because the sun rises in a beautiful alignment with the creek, and illuminates the trees within the riverbend while creating soft atmosphere even in the not too distant shadows.

The very smooth panel was grounded very lightly with a tint a of solvent, burnt sienna, and ochre, and I began to lay out the large elements in burnt sienna.

Once I have a basic idea of the placement of the major masses of form, I start washing in the structure of atmosphere and light with solvent, and one red, one yellow, and one blue (burnt sienna, ochre, ultramarine usually).

Here I've washed in the light blue tone of the sky (barely tinted from the ground), and begin to push forward though space lightly with washes.

As I move forward the shadows get warmer. Still no white.

Even though I know I'm planning to have a large tree in the upper left. I hold off on that until the sky is more resolved, and begin to apply some violet atmosphere into the shadows. At this point I'm starting to use a little more medium, and am applying paint to a degree that it can be manipulated more subtly.

I pass over the whole painting again from back to front this time more carefully, but always more mindful of each parts relationship to the whole space than the superficial details. If something far back is coming forward, I make the shadow cooler and lighter to set it back in space.

It's almost solid enough to paint the leaves and branches on the foreground tree.

Erik Koeppel
Sunrise Over the Creek Workshop Demo
12x10 in., oil on panel

...And here we are. The sun has moved on to full daylight by now, but I tried to preserve my initial response to that beautiful early morning light. One hour and a half later I have a nice little study for my larger painting yet to come. Next time will be part 2 of the Making of Kaaterskill Falls ...probably.

Making the 6ft. Painting, "Kaaterskill Falls", Part 1, Sketchbook

2011-09-06T16:05:00.000-04:00

In the Summer of 2009 I spent most of the month of July sitting on a ledge halfway up Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskill Mts. making studies for this six foot painting, as a Hudson River Fellowship resident. As I don't use photography in my studio paintings, I had to make many painted sketches and studies outdoors as reference for the large studio version. This became not just a process of collecting information, but a way of getting to know this beautiful site deeply. As I was painting, I would often pick up my sketchbook when I noticed something new to take notes. The following images represent a few of the many pages of my sketchbook related to the "Kaaterskill Falls" painting from studying the observable physics of falling water to surrounding plants and rocks. If you look closely at the sketches you'll see how many of them were incorporated into the finished painting. Because many of them were drawn from different positions, I had to use a lot of perspective and 'eye-balling' to organize the different elements into one cohesive space. Next post I'll show a series of painted studies I did from this site.

PleinAir Magazine Fall Issue 2011

2011-09-02T19:44:00.000-04:00

Page from an article called "Landscape Painting in the 19th- Century Tradition" in PleinAir Magazine's Fall issue 2011. Paintings by Lauren Sansaricq and Erik Koeppel. The article is on the Hudson River Fellowship.

2011-08-27T17:02:00.000-04:00

Erik Koeppel, Pastures of the Catskills, 18 x 24 inches, oil on panel, 2011