Mark Mehaffey: Paint Acrylic Landscapes - Light and Shadow in Plein Air

Learn how to paint en Plein air with Mark Mehaffey as he demonstrates how to paint a trestle bridge in dramatic morning light.

Using a limited palette of primary colors, he creates beautiful greens, blues, lights, and shadows. Begin with an overview of the materials Mark utilizes when painting on location, then find out how to create a value plan sketch in order to work out the composition of your painting prior to blocking in the large shapes. You'll learn how to mix colors using a restricted palette of primary colors in warm and cool tones to make vibrant hues and shades. Then, you'll discover how to add smaller shapes and refine them.

Artist Statement:

I've been drawing and painting my whole life. I started painting with watercolor at the age of 10 and never stopped. My parents and my early teachers encouraged me to paint, I suspect to keep me out of trouble. It worked….more or less.

Some of my earliest memories include trying to match the colors I saw while using a child’s set of watercolors. Hours were spent in this endeavor. After 55 years of painting I’m now more inclined to paint the colors I feel than the colors I see. Paintings always take on a life of their own. Sometimes a work requires a studied design approach, making a plan and following that plan, at other times a more intuitive visceral approach is called for. I let the idea and content of my work dictate the materials and techniques used….not the other way around. Other ideas dictate an exploration of surface and textures, relying on the initial concept and intuition to bring the work to a conclusion.

Above all I value creativity and honesty. And although I follow many paths and speak with more than one voice, I am on my own journey. I have two wishes…one is to live a few more hundred years, for I shall never have enough time to paint all the ideas in my head. Probably won't see that wish granted. That second wish? That somewhere along my journey I will communicate with fellow travelers who will see something of what I see and feel something of what I feel.