We won!

[Richard Robinson]

"Norwester, Glenorchy" by Richard Robinson

"Glenorchy Norwester" Oil on Canvas by John Crump

The weather here has decided it's not going to play nice anymore. We got rugged up anyway and drove down the road with little hope, expecting to be retreating home in short order to the warm fire. We spent a full hour idling from spot to spot along the shore waiting for one of us to glimpse inspiration and spark into action. A dozen times we decided to give up and a dozen times we decided to stay on, the weather getting worse by the minute. A blustery norwester peppered the truck with frigid rain, dropping the temperature to 3 degrees celcius. It was not looking good. However, at some point we began to resent our own apathy until finally we reached a turning point in the comforting airconditioning and stepped outside into the inclement weather, hauled our easels out and setup against all the odds to mine some gold from the hard gray scene.

It wasn't long before we were painting away happily and enjoying the challenge we'd set ourselves. Three hours later the weather could obviously sense it's impending defeat because it rallied itself and sent forth some really serious rain which pooled on our palettes and dripped off our canvases. At that point the smell of coffee wafting from the nearby cafe seemed to smell especially good and seeing as the paint was no longer wanting to stick to the canvas we packed up and got while the getting was good.

I spent another good 3 hours on mine at home moving things around and trying out different ideas, until I finally put the brushes down at 11pm. I learned such a lot from painting beside John and we both learned again that when you push through adversity and force yourself to action some of the best things can happen.

I think the way John handled the trees and water was exquisite and he taught me about making the brushstroke then breaking the brushstroke so it doesn't appear to be 'drawn' with equal edges, but rather an organic mark that seems to be dashed on.

To learn more about John's beautiful work visit his website: www.johncrump.co.nz

Happy painting you guys, and remember there's no such thing as bad painting weather, just inappropriate clothing. :-)

[Luz A. Montoya]

Love the brilliant touches in the water at Mr. Crump's painting and the warm colors at Richard's.  Almost the same scene and so different approaches! 

[Merewyn Heath]

What an adventure and what fun to read it! And I thought toughing out a hot sunny day was rough. I've clearly missed some great opportunities by shying away from cold weather. Love how different the paintings are - yet created on the same spot. I think they're both wonderful! And, I hope you consider doing a small painting book with your favorite adventure stories included. I believe it would be another success :)

[Richard Robinson]

Thanks Melanie, breaking the stroke just means painting back into it with the colour next to it or softening some part of it with a brush. Variation.

[Melanie Harbin]

Both of the paintings are very nice! And your story telling is entertaining as well. I hope to learn more about the make and break technique.