Plein Air Oil Painting Class

My Late Fall Plein Air Oil Painting class taught by Don Sahli was Nov. 3-6, three gorgeous days in the foothills west of Denver. Don lives in Evergreen, and he took us to 2 different favorite locations near his home.

Lair o' the Bear

The first two days were at Lair o' the Bear county park, in Bear Creek Canyon. There were five of us total, and Don had us set our French easels near his.

Don Sahli:

It was a treat to get to watch him paint. I like the way he draws the major parts of his picture on top of a turpentine wash, going for the darkest darks at the very first.

He averaged three paintings a day, and while all of us were really trying to crank these oil sketches out, the best I could manage was two paintings a day. It was watching him that helped me produce my first painting.

Lair o' the Bear 1, oil 20" x 24":

The first day started out cold, but Don said that plein air painters have to be ready for all kinds of weather in Colorado. The sun finally came out and that's all you need in Colorado, most days are sunny in fact.

Don began each day with a class. His instruction was succinct: "Train your eye to see the pieces of nature, of form, color and shape."


His three stages of painting are:
80% abstract -- Block in related color spots.
15% modeling - describe the forms.
5% detail - find the darkest darks and the lightest lights.

Among the students in Don Sahli's class was Weatherly Stroh:

If I had the idea that plein air painters were all impressionists, I was wrong. I complimented Sahli on his abstract approach, emphasizing color, value and temperature.

His three rules are:
ALWAYS start in the darkest dark.
Warm light has cool shadows.
Cool light has warm shadows.

As I was completing my second picture, he took my paint brush and showed me what he actually wanted me to do on the canvas, which was to flatten some of the pixelating I was doing. "Make more contrast in your areas of paint," he said. And he put a quick flash of yellow oil in the right side of the picture, next to the tree, which he liked.

Lair o' the Bear 2, oil 20" x 24":



The two other students in Don's class were Shellie Dunham:



And Diane Spickert:


I helped Diane set up on the second day, and on the third day we painted next to each other in the afternoon. She missed the first day of class, but Don has invited her to spend a day in his studio class in Evergreen. She is a retired geologist, and the author of a children's book: Earthsteps: A Rock's Journey through Time - Paperback (Mar. 1, 2010) by Diane Nelson Spickert and Marianne D. Wallace, available through Amazon.com.

Next post: Day Two