Series of Paintings, So Near and Yet so Far studio painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

So Near and Yet so Far

16x20

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This painting, finished just before Christmas has gone to a very nice home. It's a little more painterly than some of my work, and I like the effect of the light infusing the landscape. This spot would work as a Monet-type pond, since the sky and water always show the passage of light and time in an exciting way. There's precedence in art for painting a scene over and over again in different natural conditions. Returning to beloved places and painting them again, allows an artist to find in them renewed and deepened interest each time.

It's not that an artist has run out of ideas when they decided to paint a series, but that they have chosen to explore a subject more fully than can be resolved in a single painting. This can be done by painting a particular scene over and over until the artist is satisfied that the subject has been fully explored. It can be done by using each painting as a stepping stone to the next--they're connected by their technique and subject, but each delves further into the subject until the artist has satisfied their curiosity. I'm working on a group of elongated palms on the beach that are related and seem to grow from each other, and this subject continues to intrigue me so I know there's room for more exploration.

In addition to Monet's water lily series, one very famous series of paintings are Van Gogh's Sunflowers. His yellow sunflowers were painted in every stage from opening bloom to decay. Van Gogh told his brother that "the sunflowers are mine" because from his work he learned every nuance of their being.

The Everglades provide this kind of fascination for me, and I never tire of learning more about the way the light and landscape interact. But so far I have not made a commitment to paint the same location over and over. There's just too much to enjoy and explore.

Wet into Wet Acrylics, Morning Meadow Painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Morning Meadow

24x30

$900

I tend to paint very thin layers, and get my depth of color by going over and over with almost a dry brush, creeping up on the values and colors that I want. Some people prefer work more wet into wet to get more of a brushwork feel with acrylics, so I’ll give you some suggestions for making the acrylics move around the canvas more easily.

In wet on wet work, colors blend together and are affected by the colors adjacent and underneath. Each brush mark is softened by the wet color painted in, edges are softened and colors are mixed. Since acrylics dry quickly, the paint itself must be altered to allow the slower drying and ease of blending

It’s important to keep high humidity for wet into wet in acrylics, so begin by using a spray bottle of water on the canvas to keep it wet. Spray frequently, but remember to use some acrylic medium now and then, to retain proper adhesion.

A few drops of Flow-Aid in the water will keep the acrylics open a bit longer allowing them to spread more easily. I use about 6-10 drops to a pint, especially when outside in the wind. It’s the one additive that doesn’t seem to otherwise change the properties of the paint except for the longer openness.

If this isn’t enough, matte or gloss medium will keep the paint open longer and make it easier to spread. This won’t change the viscosity of the paint, but as you add more the colors will become more and more translucent. Careful choice of colors can add a nice depth to the color without actually glazing. Slow-Dri blending medium will do the same thing and keep the paint open even longer.

If you want more brushstroke to show on the surface of the canvas, start by using a very heavy body paint. Heavy gel medium will also increase the viscosity of the paint, reduce drying, and add to open time.

Limited Palette Basics, Sun Shadows Studio Painting by Jo-Ann Sanborn

Sun Shadows

30x40

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Using a limited palette is one of the best ways to gain control over your palette. You will become very familiar with each color you choose and are forced to explore the limits of it’s usefulness to get a full range of value and color in your painting.


Your palette will be purer and your colors clearer if your primary colors contain pigments for only one other color. For example, your warm red will contain red and yellow, and your cool red will contain red and blue. Your warm blue will contain blue and yellow, and your cool blue will contain blue and green. Your warm yellow will contain yellow and red, and your cool yellow will contain yellow and blue.

If you add any secondary colors to this basic palette, you will want to make sure that they are the true compliments of the primaries. If they are they will make a lovely, lively neutral color rather than a dead, flat color. Black should be added to the palette with caution, since it is a subtractive color that takes light and color away. It’s almost never a good choice to darken, and best used purely as the color black.

White can lighten, but it also neutralizes your color. Titanium is a heavy, opaque white used for good coverage, while Zinc white is more transparent. Transparent mixing white is a fairly new color that can be used to thin out and extend your color without neutralizing it.

In today's Everglades painting I’ve used a limited palette of Quinacridone Crimson, Cerulean Blue, and Lemon Medium Azo, Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine Blue and Naples Yellow and a Hookers Deep Permanent green to help with the darks, and Titanium White.

You can simplify even further by using only three primaries plus white and still have all the range you need. Try it, and you’ll find that you may produce some of your most colorful paintings.

Acrylic Mediums and Additives, Everglades Painting by Jo-Ann Sanborn

Big Cypress Morning

24x36

My painting today is one that I'm very fond of. We became very close as I worked it over again and again trying to get the look and feel that I wanted of a lovely day in the glades, but more of from a frog's perspective. It hung around the studio for quite a while I became more and more frustrated. One day I decided that drastic change was necessary and got out the big brush. Soon I was "in the zone" and when I stepped back a couple of hours later the painting had evolved to my satisfaction! Sometimes in art, just as in life, you have to let go and let it happen!

Now, for some substance! Acrylic Mediums come in a choice of matte or gloss, and are the consistency of thick cream. They are most usually made of acrylic binder and act as a colorless paint. Using medium can help the paint stay opened longer, economically extend the paint, and increase adherence. Acrylic medium is also perfect for glazing transparent or opaque paint.

Since the medium help binds the acrylic, it’s important to use some medium when thinning the paint. Always use a dab of medium to help the paint bind and adhere if you are thinning the paint with a lot of water. Using acrylic paint and water alone, especially as you get to a 50-50 mixture can affect adherence and a touch of medium solves the problem.

There are a number of gel pastes available for use with acrylics, each with it’s own special use. It’s fun to try these out now and then and when I hold a class I bring a number for students to try. These can act as a binder for another additive, like sand, can thicken the paint to improve the retention of brush marks, and double the volume of paint with little loss of color.

Most additives do not contain binders, and so should not be overused. Another type of additive is the flow aids. These decrease the surface tension, flowing and blending, and open time of the paint, as do the retartders.

If you’re an acrylic painter, learn more about the additives available for use. There’s a wide range of possibilities! Liquitex Paints provide a handbook with detailed information about they’re mediums and additives. This Guide can be read online or downloaded. Golden Paints has some great educational material on their site, too, and their newsletter is full of good information. They've also just come out with a new line of acrylics called "Golden Open", an acrylic with a longer open time.

Process - Building Form

Today I’m starting to refine and redefine the value shapes. At the moment there are three values—the dark upright trees, the light sky, and the flat land. These will develop into many values as each form is built but will retain their original character. Now the ground is lighter and flattening out because it receives the most light. The uprights will always be the darkest value because they receive the least light, as does the bottom of the grasses. I want to remember to retain the water that can be seen in the foreground of the working photo, so I’ve put it in—it’s another “flat,” so it will receive more skylight and be lighter than the upright grasses around it.

At this point in the painting the main forms are also being built, with special attention to the negative shapes created. It’s a push-pull process. I’ve cut in around the main palm, reshaped it, and cut in again. The pines have been shaped and reshaped. For me this part is a building process –build up, reassess, tear down, build up again. I’m also very much aware of the edges of the canvas and how each of them contributes to pushing the painting into shape. And as the sky becomes yellower, the painting starts to lean in the direction of the original color stratagy.