Mirja, Author at Mirja Vahala Art Studio

35 pounds and 3.5 hours

The lake view by Kokanee Glacier Hut in the early morning. This clear sky image makes it hard to believe there was a snow storm the night before. — Photo by Mirja Vahala

This type of view made it worthwhile to hike into the mountains, even with 35+ pound packs and 3.5 hours of mostly up. By staying overnight at the Kokanee Glacier Hut, we were able to capture the post-storm morning beauty of the area on our cameras — and in our memories.

Brigitte Desbois, Lorraine Bell-Lebedoff, Darrin Markvardsen and myself enjoyed 3 days of plein air painting in a variety of weather. It’s amazing how the rain can turn paint into puddles of gray goo, but we managed to pull off a few paintings. And there was good weather too. We were fortunate that the snow storm that blew sideways was during the night and while we were snug in the log hut.

brigitte-desbois-kaslo-lake-8-x-10-oil-on-linen-panel-2 — Oil on panel by Brigitte.

Brigitte’s lovely choice of colours beautifully captures the feel of the area.

brigitte-desbois-lakeside-rocks-8-x-10-oil-on-linen-panel-2 — Oil on panel by Brigitte.

lorraine-kokanee-2 — Acrylic on canvas by Lorraine.

I was most impressed by Lorraine, who completely ignored the rain storm while we scurried to cover. What concentration!

lorraine-kokanee-painting-1 — Acrylic on canvas by Lorraine.

Note to self: don’t paint under trees with melting snow…Lorraine did not enjoy the experience.

markvardsen-plein-air-oil — Oil on canvas by Darrin.

Darrin is a new painter who took the summer off of work to grow his burgeoning art skills.

vahala-kokanee-rocks — Acrylic on canvas by Mirja.

I managed to finish the painting below as my paints turned into puddles.

vahala-kokanee-square — Acrylic on canvas by Mirja

mirja-darrin-lorraine-kokanee — On our way back to civilization. Ahhhh, downhill and flat areas — and less food in our packs.

What’s Your Fuel?

There was the time in younger days when my motivation was fuelled by angst, anxiety, approval seeking and a need to prove myself to some unknown judge. As time marched along, a new drummer arrived with a better sense of rhythm, which squelched the old motivational forces. Following this was a sense of being in no-man’s land: if I wasn’t trying to prove that I was a worthy artist (person, athlete, wife, daughter…), then what juice would get me going — and what exactly did I want to get going on? To move on from there took soul searching and the type of self-honesty that was difficult but worthwhile, much like the artist’s journey of continuous learning.

Here are a few ideas on motivation that worked for me:

Define success. How else do we know if we’ve succeeded?
We need to believe we can reach our goals.
To thwart procrastination, chunking helps (break things down into manageable bits).
Ticking off a to-do list gives a sense of accomplishment.
Early success keeps us going. (Begin with something we can attain.)
It helps to be ‘sticky’ — stick to the effort it takes to reach a goal,
which means we need to have direction and commitment.
Believe we can handle doing what needs to be done.
Have enough of a challenge to feel excited, but not so big as to be intimidated.
Accept that some days things will flow and some days you might as well drop a brick on your head.
Remember why an endeavour is worthwhile. Tap into your core beliefs.
Name the fear which tries to stymie efforts. (Fear of ridicule, success, disappointment, vulnerability and so on.)
There are many ways to reach a goal.
There are times to give up and times to try something else.
Don’t settle on the status quo. It’s boring. Try something new. Experiment.
Be aware of changing values, passions, and interests.
We need support and that’s normal.
It’s important to know that we are aiming for our goals.
Reward accomplishments of any size.
Enjoy the process as much as possible and keep the faith when the fun factor is on holidays.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
Lou Holtz

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Mario Andretti

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Do What You Want To Do

The final TV episode of Grace and Frankie was to the point about aging, dying and living big. I loved that these two aging women felt energized and empowered, that they let go of past rules — and constraints — about themselves, and realized that they could do whatever they liked.

Ideas of how we think we are supposed to live our lives can get in the way of our personal greatness, never mind social constraints and fear. Here are some ideas I use to replace ones that no longer function for me, especially as a painter:

When faced head on, fear is a great motivator and instructor.
I will never get it all done, yet I am enough.
There is always room for improvement.
It takes a lot of effort to get good.
Fretting about the past and fearing the future quells motivation.
Light defines darkness and darkness defines light. Both are needed.
Comparing and competition kills creativity.
Breaking the rules and challenging method equals innovation and personal style.
Not even experts know it all — not every ‘right’ is right for everyone.
I have to start to get motivated, not vice versa.
Inclusion and openness to differences creates inner spaciousness.
It’s okay not to enjoy the process, just proceed.
Perfectionism is boring and creates anxiety.
It’s okay to be eclectic.
Don’t hold back. Play big.
I can do whatever I want, and if done within my values, it’s all good.

What unties the knots in your knickers?

—

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson

Nothing is difficult for the man who puts his mind to it. – Nietzsche

Guide to Landscape Painting

John Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting contains a wealth of suggestions. Contact Mirja by email for a free PDF of general notes. Meanwhile, here are a few of Carlson’s extended ideas:

We must have design in a picture even at the expense of truth. You are using nature for your artistic needs. USELESS DETAIL = BAD PAINTINGS.

There are 4 MAIN VALUES to landscape painting (in average light on an average landscape):

Darkest: verticals such as trees

Second darkest: slopes such as hills

Lightest: the sky

Second Lightest: the flat ground

IMPORTANT 5TH VALUE: Beginners will paint sky too dark because of the perceived lightness of the clouds. The value between the sky and clouds is less than perceived at first. CLOUDS: On a gray day, white clouds are lighter than the sky and a diffuse light comes through. The base of clouds are cooler and lighter in the distance. The white of clouds get a bit warmer and rosier in the distance.

For masses and forms, they need to belong to a half light or half dark — this prevents over modelling. We want varied sizes of masses. Don’t break up masses with mottling. Have 4 to 5 large flat tones (masses) of unequal weight (values). Paint these with poster-like flat planes. Then make them beautiful with local colour — aim for essential masses, then beautify.

Don’t begin with an elaborate drawing, which is constricting and a barrier to great edges. Use a bold, thick outline of masses, then instantly fill masses with approximate colour contrasts but with exact value. Use a full brush, and use medium (for oils) so that the painting will be dry enough in an hour to drag paint overtop.

Cast shadows are usually lighter than the tree that casts it. The colour of shadow is determined by the local colour of the flat plane. Same colour but darker. The blue sky casts a cold light which cools the colour cast of local colour. The shadow is warmest near the tree (less exposed to the blue sky light.)

TREES: When painting trees, don’t paint highlights on them, rather use slight variations of darks and mid-tones. Trees are lighter and cooler nearer to the sky, and darker and warmer nearer (but not at) the ground. The sky holes need to be painted darker than the sky colour.

BE AWARE: Cool colours look darker than they are and warm colours look lighter than they are. Receding shadows in the distance get cooler and lighter. Luminosity is obtained if you paint shadows keeping these concepts in mind, as does proper use of accents within shadows. Don’t paint the shadows too dark. The only real darks in shadows are under stone edges and such. Dark accents are more pronounced in fully lit areas. Note that aerial perspective has a greater effect on darks than mid-tones in a landscape.

The most important things in a painting are Form and Value. Color comes last – like a friend you welcome. (Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot)

35 pounds and 3.5 hours

What’s Your Fuel?

Do What You Want To Do

Guide to Landscape Painting

Acrylics for True Beginners video with Mirja Vahala —

Watch it now on YouTube.

Subscribe to the Mirja Vahala YouTube Channel.