Eye Candy for Today: Jean-Baptiste Le Prince ink and wash drawing

Imaginary Landscape with Fishermen Pulling in Their Nets, Jean-Baptiste Le Prince ink and wash drawing
Imaginary Landscape with Fishermen Pulling in Their Nets, Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Pen and black ink with gray wash, roughly 16 x 12 inches (40 x 29 cm); in the collection of the Morgan Library and Museum, NY; use the Download or Zoom links on their page.

Though described as an imaginary landscape, both the landscape elements and the confidently rendered figures have a relaxed naturalism. I like the depth the artist has created with lighter values of wash.

 
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Quentin Regnes

Quentin Regnes, concept art
Quentin Regnes is a freelance concept artist and illustrator based in Paris, France who works in the gaming and animation fields. Beyond that, his web presence provides little information.

In both his more finished and sketch-like digital paintings, Regnes has a nicely textural approach that gives his envronments a naturalistic feeling.

I particularly enjoy his atmospheric cloud studies.

 
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Eye Candy for Today: Chardin’s The Scullery Maid

The Scullery Maid, Jean-Siméon Chardin
The Scullery Maid, Jean-Simeon Chardin

In the collection of the National Gallery of Art, DC. Use the Zoom or Download links to the right of the image on their page.

18th century French painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was noted for his wonderful still life paintings (that I think magically hold time still in a way comparable to Vermeer), but he also painted a series of domestic interiors.

Some of these are as much still life as they are a room interior or genre piece. A case in point it this beautiful and deceptively simple scene of a maid washing kitchen utensils. For me, the copper pot — radiant with subtle reflected colors — steals the show, but the pottery piece and barrel are not far behind.

The figure, like those of De Hooch, seems more an object in the room than a person with whom we are meant to connect. As such, she is rendered with the same volumetric and textural presence as the other objects, defining space as well as existing in it.

I love the textural application of paint in her face and cap in particular, and in her clothing in general.

The control of edges throughout, as in all of Chardin’s paintings, is remarkable. Look at the softness of the edges of the barrel hoop (images above, second from bottom), and the way the edges of the crock disappear into the floor and background (images above, bottom).

 
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George Vicat Cole

George Vicat Cole
Victorian era painter George Vicat Cole was the middle of three generations of painters; his father, George Cole, and his son, Rex Vicat Cole, were both painters of note. His daughter, Mary Blanch Cole, was also an artist, but I’ve been unable to find any information about her online.

George Vicat Cole was noted for his English landscapes, mostly of the countryside in southeastern England, but also occasionally of London and its surrounds.

Some of his paintings with figures can feel a bit artificial, but others are more naturalistic and feel directly observed. There is a particular delight, I think, in the textures of foliage, tree trunks and rocks, and the play of light on distant hills and fields.

I’m uncertain if some of his father’s work may be mixed in with his in some of the online sources, as their styles are similar.

 
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Eye Candy for Today: Julian Alden Weir’s The Factory Village

The Factory Village,  Julian Alden Weir, American Impressionist painting
The Factory Village, Julian Alden Weir

In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Use the “Download” or “Enlarge” links under the image on their site.

In this late 19th century scene — that makes factory life seem almost idyllic — I love Weir’s textural application of paint and the way he uses it to soften his edges, particularly in the trunk and branches of the tree.

 
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DIY Pochade Boxes – make your own cheap pochade box from simple materials

DIY Pochade Boxes - make your own cheap pochade box from simple materials

As I pointed out in my previous post on making DIY pochade boxes out of cigar boxes, the cost of a commercial pochade box can sometimes be prohibitive, particularly for those on a tight budget or who are as yet uncertain if they want to commit serious resources to plein air painting.

So blog posts and videos in which artists share their designs for Do It Yourself pochade boxes are becoming more common. Though the cigar box conversion is the most common, there are also more ambitious designs either built from scratch materials or from larger found wooden boxes, as well as some unorthodox starting points like office form holders and even a laptop computer shell.

I’ve gathered a few of them here — certainly not comprehensive, but hopefully representative and useful. Some are quite detailed and extensive in their descriptions and instructions, others are a bit sketchy, but I’ve tried to include those that have techniques of interest. Some even offer printed plans, either for free or for a reasonable fee.

Though there are some exceptions, most of these posts and videos are less than professionally presented. For an alternative with details and high production values, see my recent post about James Gurney’s new video on How to Make a Sketch Easel.

Look around with a search engine (particularly by using image search) and you will likely find more posts and videos on DIY pochade boxes; even those without details can offer food for thought. For those who have accounts, you may find additional resources on sites like Wet Canvas or Pinterest.

I’ll follow up this post in the next few days with a refreshed version of my original post on Pochade Boxes, that offers an overview of commercially available options.

Blog posts

Jim Sterrett - Sterrett Box, DIY pochade box Jim Sterrett
This influential 2009 post on how to build a “Sterrett Box”, as it came to be called, was the second DIY pochade box I remember seeing on the web, after Ellie Clemon’s cigar box pochade box post in 2004 (see my previous article on DIY Cigar Box pochade boxes). Sterrett also published a post on diy pochade boxes by others inspired by his design, and another on his plans for making a wet panel carrier.

Sketchin Dan, DIY pochade box Sketchin Dan
Not really a blog post, but a series of annotated photos on Flickr, this is also one of the older examples I’m aware of in which an artist shares their home made pochade box design.

Darrell Anderson, DIY pochade box Darrell Anderson
Made from cut lumber, this box will take panels up to 18 inches and includes a camera mount for taking time-lapse shots of paintings in progress.

Jeremy Sams, DIY pochade box Jeremy Sams
This 9 1/4 x 11 1/2″ box, meant to handle 8 x 10 panels, features a tip-out hinged brush holder.

David Gluck, DIY pochade box David Gluck
This box starts out with two 12×16 cradled birch painting panels, and provides a large mixing area. Directions are fairly extensive and it looks like the size could likely be easily reduced by using smaller panels.

Carol L. Douglas, DIY pochade box Carol L. Douglas
In this unusual metal design, the starting point is an aluminum form holder and the end result is very lightweight.

YouTube videos

Hugo Dolores, DIY pochade box Hugo Dolores
In this two part video (part 2 here), the artist starts out with a found wooden box (larger than a cigar box, eBay maybe?), but gives worthwhile ideas and details for the hardware and compartment adaptations to make a pochade box suitable for either oil or watercolor.

J Geekie, DIY pochade box J. Geekie
Geekie has apparently gone through several iterations of his design, and you may find additional details, as well as alternate designs in other videos. Videos are hand-held and a bit shaky, but I thought the designs interesting enough to be worth sharing.

Karen McLain, DIY pochade box Karen McLain
In this unusual bit of recycling, McLain takes the screen and components out of a defunct laptop computer and turns its case into pochade box without a tripod mount, simply held on a lap, table or stool.

Larisa Carli, DIY pochade box Larisa Carli
In this annotated time-lapse video, Carli starts with a found wooden box, but gives enough information to be useful in building a pastel-specific pochade box.

, DIY pochade box Mustafa Jannan
Video is wordless and annotated in German and English, with enough interesting ideas to be worthwhile.

Richard Kooyman, DIY pochade box Richard Kooyman
In this basic design, panels are held in place with a simple spring clamp, but the box looks sturdy, has double brackets to hold the lid in place and features panel storage.

Scott Ruthven, DIY pochade box Scott Ruthven
Ruthven’s video is more an annotated demo than instructions, but the box is quite nicely designed. Tension for the panel holder is provided by a bungee cord.

WBarts, DIY pochade box WBarts
A short, wordless annotated video, but the details are in the Comments area — Click on “Show More” under the video. Includes links to additional detail photos on Flickr.

Blog posts & videos with printed plans

Bob Perrish - Artist Easel Plans, DIY pochade box Bob Perrish – Artist Easel Plans
This long running site started with a set of plans for a pochade box that the author called “The Ttanium Easel” (at left). It features slide-out shelves and a lift-out under-palette tray for either panels or materials. Perrish has expanded the offerings over time to include plans for a dedicated pastel box, a watercolor box and a lighter variation pochade box without the storage compartment but with a detachable side tray. He also offers plans for actual in-studio easels. He describes the plans here.
As of this writing, his pochade box plans sell for $20.00.

Christopher Clark, DIY pochade box, with plans Christopher Clark
In addition to his blog post, on which he offers free PDF plans, Clark also has a YouTube video about his DIY pochade box.

Howard Lyon, DIY pochade box plans Howard Lyon
In an extensive post on the Muddy Colors group blog, Howard Lyon gives detailed instructions, a parts list and free diagram images with materials and sizes. The box features extra strong hinges, and an adjustable panel holder system using magnets to position the base and an extendable top holder tensioned by rubber bands.

Zan Barrage, DIY pochade box Zan Barrage
After some initial versions and revisions demonstrated in YouTube videos (and here), Barrage outlined his DIY pochade box process in a blog post, and now offers downloadable plans for $2.99 through Lulu.

 
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