Marc Grandbois
Quebec, Canada, Morning on the Monts-valin, acrylic, 20 x 24" (50 x 60 cm)
Finalist My Inspiration
This piece is a good example of my love for the northern wild landscapes we have up here in Quebec. Late fall scenes are some of my favorite subjects, when the last warm colors explode in that evergreen kingdom— like a show finale expressing resilience before the snow covers the entire land.
My Design Strategy
My design approach varies when I work in plein air compared to in the studio. Outdoors, it starts more with a candid feeling of the scene. I decide on the angle I feel will do justice to the subject. I tend to use the upper part of the painting to give the context to the viewer with more realism and use the foreground to express things more abstractly. Also, I try to keep my palette very limited while still maximizing the mixes of the colors to get variety and interesting colored grays.
My Working Process
I painted this piece on site in the MontsValin Park sitting in my car (the temperature was just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit!). I paint mainly on Masonite board coated with white wall latex primer. This kind of surface is more adapted to acrylic than canvas in my opinion. I always start on a white surface, quickly drawing the main lines with a brush. I build my palette progressively during the process. As I like to say to my students, the less colors used, the easier it is to get a good harmony. A bit like inviting people to a private party, you don’t call the ones that would kill the atmosphere! A smaller but interesting group makes communication fluid between all the guests.