AFTERNOON SUN, PART 1

I have had an image in my mind of a window in sunlight for some time. And it had been slowly growing in intensity during the passing months, so last week I decided to start a large watercolor of this scene. I have painted a few different versions of this particular window before but there is something about it that doesn't want to let go. I find myself being strangely drawn back to the same scene time and time again. I don't usually repeat my paintings but I have given myself the excuse this time that the view is slightly different and I am also working in a different medium from the earlier works.
I decided to limit myself to a narrow palette and concentrate on recording accurate values painted onto an accurately worked out underdrawing. This painting, more so than some others that I have done, depended on careful examination of the facts to allow for the correct illusion of sun and shadow. The drawing itself took some time and I only finished at around 11:00 at night! I had to take special note of the perspective along with the way that the shadows fell on the wall. Once I was happy with it, I laid in washes of Aureolin yellow the next day then when that was dry, washes of Sepia indicating the darkest areas of the interior. Next, the textured wall and those interesting weathered bars.

MARSH MORNING

During a recent trip down to the Eastern Shore, I sketched and painted quite a few scenes like the one shown here. This particular morning was a bit misty and had a hazy sky quite often synonymous with moisture-laden air found along the shoreline and marshes of the Chesapeake. I never tire of this place and try to explore different areas each time. I am planning to start a mini series of images from the region but have to work through the pile of unfinished paintings in my studio first! Fortunately there is not too many as I'm itching to start something new.

RIVER ROCKS III

Here is the finished painting and although I completed last week, only got around to posting it today. I especially enjoyed working on the water and submerged rocks. The bottom of the river was well illuminated by sunlight and the ripples created interesting abstract patterns which were fun to work on. I'm not completely sure if I will leave the background as it is. I remember there being more highlights within the rocks and bushes but I have a feeling that adding these will distract the eye too much from the rocks and water - I'll have to give it some thought. In the meantime, I have been busy on other paintings, finishing an smaller oil and a large watercolor which I'll get to in my next post.

RIVER ROCKS, PART 2

Not the greatest image I know, but here is an update from my last posting. I had hoped that the painting would have been finished by now but I have been working on a number of different projects, unfortunately not all of them related to creating art! Another few sessions remaining on this one so should be completed soon. I did spend quite a bit of time adding more definition to the rocks along with a few glazes to the shadow areas. I still haven't decided how to finish the background yet but will get to that when the foreground is done. There are still a number of reflections to come along with the clear (but slightly deeper) water in the lower right - should be fun!

RIVER ROCKS, PART 1

Last year, I did a small 8X10 study of this scene that I saw in Canada. When I got back to the studio I started work on a slightly larger version. Well the half-completed painting sat around in the studio for some time until recently when I decided that I wanted to finish it. Here I am working on the water and foreground rocks having completed most of the rest of the painting some time before. It is getting there but for some reason I like the study better! Perhaps I need to finish this one before giving a final judgement as this painting does contain more foreground than the study. One of the things that attracted me to this scene initially was looking through the crystal clear water to the bottom of the river bed and wanted to try and expand on this feeling by including more water in the larger version. Hope this one will work out as intended because I want to get on to a few other paintings in the River Rocks series. The painting hasn't that much further to go and a few more days work should see it done.

ABANDONED BARN II

After working on a few different things, I returned yet again to the barn painting as I felt that there were a few areas that could do with a bit more work. Mostly it was a case of generally darkening some of the tones in various areas and adding a few smaller details. I also worked on the ground being unhappy with what I had done before but am still not totally satisfied with it! I did intensify some of the textures on the upper section of the painting as well and added a bit more green to the lower. It's about finished now so I'll be thinking about getting it in a frame. I'm also thinking about the next watercolor which will be somewhat similiar but also a little different - watch this space!

ABANDONED BARN, PART 3

Finally after many more hours of work, the painting is about finished. There are still a few small areas here and there that I'll probably do some work to and I want to also work on the foreground a little. As mentioned earlier, this one really took much longer than expected. One area I struggled with was in the lower doorway. Initially I wanted to include a landscape that you could see through the open holes on the other side of the barn (see last post). But this really didn't work out for a number of reasons. I was a bit unsure exactly how to proceed with this area right from the start and this held up the painting significantly. After some thought, I first cut out some paper shapes to match those of the holes in the rear wall. This way I could get a general idea how things would look without permanently putting in something that I wished I had not. A few different landscapes were then painted on the shapes and attached to the painting in turn. The landscapes themselves were fine but when added to the painting, they distracted too much from the overall work. And it didn't seem to matter what I put in there, the eye went straight to that point which was really not what I wanted. To me, the painting is about the light and shadows on the side of the barn and the old bucket on the second floor. Anything else would be a distraction so I decided to fill in the broken out parts with boards. There is still a hint of things behind the barn but this I felt was a much better way to go. Often a simple direct statement is better than too many points of interest. Anyway, I was happy at last and glad to see it finished (for now anyway). I still don't think that I have exhausted this subject in any form and have a number of ideas that I still want to try. Abandoned Barn - Afternoon Sun II is 30" X 22".