Recently completed, this small painting was done as a pre-study for a much larger painting. Since I had my gouache paints to hand, I used them instead of watercolor as I usually do but it worked out fine. I think I am headed in the right direction with this one and in fact, have already drawn out the larger version. I hope to get to it soon. Size is 8.5 x 6 in (22 x 15 cm), gouache on Crelando watercolor paper.
Spending some time working on the doors helped bring this
painting closer to completion. Mostly it was a case of slowly working along
each plank adding subtle washes of color and creating interest with some
details of the woodgrain etc. There was less of the original red paint left in
this area due to the heavier weathering these doors got and I tried to keep the
effect random, adding color where I thought would be best. A slightly darker
wash was added to the lower part of the shadow on the left as I felt this was a
bit too light and I slightly greyed the white strip as I felt it was a bit too
bright. The two hinges were detailed along with their shadows, also some
smaller cracks and splits were done in the ends of the wooden planks but tried
to keep it all understated. I didn’t want to overwork the painting by adding
too many details so after stepping back to take a long look, decided to leave
it as it was for now. Later, I’ll take it out again and see if there is
anything else to do, so far though I was happy with the result. In reflection,
I think that perhaps the painting could have been a little more subtle if I had
used watercolor instead of acrylic. Anyway, this is something to consider
perhaps when I do more in this series. This one was painted on stretched
Bockingford watercolor paper, 22 x 15 in, (56 x 38 cm).
I have been painting in and around a nearby farm for quite some
time now, sometimes spending the whole day there working on sketches and
finished paintings. I remember that it was one of those places where so many
subjects presented themselves that I had a difficulty choosing which one I
would use for a painting. I was brought up on a farm and as such, in my
paintings, I am often going back to my youth when I spent so much time in and
around the various buildings, sheds and fields etc. I also spent many hours walking
from one end to the other exploring the hedgerows and ditches for wildlife. I have
always explored each subject deeply and have found that some of the finer details
totally fascinate me. This is probably one of the reasons that I take my work a
lot further than some. I think this is mainly because I want to capture those
things I see that move me so much. Oftentimes, there will be an abstract
element to the scene that initially attracts me and that was the case with this
painting. This view is of the south side of what I have called the tractor barn
(the smaller of the two barns) and although empty now, I imagined this would
have been where all the farm vehicles and implements would have been kept.
Initially painted a deep red, the wood has weathered to a dull grey finish with
elements of the red paint still visible in some of the woodgrain and in more
sheltered areas. The main openings had been trimmed with white and red, most of
which still remains although this too is beginning to chip and fade. When I
looked up to the corner where the opening begins its climb to the crown of the
roof, I saw how the sun, now at its highest, had cast a deep shadow across the
interior. This dark triangle excited me and I saw how the inverse shape was
echoed in reverse below. The wall was covered with hanging implements including
the strange clamp shown here. I would have to be careful while painting this as
I felt it was an important element of the composition. Some of the wood above
had split and warped, each casting their own shadows too. So all in all, a lot
of fascinating details that I looked forward to working on. Since there was so
much going on, I decided to use a larger sheet of paper for this one. My choice
of medium would be acrylic. Since acrylic paint is impervious to water when
dry, I felt it would stand up better to the many washes of color I would have
to lay down to capture the scene in the way that I wanted. Here I used it like
I would watercolor, building up the tones slowly and thinly until the final
image emerged from the paper. So far, I have almost finished the left side of
the painting. This part was to me of the utmost importance to get right to
begin with. As it was the area of highest contrast, this was where the viewer’s
eye would go to first. After a few day’s work, I was eventually happy with how
that was going so I began laying in a few grey washes on the right side trying
to get a balance of tones overall. I then made a start on some of the details
above the shed door. Incidentally, part of this door appears in one of my
earlier paintings, ‘Tool Shed’ done a few years ago. That painting was done
from a similar viewpoint as this one although I was standing slightly further
back and a little more to the right. Next I’ll finish off the door and add the
final details.
First I would like to apologize for the lack of posts lately, I have started quite a few paintings but am only finishing off some of them now. This one was done during one of our trips to Portugal but I just added the final details last week. Mainly these were a subtle darkening of the sea and cliff faces in shadow along with the two small figures on the clifftop. I don't usually include figures in my landscapes since I want the viewer only to focus on the scene itself. They were necessary in this one though I think, to help show the size and scale of these towering cliffs. The hazy back-lit view seems to make then even more so. Very brave locals often fish from the top casting their lines down and into the surf below - rather them than me! Size is 12 x 8 in (30 x 20 cm), oil on canvas board.
