CHAINS, PART 2

The darker wash of Burnt Umber and Sepia went onto the bottom first. I did this as a way of indicating my darkest darks first so as to better be able to judge other relevant tones against this. I'll still go darker in this area but was happy with the tone to start with. I had to carefully paint around the lower hooks and portions of chains as I didn't want to use any masking fluid. The background boards had a few washes of Burnt Umber applied and came out surprisingly reddish - more like Burnt Sienna than Umber! I checked the tube and yes- it did read Burnt Umber. I suspect like some of the other colors in the Windsor and Newton range, these have been modified slightly. This 'new' color was definitely not the same as the tube I had just finished. Somewhat frustrating when you are used to a certain color being what it is then someone goes and changes it. Still I'll simply lay some weak washes of blue over this which should bring it back to what I wanted in the first place. I lightly indicated the greyish tones on the main post and set it aside to dry.

CHAINS, PART 1

Here is the start of the new painting. I took some time at the site to carefully draw the chains and the shadows just as I saw them making a few mental notes as I went along. The background boards I didn't worry so much about as the shape of the paper was going to dictate how I drew them. At this point I was going to refer less to what I saw at the scene and more to what I wanted for the painting. I moved the upper hook a little further to the left away from the main post as I felt it was a little too close in the study (another great reason for doing smaller studies before working on larger paintings). After deciding where the lower edge of the boards in the background were to be, they were drawn in and I carefully placed the line of shadows above trying to get the balance right. In the studio, I stretched the paper then washed over a thin layer of Raw Sienna and let it dry overnight. Next getting serious - laying in the first of the background washes.

CHAINS STUDY

This small study was done in my sketchbook in response to an image I saw at the farm that I mentioned a little while ago on my blog. In most of my paintings, I don't set things up preferring to paint things mostly as I see them. It is often harder this way but actually makes me look a little harder at what is around me trying to see interesting patterns and shapes etc. Such was the case here with these old chains draped over a fork of one of the main posts supporting the larger shed. Of course it was the sunlight that brought the scene to life along with the shadow lines against the inner wall behind the post. A strange hook hung from the rafters and this was the only thing that I moved slightly for a better composition. I enjoyed the slightly abstract feel to the scene and was the underlying impetus for the work. Next, on to the full-size painting and I have photographed this one in stages to show how I went about creating the finished painting. They will be posted next.

MISTY COVE

I visited Maine a few years ago and it is about time I went again. The landscape there absolutely thrilled me and I did quite a few paintings while I was there and also later after returning to my studio. I feel though that I didn't really see enough of the place to fully understand it so hopefully the return trip will be for a longer period. Weather was changeable (typical I'm told) which was just what I wanted so as to experience many different moods of the place. Misty Cove above is a typical morning when the fog is just starting to clear. I intended to have the sky a little more greyer but I warmed it up a bit with the band of yellow seen just above the horizon. This gave the sky a little more life than what I wanted as I had intended to add a Bald Eagle in the sky (one of only 3 raptors seen on the trip). Doing so though I felt would distract from the overall feel of the work so I'll use that idea for my next misty Maine painting. The foreground took longer than expected what with all the seaweed, rocks and pebbles on the beach. Still, it was very enjoyable painting experience and brought back many fond memories. Thanks to Pam for help with this one. Misty Cove is an oil, 9"X12".

BARN WINDOW

After living with Barn Window for some time, I decided that perhaps it needed just a little more work. When I started work on the studies for this painting last year, it was around 11:00am and the diffuse light coming through the dusty window panes initally attracted me to the scene. Although it was sunny outside, a slight overhang on the exterior of the barn wall shaded the window from direct sun (except early in the morning). The overhang could be just seen along the top but was somewhat indistinct due to the years of dust built up on the window. I had intended to include this into my painting from the start but then later thought that the painting looked fine as it was. Well as you can see, I did add the overhang using just a little pigment and kept things soft as I remember it being. I do think it adds a little more dimension to the work and now I'm finally finished with it (I hope). The image here has been intentionally lightened a bit as Blogspot always seems to darken the images somewhat when I upload them so I hope now it is a little closer to the original.

STATUE STUDY

First I would like to say sorry for not posting for awhile. Two reasons, one I have been away and two, have had family staying. As anyone who is an artist knows, both can be huge distractions. Anyway, while I have been doing some painting, I have not finished much that I have wanted to share but here at least is a small study that I recently completed. The painting is of a part of a large statue I saw in Washinton DC. I'm afraid that I forget the name of the sculpture and also the name of the creator (but I'll look next time I'm downtown). For me, the interest in making a painting of this scene was in the cropped design that I saw when looking at the sculpture. The mass is mostly to the right and to the bottom giving a right to left momentum. One can certainly feel the drama of the horses and cannon struggling through the mud of the battlefield. There were many interesting shapes created against the grey sky and I also liked the subtle play of light (which is not too obvious in this photo as it's not that great). I had always planned on painting a larger version of this subject so hopefully when I finish some of the others that I have in the studio at the moment, I'll be able to get on to that one. The oil study is 5 1/2" X 7 1/2".

EARLY WINTER SUNDOWN

Some time ago I mentioned that I wanted to start a series of winter evening sunset paintings and this is the first. It didn't honestly come out exactly as I wanted but I did get down enough information in this smaller work to think about doing a larger version. The landscape is typical of what I see around here and the scene here is one from a new area that I found quite by accident while exploring near my home. Most of the landscape around here is heavily built up so I was quite astonished when finding this new parcel of land. I have already done a few plein air paintings from the area and when the weather warms up, I'm sure I'll do more. Early Winter Sundown is in oil, size 9" X 12".