Note:
my email box is getting jammed with the Question and Answer thing. Please put all the questions you'd like answered on the COMMENTS section of the blog only. i'll respond to them on the blog only.
that way i can respond to one persons question so many people can see the answer, versus one on one which would be way too time consuming and i'd get burned out on and quit
thanks for understanding....
now my latest painting, Pivers Island Anchorage
This is what i walked out of the field with. it was funny. i was so engrossed in painting that when i was checking some shapes i noticed that the boat wasnt lining up with the dock like in my original drawing when i first started. it was driving me crazy how i could have been so off in my drawing and was considering redrawing the dock higher than the boat like i was seeing it. Then it hit me.... stupid! the tide had gone down so much that the boat WAS higher when i first drew it! so i left it alone.
when i was tweaking in the studio i didnt like the water and thought i'd lighten it up and saturate the blue some. i got it just a little to grey out there for my liking. being such a big and important shape i decided to try it out on a plastic sleeve first. after i decided that was much better i mixed a big pile of that color and took the sleeve off and painted it in. worked great. that way you get to look at the change and decide if you like it or not before committing in paint on your original.
here's my reference photo in case i needed it, which i did. thought i could finish it outside, and almost did, but i'm doing more to them in the studio now than i used to. so far to approval from everybody who's seen my work prior to now. so thats a good thing!
notice the biggest thing i did to correct the composition. do you know what it was. sure you do! i removed the pole in front of the boat. i thought i liked it out there but when i saw the painting after "the heat of battle" out there, i decided it would look better with out it. it was cutting the boat in half. i also edited out the boat on the dock out there deciding it would be too distracting. took out the building in the background deciding it was not an attractive shape, would be confusing as to what it was, and the gave me a way to continue the far distant strip of trees into the middle of the painting instead of having trees all the way across. i made up the beach in place of the sea wall that was really there. pulled that from my imagination, something i couldnt do several years ago. cant believe i used to just paint em and sell em without really trying to catch stuff like that. thought they were "more authentic plein air pieces" that way. thats my story and i'm sticking to it LOL
i can be deadheaded sometimes!
answers to some of the questions you've been asking in my next post, promise!
9 comments:
Mike, I'm glad you mentioned the "editorializing" aspect of painting. I always kinda felt I wasn't doing the right thing if I messed with the composition, added and deleted stuff, etc...thought I was cheating somehow. I'm taking a new line of thought about the whole deal now, thinking that it's OK to make adjustments for the sake of the (beauty, hopefully)of a piece unless someone wants an exact replica of a scene. Having the ability to make these adjustments, I have seen, is an integral part of turning out an attractive item. Thanks for letting us in your head LOL.
Steve
What a great idea to use the plastic sleeve. Test drive it first! This is another great one! Judy
Mike
I am very impressed by the "studio" work you are doing. You have really elevated your game! I like your editing also. I am sorry I did not get an original "Rooney" when I could afford one! Dean
I laughed out loud at your realization of the tide changing your original view! I love to read how you edited to make the painting work. I need to work on that more. When painting on location I am overwhelmed and feel like I have to get it all in.... I don't.
Mike,
This painting just sings.......Great work. I really like your new idea of completing the work in the studio and your work just continues to improve. Thanks for sharing your ideas during the process, it is so helpful.
Thanks, Mike. I like the piece and how you improved the view. And your blow-by-blow comments are really appreciated.
-Christine
The tip on the lighting worked. Thanks for taking your time to tell me. Judy
steve- if you call yourself a plein air painter there's no shame in making it better in the studio. ive begun to think of the two hour painting as being the important color notes that "need" refining in out of the trenches of outdoor painting warfare. its quiet, you can think instead of swatting at bugs, and trying to keep your umbrella from flying away!
dean- who would have that taking a pole out of the way of the subject would make a better painting. sometimes i feel as dumb as a rock!
robin- its so easy to get overwhelmed out there. its a great big world out there and such a small panel, isnt it?
suzanne- thanks for the compliment. i'm glad youre getting something out of the posts. i love doing em.
christine- the view had potential.just needed a little editing help
judith- youre welcome!
Post a Comment