Small Landscape

Sunsplash, Acrylic on watercolor paper, 5"x7"

Another lesson learned

Putting on a warm yellow wash over the entire picture from the previous post was enough to tone down the contrast and create a feeling of an evening glow. Who hasn't seen an evening like this?!

 

Afterglow, acrylic on canvas, 8"x10"

Live and Learn!

Took a half day workshop yesterday with Bob Burridge at the 2013 Art of the Carolinas trade show in Raleigh. The topic was "Loose and juicy landscapes" which is much of what Bob's paints, though he does delve into other subjects. The best part for me was learning about subtractive painting. For example, going from this.........

.........to this. Just by negative painting - that is, taking away everything that doesn't belong!

Squiggles As Inspiration

 

 

Pen and ink on notepaper

Leafless, not lifeless

Quick sketch with pencil on notepaper, 3"x2"

Just doodles



Sketches with ballpoint pen on office paper. Every bit of practice helps!

Sepia Forest

Golden Rainforest, Adjusted digital photograph of Costa Rican rainforest

Starry Night

Starry Night, Acrylic on canvas, 24"x36"

Illusions

In viewing a landscape, real or represented by a painting or photograph, one "reads" the elements by examining landmarks and categorical references (sky, land, water, etc) to form sense of what is being conveyed. When a reference parameter is changed or typical landscape features minimized, it can appear as if the landscape could represent any number of possible scenes.


Adrift has a razor sharp and straight horizon line suggesting that one might be looking at a seascape. Yet the foreground has a curious mix of yellows, greens and darks that could be endless fields or greenish-blue ocean waves! No other reference exists in the picture to guide one's interpretation thus allowing imagination to take over. The scene can be whatever the viewer wants it to be.


Adrift, Acrylic on canvas board, 16"x20, NFS

Hot Earth, Cool Sky

Desert Dusk continues the series begun with Endless Prairie and Ocean Sunrise. The technique is now a bit more refined. Essentially a first thin layer of random warm and cool colors provides the background. Layers of color are applied with a knife to establish the horizon line and build up texture and depth of color. Once the big areas are established and approximately the right hue, thin glazes are applied to achieve the shimmering multi-hued effect. Unfortunately the photograph mutes the color and has a bit of reflection on the bottom right.

Desert Dusk, Acrylic on stretched canvas, 16"x20", $150 Buy Now

Abstract or Impressionistic?

This piece started with no notion of the end result. Recently I have been studying some of the works of Mark Rothko whose mastery of color was exemplary. Though many of Rothko's works appear to be solid blocks of color, this is hardly the case. On closer study, it is possible to detect the complex mixes of hues and tones layered together to create stunning effects.


Rainforest started with thin layers of yellow, orange and sienna, laid on quickly with a 2 inch brush. All subsequent work was done with a knife even before the background colors had completely dried. This allowed me to push and pull the paint so that it went on in broken strokes as it dragged over the tacky background. The forest-like image began to appear rather quickly and from there on I mixed some thickening gel with the final layers to give more texture to the paint.


As always I wondered if I had stopped too soon. But I think I will leave this one alone.


Rainforest, Acrylic on stretched canvas, 16"x20", $100

Tonalism or Impressionism? Or Both?

The past few weeks I have mainly been posting abstracts though, as the regular readers know, I am most interested in where I began my painting journey - landscapes. So even while making a number of abstracts, I have kept doing landscape work which I expect to post during the next few weeks.


Winding River tries to synthesize the use of varying tones to create depth and form in the picture with impressionist brushwork that is high-energy and very visible. Blending is kept to a minimum and despite layers of color being applied the background colors, including bits of the white canvas, can still show through.


Winding River, Acrylic on canvas board, 11"x14", $75

Rough-Hewn Shapes

Isolating just one aspect of a landscape can create a powerful composition. So far I have only ever attempted this with organic shapes such as flowers in closeup. The finished picture often ends up looking like an abstract. But the image can still remain impressionistic or representational when a particular element is isolated but still recognizable.

Field Boulders is a charcoal sketch that attempts to capture the rough-hewn shapes arranged in a triangular composition with barely the suggestion of a grassy foreground. The highlights and shadows provide much to explore in the picture.

Field Boulders, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Timelessness or Obsolescence?

Aspects of rural scenes in America have a timeless quality about them. Scenes such as the one depicted in Barbed-Wire Fence are there for anyone who cares to stop and look. Even as urban sprawl continues to displace the lifestyle of rural America, there are places that steadfastly remain as they might have been a hundred years ago.

Barbed-Wire Fence was inspired by a fenced in meadow that is on my drive to work. When the traffic is slow enough for me to look, I often notice things that have been right before my eyes and I have never noticed them.

Barbed-Wire Fence, Charcoal pencil on Bristol Board, 11"x14", Not for sale

Semi-Abstract Sunset

Sunsets were one of my favorite subjects when my main artistic pursuit was photography. When I took up painting five years ago, the first painting was that of a sunset. So I keep returning to sunsets from time to time and each time provides a new learning of some sort.

I started Sunset Encore with a very thin coat of acrylic colors applied on the canvas with a very wet sponge. The effect was almost of watercolor on paper and I could have stopped right there. The rest of the painting was then built up in layers of thin paint. Other than the coastline, there is no attempt to create any objective representation in this painting. The coastline anchors the sky and sea so that not much else is required to give a sense of depth.

Sunset Encore, Acrylic on canvas, 36"x24", Not for sale

Kerala Rice Paddy

Kerala is one of the world's most beautiful places and is located in the southwestern-most part of India. A couple of years ago, I had my first opportunity to spend a few days in Kerala, soaking in the beauty of the lush, tea-plantation covered mountains to the intracoastal waterways and the Indian ocean. At every turn on the narrow roads that wind through Kerala are 'paintable' sights, one of which is the rice paddies that dot the entire state.

Kerala Rice Paddy was done from memory aided by photographs. The predominant yellow-orange hue of the entire picture is intended to represent the humid tropical atmosphere that asserts itself in the late afternoon as the sun is dropping to the horizon. Unlike temperate climate landscapes, there are few cool hues in the picture. Just looking at this picture evokes memories of sweaty afternoons and long, cool drinks!

Kerala Rice Paddy, Acrylic on canvas board, 11"x14", $75 (unframed)

Tribute to Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), An American Classic

Andrew Wyeth, a beacon of the American art scene, passed away last week. Without a doubt, Wyeth was (and always will be) an American treasure. His poignant images of the American landscape (e.g. Christina's World) are readily recognizable by even those with no particular interest in fine art.

Wyeth's paintings, most in watercolor or tempera, are deceptive in their simplicity. Cleverly composed and meticulously executed, the images appear shorn of all color yet remain powerful in their depiction of images of daily life. In looking at Wyeth's paintings, I find it easy to get drawn in and then experience a lingering compulsion to wonder about the story these pictures tell. Surely, the stories that Wyeth's pictures tell are worth more than a thousand words.

Wyeth was 91 when he died in his sleep, as private in his death as he was in life. Today's post is my modest attempt to remember this giant of the art world.

Untitled, Watercolor on 140lb paper, 9"x12", Not for sale

Fog and mist

What you get with watercolors is often somewhat of a surprise. The medium performs in infinite ways depending on a variety of factors.In Fog and Mist I was aiming to create the impression of recession just by varying the proportion of water and paint without actually changing the color.

With the paper barely moistened, I started with the background trees and gradually worked up to stronger color for the foreground trees. Once the paper was dry, the bare tree trunks were put in to suggest a fall or spring feel. A bit of color added to the foreground and the piece was done! The picture is not quite what I imagined but it is close enough.

Fog and Mist, Watercolor on 140lb paper, 4"x6", $10 (unframed)

Old Fence

WARNING: Painting in watercolor can be addicting!

I have recently come back to watercolor after a break of almost a year. The speed with which paintings can be completed in watercolor and the fresh color that results are highly rewarding. Of course, mistakes are difficult (if not impossible) to correct. So not only must the artist be bold and confident but strive to be right with each stroke of color.

As I came close to finishing Old Fence, it seemed to me that the flowers were not bright enough so I used a bit of red and yellow gouache to give them more form. Otherwise the hardest part was sketching the fence and negative painting around it. I like the cheery end result. Tell me what you think.

Old Fence, Watercolor and gouache on 140lb paper, 9"x12', $30 (unframed)

Sea Drama

Sea Drama was inspired by a collection of photos from a vacation in Nova Scotia some years ago. The rugged but beautiful topography of Nova Scotia has endless scenes like this. Brawny headlands frame the water as the daily drama goes on from sunrise to sundown.

One evening my wife and I watched a scene very much like this from a restaurant window except that we could see Minke whales playing in the distant water. My indication of gulls near the horizon is a weak attempt to reflect the possibility that whales might be down below.

Sea Drama, Acrylic on canvas board, 5"x7", $25 (Unframed)