Shady Copse – Day 11 (and a quick study)
Here’s today’s progress on Shady Copse, half an hour:
Shady Copse – Day 10, 8.6 hours
And here’s quick 1.5-hour study of a marsh. Working on foliage and whatnot. Also trying to make the sky glow.
Marsh Study – 1.5 hours
Shady Copse - Day 9
0.7 hours today. Trying to simplify a little bit, as well as introduce some variation in that line defining the edge of the field behind the trees.
Shady Copse - Day 9, 7.1 hours
Shady Copse - Day 8
It's getting to that point where I should probably think about stopping; otherwise I'm liable to overwork it like crazy. Another hour today.
I might want to consider cropping it. Not sure yet. I'd either have to take a little bit off the bottom or a lot off the top.
Shady Copse - Day 6
Another 45 minutes today. Added some more color into the foliage and also started defining this foreground tree a little bit more. Sadly, there were a lot of chores that really needed to get done, so I couldn't stand at my easel and paint all day.
Shady Copse - Day 5
Another half hour. Need to stop trying to do All The Things so I can focus on doing art! But it's hard to give things up, so I keep trying to do it all...
Shady Copse - Day 1 & 2
Yesterday I did an underpainting with sumi ink:
Then I added yellow ochre pastel on top of the underpainting, and brushed that with rubbing alcohol to produce a toned surface:
And today, I started going over that underpainting with other colors, trying to stay loose:
So far, I haven't yet added any actual green; I'm just playing with color temperature. Not sure whether I'll add green in the future or not. More next week, or perhaps this weekend if I feel particularly ambitious.
Resurrected Painting Number 2: Connemara Lake
Here's the first version:
And here's the revised version:
This is one of the paintings that is now hanging at my local wine shop, Vinifera.
Stream - Day 20
And of course, I decided to wipe all that turbulence out and have at it once more. An hour and a half today spent obsessing over this turbulence nonsense. Again. It's getting a little ridiculous; I have to just let it go, make peace with the fact that it isn't a perfect painting. I made it much more subtle. Not sure whether that's good or bad, but however it looks tomorrow is how it will remain...Might work on this some more later today. Not sure yet. Need to let the dust settle, quite literally.
Stream - Day 19
Hmm...what should I do today? I know! How about I make a radically different decision about the turbulence! What a fantastic plan.
I think I like it better than before, but I need to spend some time not looking at it before I can be sure. Have to finish before May 1. Otherwise I'll miss the deadline for the Hudson Valley Art Association show.
And then, after this is finished, I really have to pick up the pace. I can't spend all my time feeling paralyzed about paintings that are 90% where I want them to be but 10% off the mark. I'll learn more from doing ten paintings in a month than I will from agonizing about one.
Two more hours today.
Stream - Day 18
Still more work on the turbulence. Two hours today. Need to bring back some of the darks, which I lost as I worked (and reworked and reworked) the foreground.
Stream - Day 17
Just half an hour today -- I have to get ready to go to my figure drawing class, but I wanted to at least do something with this. Did some more work on the turbulence. It is so damn close! I'll be glad when it's over...I am getting the itch to work on something new.
Stream - Day 16
Still trying to get the turbulence to look right. There has to be something in the stream in the lower right of the painting...if it's just all verdant green shadow, it's boring. But I just can't get it the way I want it. Another two hours today.
Stream - Day 15
I still can't decide how I want to deal with the turbulence. So alas, this painting will remain unfinished this week. I did do a single-day painting, but I don't like it, so I don't want to post it.
1.2 hours today.
Stream - Day 14
Well, it appears that I am still not ready to let go of this piece. But it is really close to being done. I will finish this thing before Friday, and I will paint at least one single-day painting this week. 1.4 hours on this piece today.
Stream - Day 13
I am really struggling with the water in the foreground. I decided that the turbulence didn't work with the composition the way it was, and I think I like where it's going now, but I'm not sure. So, rather than continue to revise it over and over again, I'm going to sleep on it. I spent about 1.7 hours on this today, even though it doesn't look like it!
