Monday, September 21, 2009

plein air to studio, series of the forgotten lands



studio underpaintingplein air underpainting

Plein air paintings serve many purposes. Many are beautiful pieces that hold on their own as "finished." Others are studies for bigger works. And still others can be both. Because of this I wanted to share one very important tip. Photograph your work in many stages. For me the most important stage is the underpainting.  When you have these photos it makes it easy to go "back into your head" and begin to recreate the feeling you had out there in the field. I often take notes to remember how it felt and sounded when I was on site. When using my plein air pieces I have no real need for photos of the scene. Cool, eh?
This is a studio piece that is almost finished.  It is at the "sit and wait" stage. Think, don't act. hmmmmm that is often the hardest part.

4 comments:

Double "D" said...

Loriann,

Your underpaintings ... I'm speachless.
You are something else. Wow, I think the underpaintings should be framed.

DD

loriann signori said...

You are funny Doug.. you're pulling my leg right? Regardless it is always a delight to hear from you!

Anita Stoll said...

What a cool idea. I will try photographing some of my paintings in different stages even though I'm a studio painter. I do take mental notes of my feelings and along with the photo as mostly reference I can paint more spontaneously. I love your looseness and your beautiful shapes.

Jala Pfaff said...

I probably ought to photograph my work in stages...but I'm too afraid that when I see a previous stage, I will like it more. Ha!