Friday, April 9, 2010

morning at the lock house/ reflections in water

7x7 pastel on BFK
The canal has lock houses- places where the person who controlled the flow of water at the locks used to live. This is one. The Spring moisture makes  the house blend into the foliage and reflections. The close values in the scene made it  challenging, small nuances mattered. The reflections in the water are darker that what was reflected, but just how much darker is important. The color of the water and the color of the bottom (mud) underneath the water and  play a part in the color of the reflections.  Then there's the sky color and the effect of fog, haze and moisture. There are no formulas, an artist just needs to look very carefully.

10 comments:

Nika said...

Wonderful, love the reflection, esp. the middle part.

loriann signori said...

Thanks Nika. I am in the process of observing and analyzing reflections. More later.

Caroline Simmill said...

What colours are you using Loriann? that green just sings out 'it is spring time'!
lovely fresh looking painting.

Karen said...

And like you said yesterday, sometimes all methods get tossed! We have to know the methods and then put them way far back in our mind while we're working, and looking, otherwise they can get in the way of the immediacy!

My fave part of this is that wonderful reflection of the clouds.

loriann signori said...

Hi Caroline,
Thanks..mostly pinks and greens and neutrals made from them. It was pastel so i can't really describe more than that.


Hi Karen,
You are so right Karen.. almost anything goes to try to make the vision in our heads! Thanks about the reflection.

SamArtDog said...

Interesting how your reflections are darker than what they reflect. I thought it was the opposite. Guess I shouldn't assume anything and look harder. Memory paintings are all in the mind of the rememberer...

susan hong-sammons said...

gorgeous and inspiring. Love the moodiness and how well you personalize your art

loriann signori said...

Hi Sam, How is your mouth doing after your recent "trama"?
As for the reflections, it's just my observations. What I know is that "normally" dark objects reflect lighter and light objects reflect darker, although it's not written in stone and certain weathers can effect differently. Looking and making it believable..but not verbatim.
Take care!

Hi Susan!
Thanks! The idea of reflecting a mood is always there in the back of my mind, although I must admit that when I am on site it's mostly just observation - through a filter that's me. I am sure you know what I mean since you also enjoy plein air and paint it so well!

Jala Pfaff said...

Nice. I especially admire how you made the building recognizable as a man-made object, but managed to avoid it becoming the only place the eye goes.

loriann signori said...

Hi Jala, Thanks for noticing that. I really tried hard to take away "building power."