Friday, October 29, 2010

before sunset


7x9 watercolor and pastel on Uart
Late afternoon, as the sun sets, the air has so much warmth in color.  That means choosing color to lean warm even when it seems cool. More pink when it seems violet, more violet when it seems blue...pick the warmer version. As the light slipped through this small slice in the forest (a power line cut) it provided deep shadow and small areas kissed with light.
The underpainting (above) was glazed with orange after the underlying colors were placed..

11 comments:

Double "D" said...

Good morning B,
Great colors and reasoning. I'm going to write these down for future reference. When you posted the finished piece did you crop into the finished piece? My eye says it needs some breathing room at the tree line.

You continue to amaze and baffle me when you create these under paintings. This one is incredible.
pb

loriann signori said...

Hi PB,
Nope, I didn't crop it at all...where exactly do you feel it needed breathing room? I had chosen to make it tight...my reasoning you ask? I was trying to make it feel BIG on this small sheet of paper.
Do tell.
cheers!
b

Double "D" said...

There I go again ... open mouth, insert foot!
I was thinking along the very top where the tree line meets the sky. But at second look I see your point.
Next time I'll think more before opening my big trap.
Trying to make my mouth look huge on my small body.
My mouth would have to be the size of the Grand Canyon.

I ask forgiveness from the Master.
pb

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Good explanation for your reasoning. The small light area on the ground is brilliant.

loriann signori said...

Oh please PB.....the master,(heehee) what could be farther from the truth!!!!!! I only ask so that I can understand what exactly reads wrong. I can only live in my head and it's hard to see outside. I see how you would feel it's awkward. Please...make certain to give your opinion. I may ask for clarification..I may even argue, but give your opinion. I value it. Blogs are often about pats on the back...even when you don't deserve it. I want more from you!

Thanks Kvan!

Donna T said...

Beautiful evening light, Loriann! I notice that the sky is slightly darker or lower in value in the underpainting than in the painting. Would having a darker sky reinforce the look of last light on the trees? Just wondering. Also wondering if it's ever OK to push the value of a sky one way or another? We push the values and colors of the objects in our compositions to get the effect we want but is pushing the sky a no no? Sorry, you caught me on a thinking kind of day!

loriann signori said...

Hi Donna, you are allowed to push anything. The sky was blue and a very light blue where it met the trees when I painted this. The tree line was high so it was not really affected by the sun, which was above. There really wasn't orange in it yet. I added the orange to show warmth. So push I did..heehee.

Nika said...

ohh, so beautiful. I can sense that last moment of sunlight coming through the cut in the trees, and that light so voluminous you can almost hold it in your hand. The scale is great too.
BTW, I caught on on your developments of last week and was so happy you had your big breakthrough regarding oils and glazing. I honestly never thought that that slow and deliberate process was a good match for your temperament and glad you've found the solution. I feel you're right on about it, more direct mixing of colors is a way to go. That way there's no time for your excitement to escape, you'll bring it strait to the canvas where it belongs:) Here you are thinking that you're just painting but you're discovering things about yourself, isn't that great!

loriann signori said...

Hi Nika! Thanks for the vote of confidence and the thumbs up for my duh moment and learning from it. Today when I was painting in the studio I kept chanting to myself.."it's only pigment, it just happens to be wet. It's just like pastels....just pigment" I am glad only the cats were around to hear me...maybe I need a song.

Jala Pfaff said...

This painting has a lot of power and movement. It feels monumental, archetypal, to me. Almost like a glacier, if that makes sense.

loriann signori said...

Wow that's quite a statement Jala. I knew I made it big...but I didn't know THAT big. Cool.