Monday, August 22, 2011

twilight explorations

oil on wood 5x3

 Each twilight I walk and memorize the summer glow. From the orangey pink glow immediately after sunset to the glowing green and blue as the light has disappeared, the glow in the sky is amazing. Finding the way to make that glow perplexes me. I try with pastel and I try with oil. I try different underpaintings and different over paintings. Simultaneous contrast  works here too. If you want light, place it next to dark. But what kind of light? And what about when the humidity is so thick it's soupy? And what about season and the feel of summer heat?

pastel  6x3

oil on wood 5x3

oil on wood 6x3
Funny thing about the sky is, it's everywhere and it's the same sky. I could be painting anywhere, it's which land is under the sky that identifies its location. I think that is pretty cool.  To strengthen that concept I simplified my trees even more, making it less of a place and more of an idea.

During my recent readings I came upon these two quotes:


"The sky is the source of light in Nature and it governs everything." (John Constable)

"Heavens, how charming it is! There is now in the sky only the soft vaporous color of pale citron - the last reflection of the sun which plunges into the dark blue of the night, going from green tones to a pale turquoise of an unheard-of fineness and a fluid delicacy quite indescribable... (Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot)



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loriann, you are on to something here…these are just wonderful. It will probably perplex you to the end of time…but you will paint some wonderful paintings on the journey. The sky is everywhere as you said…but I don’t think it’s only the land underneath it which defines it…. weather conditions, and mostly what’s going in the atmosphere above the ground. I know from having travelled extensively, that just like the terrain, the skies differ so very much. I was amazed in Australia just how BIG the sky was, and in the Florida Keys just how ridiculously bruised and sepia/violet the sky looked shortly before a hurricane swept through. What are the sizes are these paintings? Inches or feet (lol)…… If they are in feet I am imagining you on a step stool to paint the top of the sky (lol)…. Love the texture made by leaving the gesso brush marks prominent. so glad you posted these and your thoughts today....

Leah said...

These are lovely. I'm drawn to the night time one though. The blue is very magnetizing.
I also had the same thought as Maggie. The sky is everywhere but not the same. I haven't traveled extensively but I recognize that Nova Scotia skies are very different from DC/MD skies and not only because of the landscape beneath.

Cmichaudart said...

Very thought provoking and something that captivates me as well. Humidity plays a role, as does dust and pollution...same sky a million appearances. Lovely renditions.

Carol Flatt said...

Stunning work...every one!

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

Like diary entries recording the sky. I watched a documentary once where biologists and historians could tell the fluctautions of the weather between years and the effects of a large volcanic erruption from the variations in the rings of a tree. I wonder if you date these pieces as they could be used as a record in years to come. Like Van Gogh's starry night with the mistral wind.

Anonymous said...

Hi Loriann,
These paintings are absolutely beautiful and
are very much the definition of the, "poetic
landscape " as described by Elizabeth Mowry.

NJ ART 73

loriann signori said...

Hi Maggie and thank you! You are right the atmosphere does define the sky. I guess it's just me, I would have to look a long time at a painting to identify the location of the landscape by sky alone. Skies are very different. The intensity of dry New Mexico sky differs so much from the humidity soaked summer sky of DC. I will study more. Paint on.
PS The size is in inches.... it would be wonderful if I could stay so simplified with in a large format.

Hi Leah,
I do agree with you and Maggie, to a point.I know you would love our MD/DC skies if you were back here.
Thanks about the night time painting. I am trying to make the blue work for me....more later.

loriann signori said...

Hi Cindy,
Pollution, dust and humidity are big players it is true. Smoke too. it's fascinating how many outfits the sky wears. Thanks about the studies.

Hi Carol,welcome back. Thank you about my work.

hi Lisa,
Interesting idea...diary entries. My daily sky studies could be just that. The seasons make such huge differences. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.

loriann signori said...

Hi NJ,
Thanks you! I am humbled to be compared to the poetic landscape of Elizabeth Mowry. Her work is some of my favorite.