Down into the Canyon

9x9 pastel on Uart paper
It was almost sunset and freezing when I began this one. When I left the scene it was very unfinished. The Rio Grande. I worked with it sporadically since I returned. It meant digging into my memory and trying to pull out that golden light and deep shadow.
Hmmmmmm...back to spring in DC.

Distance: What I know and what I do and the contrast

11 x14 oil- very unfinished -very frustrating

There are so many things I KNOW about creating grand space.
Ah, the many ways to create distance. Let me name the ways:
1. color, 2. temperature, 3. value, 4. mass size, 5. stroke size, 6. texture, 7. atmospheric perspective 8. design elements. There are probably more...these are in the front of my mind.
The problem is WHAT I KNOW AND WHAT I DO are TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. I have glazed and glazed finally I felt I wanted more juice. Out came the palette knife. (Yes Brian and Jala ...it's back.) Oh, dear........ I guess I will let it dry a little and go on to another.
So now I am exposed as I struggle once again.:-)

Thoughts:
I have been absorbed in research about the Hudson River Painters and the Luminists. They KNOW distance. Sanford Gifford's (one of my faves) favorite device was to view from up high while thickening the air to the limits of its ability to hold moisture and light. This veil of haze heightened the sense of depth. ( the desert of New Mexico has little moisture...but I can stretch it)
Bierstadt's favorite way is size. Not only were the foreground shapes massive, but the entire canvas was an massive vertical. (vs. Gifford's elongated horizontals.)

As for my meager painting, at this point I am viewing from above and have used mass size to suggest space. I have premixed some colors and intuitively added others. I am very conscious of temperature of my colors and the size of stroke and mass. I realize I WANT delicious colors. Subtlety is not really me.

Oil Underpainting for Rio Grande

11x14 oil on gesso panel
In order to create depth I first needed to do it in the underpainting. I used the foreground hill to move up and carry the viewer to the mesa and over the the horizon and down again. Since I normally paint the masses then dig out the form it was hard for me to put so much detail in an underpainting. But what I have learned at this point is you can't add when you glaze or else you cover your glazes.
Now it has to dry completely before glazing. Here's where the patience comes in.:-)

New Mexico Lives on in the Studio

Ah.... memories. I am back in the studio equipped with a plan. While my New Mexico visions are sharp I will work up a studio piece from the Rio Grande. So here is a picture of me, bundled up in layers and fingerless gloves painting the canyon.
My main question: when composing this "grand space" scene, how do I deepen the space? Many painters have placed land, trees, people, etc. in the very foreground or in the case of Thomas Moran or Albert Bierstadt creating (with color) distinct levels of space and atmosphere. Not only will my choice effect the creation of space but also the place where a viewer is involved.
Hmmmmmmmm.

Rio Grande in the Late Afternoon

9 x 12 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
I was obsessed with this view so I returned to the Rio Grande. Two differences; this one was painted in the late afternoon and I looked in the opposite direction.
I tried really hard to make the grand space but this time I was less restricted with my color palette, although I was very tuned into the color temperature dance. My true joy is working with simultaneous contrast (Thank you Richard) and the vibration it makes. I am using my pastels differently-more like glazes...oh so lightly they touch the surface of the paper.
I LOVE this view! I wish I could paint it day after day.
I will blog more later when I am not on the side of the road:-)

The Grand Rio Grande

9 x12 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
This one is my favorite of all the New Mexico paintings so far. It's funny because when I saw it I was jarred by its beauty and scared to death just to try to create the impression of the grandness before me on this small piece of paper . The light was high (one o'clock in the afternoon), but I didn't want to wait for hours to get just the right light. So I decided to take on the challenge. Because of the light conditions I had to really search and heighten the value changes in order to make the grand space I wanted.
I used the same method : a value/temperature underpainting, then pastel to make the color of light and atmosphere. I think this one will go back to the studio and become a biggie.

Blogger friends, I have not ignored you and of course I will respond to your comments it's just that my internet service is sooooooo bad that it breaks down over and over again. I will try...
XO Loriann