grays and luminosity

oil,11x14

Pure color has more power next to gorgeous grays. Just Look at Turner's work and you will see. He didn't use dark foils to make luminosity. Sanford Gifford didn't use darks either. Instead there is one pure point and the rest is grayed.

at the NGA, Siout, Egypt, Sanford Gifford

at the Met, A Gorge in the Mountains, Sanford Gifford

Here are two I have visited recently.  Aren't they exquisite?

secret spots, Sanford Gifford, the muse

Artists always have special painting spots, ones we go back to time and time again  like homing pigeons. We set up our stuff in the exact same place time and time again. We intimately know this place, like a best friend or lover. It's a VERY personal connection.
During the break between workshops my muse, the field, was mowed. I had talked the mowers out of doing their job once and  the tractor broke once: the paintings gods had been with me. Then they mowed it. Sadness. I talked with Richard about it and he, in his very generous nature, shared his new favorite spot. A new love that I will add to my ever growing list of faves around the world. It's quiet and beautiful,  recipe for joy.
Still I struggled with this painting for a long time. Then I thought of Sanford Gifford. I remembered his gorgeous painting in the NGA.  To get the glassy feeling of water you need contrast. His sky was stimpled and his water was glazed and glassy. Taking that in mind I used my pastels differently.

light and sanford gifford

8x8 pastel and watercolor on Uart

You may not already know this, but Sanford Gifford is one of my heroes. He might as well have been named Light Gifford for all the beauty he achieved when he painted light. One important fact I know I have mentioned before was the way he limited his value scale- 1-5, rarely visiting a 7.
8, 9,or 10 were off limits.  That's it. Simultaneous contrast...a 4 looks dark next to a 1.

I was thinking about him when painting. Analogous colors side by side, they change in value and chroma as they get closer...but not so much repetition since that it would be boring.
Light filled.
While I may never be Mr. Gifford, I certainly can learn from him.

Tomorrow starts the big sale. I have been making the blog post for days. 31 paintings will be on sale. First time ever on line for me. Five PM eastern standard time....be there or be square;-)


PS Thank you Domi for taking the time to help me figure out the paypal tabs!

George Inness and Sanford Gifford

george inness -view of the tiber
sanford gifford- siout egypt

After working on a concept for a bigger painting I was in need of some inspirational input. What better reason to venture downtown to the Corcoran Museum and the National Gallery of Art? I had specific painters in mind- George Inness and Sanford Gifford.
I first visited Gifford's Siout, Egypt (above) and his The Ruins of the Parthenon: these two paintings blew me away. How did Gifford create light? Have you ever noticed the darkest dark he uses is a value 5 (which is technically a mid value!) and that is only for accents? Most of the painting is between 5 and 10!!!! The Luminists, of which he was one, were part of the Hudson River School. The factor that united the Luminists was their use of aerial perspective, hazy, light filled canvases. Brushstrokes were limited.
Next to his work is a huge George Inness called Summer in the Woods which has a more full value spectrum, very dark foreground and neutral light pinkish distance. Both paintings are filled with light, but in different ways. Inness does it with dramatic contrast and value, Gifford does it with temperature and value. Gifford's whole painting is filled with a heaven-like, soft, suffuse light and Inness creates a dreamy light, yet still part of reality.
Each man paints with a firm concept.
It seems to me that Gifford rarely deviated from his original plan,meticulously and incrementally aiming for the target. While Inness worked with a firm vision, but yet more trial and error as to how he attained his vision. I don't believe he tip-toed.
Sanford Gifford is the inspiration for my newest big work. I am trying to stay between 5 and 10 on the value scale. Tiptoe; something that is a challenge for me!

February 26, 2008 Trying to Get the Glow

6x7 pastel and watercolor on board
I wasn't satisfied with yesterday's work so the first thing I did was another study of the gorge. I examined many Sanford Giffords and was amazed just how golden he would push in the distance. At this point the glow is in the distance. My question now is; how much can I pull that into the foreground?
Check out the link to see 3 works by Gifford.

February 25, 2008 Glow to the River

32x40, underpainting for The Potomac is Gorgeous, as of 2/25
approx, 6x7 pastel and watercolor on board
I am trying to make the river glow. What combinations of colors will do it? I thought I knew (ha!), but I am not completely satisfied with the under painting. So I decide to use today's vitamin to research more. Now I think more warm light is needed on the rocks and it doesn't seem to distract from the aerial perspective. I keep thinking of the wonderful paintings of Sanford Gifford. What do you think?

November 30, 2007 first layer of pastel

Today Sanford Gifford and Thomas Moran joined me in the studio. Can you tell? I am really trying to push the foreground mass forward and have a kind of magic light in the background.
This painting is beginning to go through that awkward adolescence as it and I figure which way to go. I am now debating with placing a rock and shrubs in the very front (note the lines.) I have also decided to place a piece of mankind in the painting.. a road winding through the mountain. The studio can be a lot of fun (and work and torment) for these reasons. Invention...it's just me and the painting and what ever inspiration I cook up.