studies in reflections

Here are two pastels with watercolor underpainting. Both are studies for larger pieces in oil from which I am now doing the grisailles.. Sometimes I wonder if loving the process with the exploratory work hurts the next step. Did I already say it in this piece? Maybe the thing is that I need to start with them and then put them so far away.

photos and their use and misuse in creating art

10x10 pastel on somerset

I do not like to use photos to create my art. To me, they have no soul and I don't like their lies. Today I made an exception.... Let me explain. I am taking an online course, "painting water" with Deborah Paris. It began Friday. The first assignment was to do value drawings of water and reflections in the landscape. Normally I would go straight outside no matter what the temperature. Painting or drawing from a photo does nothing for me. But, as you know, that is not an option right now. (I guess this is another learning curve of sorts.) I am home bound and am fortunate to be doing what I am doing. So I chose a photo from my enormous library.

To paint from a photo or not to paint from a photo is a forever question with artists. I know many very talented artists who create gorgeous work using many photos as reference. In this way they are not painting the photo, instead they use the photo as inspiration.  Some copy directly...some even project the photo onto their canvas.
Why am I so anti- photo?

First, their values are not accurate. That little eye in the camera can not record what we can see. You need to make changes to have your painting / drawing read. I have attended painting competitions where it has been obvious a photo was used to create the painting. Perspective errors that weren't changed. Understanding of the subject as a 3d thing was not present. Values were too many and inaccurate..

You can not feel and taste light with photos.

A talented artist can make it happen. He/she uses the photo as inspiration, then discards it quickly into the painting.  Beautiful paintings are made. The main thing is you can't be a slave to it. Nor can you be a slave to your plein air studies as reference. I have seen other artists keep and correct up to the photo till the painting is "finished" never once think about what the painting wanted him/her to do.

Back to this drawing, I have struggled with it for 2 days. I want it to feel alive...maybe it is my prejudice. I will let you know as I go since to study reflections for this month I am stuck with photos.

Bottom line: Painting/drawing is about decision making and feeling. Once you understand what is before you (after years of practice) you decide how to make your work sing.
Paint and draw from life as much as you possibly can. There is no substitute.

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.

orange, orange, tangerine

 

Just watercolor. I finally did it. Knowing that in its raw state it would serve as a great color study I resisted placing even one stroke of pastel. Let's see how long that lasts:-)

mark making/ influenced by john marin

16x20 watercolor and pastel on Uart paper

I had the most fun with the watercolor underpainting, I even wonder if I should have stopped then, before my fingers were freezing and stumbling over the paper. (It takes awhile before getting your "frozen painting legs."I feel like a total whimp now.) I feel the underpainting has a freshness the other doesn't. After I finished the watercolor I noticed that it felt so John  Marin-esque. Why I ask???? The one thing I remember about John Marin is that he believed he had to know a place intimately before he could paint it. I am in  complete and total agreement with him.

Today  was thinking about marks- why and how we choose. The bigger paper allowed the marks to get bigger and more expressive. I also wonder if our marks reflect emotional state as well as reaction to the subject. Any thoughts on that one painters and non- painters?

straddling abstract

How much to leave in and how much to take out... that is the question. Today I started with a very abstract underpainting and than snuck up on it, little by little till you can read what it is yet straddles abstract.

searching for the illusion of mystery

about 8 x 15
Excitement rules when there is fog predicted!
This morning a light fog lay on top of low lying areas and water....oh la la! Fog and its cousins, mist and haze, are wonderful things: they evoke mystery. The  underpainting was far more successful on this account: subtle tonal shifts with delicate edges. I think I became too "sharp" in the pastel version. As the haze lifted I painted portions of the changes. Bad move. While it is not a "bad" painting I think the underpainting is better. Less is more once again wins.
I think I will rework it when i am back in the studio.

pink veil

detail w/pastelwatercolor underpaintingnew2" brush next to old 1" brush

This one is in progress. It's idea sprouted from all the recent lake studies. It's big, about 18x27. Layering the watercolor was fun with my new 2" brush. Materials don't make the painter..but boy, oh boy it's heaven with a 2 inch thick juicy brush full of pigment.

a world of plum and sienna

Oh what a difference a day makes! After a night of rain the golden and pink leaves have disappeared. In the rain this morning the world appeared to be a mix of plum and sienna. I found a little overhang so that I could paint and not be soaked:-) In this weather the values are so close with just small shifts in temperature. I do love these rainy day landscapes and autumn is pure magic.

soft pink veil

This one was painted on location. It really amazes me how pink/violet the whole landscape appears when it is so overcast. It's as if the landscape was wearing a veil. Happy Halloween!

Silence beside the Pond / Stroke and mood

Stroke and energy, tools that come hand in hand. In Saturdays' post the stroke was energetic in parts, quiet in others. Today my stroke is as quiet as I could make it. Still, quiet.You the artist determines how the viewer sees.
Now out to the field for some more sunset work.... I'll post it tomorrow. Big Daddy at sunset.

the space between

9x12 pastel on watercolor (i think)
Return to the reservoir. I love the way the land masses meet. Today is my long teaching day so earlier morning painting is important.

Evocative

12x 10.5 pastel on arches
Value is a strong tool for mood. I didn't realize this before. Being a colorist has made me always rely on beautiful hues and changes in chroma to create mood. I guess I have been missing a big piece. I always realized the importance of value to create space..... but it's even more important for mood. What do you think? 
I was trying to envision haunting. I think I need to go back to the reservoir. I keep feeling that the dark is not dark enough.....hmmm. Maybe do it again. Now I did it again darker...

Solo Swim

9x12 pastel on watercolor, Uart paper
Plein air work does one very important thing, helps me understand HOW to make the light I see. It's not always what you think at first.
This is a quick study done early morning.

Warm, Hazy Pentimento

10x10 pastel on watercolor and paper towel bits
I painted this one on a failed painting from yesterday. After I scrubbed the painting off all that remained was a dark pentimento and small paper towel bits on the surface. It's often nice to work on an old painting, although I wouldn't recommend paper towel bits.
I was happy with this one because the color harmony and mood worked. Finally.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

simplicity with water

about 4x7 pastel and watercolor on uart paper
Today I went out to the field by the lake with a definite idea; which I promptly became lost in and couldn't find my way out. I wiped it down and drove down the road to the soothing water.
SIMPLE shapes with mood was the goal on this painting. Do not over work, were my instructions. I was happy with it. I only used a handful of colors and less than 50 strokes, including the watercolor. I am really trying to NOT FUSS and tickle.

through the trees

9x9 pastel on Uart paper

Today's painting was done earlier in the morning than yesterday's painting. The sun was still low on the horizon and provided a backlighting. Cooler and pinker than yesterday's work. In order to create the intensity of light I saw the trees needed to be as neutral as possible. That is, except of course, in the area where I wanted to hold the viewer's interest.

first glimpse of opulence

9x12 pastel on Uart paper
The 95 plus humid heat has made a beautiful HAZY landscape. This morning's light was pregnant with gold and dominated the whole scene. Today my friend Shirley asked me to define dominant color and dominant light color/light key. Truth is, for me they work together. The dominant color is the thread, the color that ties it all together. The color of the light is the color that is made by the light bouncing off of things, water, trees, stones...it's not local color. It's things suffused with light so that its no longer important what they are, except absorbers or reflectors of light. That's simply my understanding...anyone else?

island reflections

6x18 about pastel on Uart
Stillness with glow was my concept. I have learned to sometimes use chinese white watercolor in some sections underneath to restore the luminosity on toned paper. I wish Uart made white paper.

Between

12x9 pastel on Uart
When beginning a painting your choice of format is your first statement. Square, rectangle, elongated rectangle, vertical or horizontal... which is your pleasure? Each has their very specific purpose. In choosing a vertical rectangle I wanted a more dramatic format with a push into the picture.
Think about your format choices....
Once again this brings me back to notans. Doing tiny notans in different formats not only helps your composition but it also stretches you to see other possibilities. I did a square, long rectangle and vertical before deciding.