sedona 3

sunrise over sedona

Last night I couldn't sleep just thinking of this view from Starbucks. It's especially sweet before and as the sun rises. There really are so few street lights so the houses that are lighted twinkle like stars.

sedona twilight

Today all paintings need to be framed and hung in the gallery. Then I can finally exhale.

minature pastel- twilight

I decided to try a miniature of my lake needwood series. At a mere 5.75x4.75 the marks and rubbing were completely different. At this size the focus was on color harmony and edges.

moment we wait for

The clouds have exited. Today is the reception. If you are nearby Chincoteague VA or feel like coming down the reception is from 6-10pm. Now off to the beach for a sunrise painting.

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)

twilight

5x9 pastel on somerset
When I took this painting from the field I knew it needed work. I posted it anyway. Now, after an hour in the studio, it is ready. The morning light is so much more evident after I glazed it allowing the more interesting grays of the morning twilight  draw the viewer in. You can view the version that I began with on October 28th's post.

plein air study at twilight

10x10 pastel on BFK
 My goals were just to study color and stay warm..... believe me it's cold out there at twilight!!!!! Hints of warm spill over from the train station's outdoor lights and one window.

unseen possibility and wonder/ grisaille

20.5 x 21.5 pastel on BFK
When creating the grisaille for a bigger work I really notice how much one stroke can make all the difference. It really has to work for its own sake and while a traditional grisaille does not show strokes I need to in order to create the feeling I seek.

George Inness was quoted as saying, "A work of art does not appeal to the intellect--it does not appeal to the moral sense. Its aim is not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion.... Its real greatness consists in the duality and force of this emotion." 

And now as I proceed to color, another quote form Mr. Inness, "The arrangement of colours must be kept in harmony because it must reproduce not merely the facts of the landscape, either separately or in mass, but, rather, the effect of the scene upon the painter's feelings, the emotion it evokes. Not alone the grass and the trees, with whatever delicate recognition of gradation of colour, but the mood, of which they are the embodiment and cause, it is to be transferred to the canvas."

going from small to big

Going from small to big takes a lot of planning, for me. The concept has been growing in my head for awhile now and it's the right time of year. At this time the "blue twilight" is present. I love those moments before the sun goes over the horizon. The day is full of unseen possibility and wonder. In this painting blue will be the underlying color as the fog waits for day.
I begin with notans, tiny sketches that help me understand the compositional possibilities.  Insights about how the masses and values will relate on an abstract level are beginning.
The next step is a value painting. It needs to make me feel, even before color is there.

 

For me it, picking the value painting was a "no-brainer." the top one just flowed. The middle painting was a struggle and its idea may need to be saved for another painting and refined. At the bottom you can see the notans. 

winter twilght at the station

10 x 10 pastel
It was a weird night. Helicopters started circling my neighborhood at about 4am. I couldn't sleep so I ran to the car with a new board for painting. Then I drove out of the spotlight's range. This placed me down at Kensington Station, a small train station about one mile away. It was still dark and I admit I was a little unsure of safety so I painted this one in the car. It's amazing to me how the twilight glazes a colored film over what one might think are dark shadow masses.  The biggest challenge was seeing what color my pastels were in the dark. I think I will buy a caving light. Anyone have any experience with one? (for painting that is)

Where To Go?

8 x 12 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper $100.
How far can you take an idea? That is the question today. Trying to develop a concept is not done in one shot. Instead it takes many trips inside (one's head) trying to figure out how to push it. During these times the only conversation is with the painting- not the scene or reference material. This is my river and I am developing that calm sunset/ stillness in twilight.

Geese Glow at Twilight

6 x6 pastel and watercolor $100. plus tax
On the way to the reservoir I was shocked by the view of this field. It had the foggy glow of early autumn. And finally geese! So off the road I went.
I want to add thank you to everyone for taking the time to visit my blog and support me with your thoughtful comments. What would I do without you?

Polishing Diamonds till They Shine

10 x9 pastel and frozen watercolor on Uart paper $150. plus tax
When you paint you have to have a vision and stick with it. That means as the landscape goes through its hundred changes at dawn you keep the one that made your concept. This sort of orangey/gold glow over icy silver blue was my concept. I decided gold would predominate. (one has to make a choice) It was another FROZEN day so my hands remained in my pockets more often than on the board. Those are my best days. More understanding...less impulse.
It can be like mediation. As the sky and water greens kept creeping in I had to pull myself back to my golden "meditative" state. Restraint.
This is one of my favorites so far. I'm not sure if it will show well in jpeg.

The Secret is Out

about 6 x8.5 pastel on frozen watercolor $100. plus tax
Remember that children's book I spoke about? Twilight Comes Twice. I quote,
"Twice twilight slips through that crack.
It stays only a short time
while night and day
stand whispering secrets
before they go their separate ways. "

I LOVE that!!!!!! This one is after the secret is out.
A good thing about freezing while painting. It forces me to really look, hands still in gloves and then only make that exact mark needed. Paucity of mark, again.

April 3, 2008 Twilght on River

8x10, pastel and watercolor on board
Ah, the river! I love the way the haze settles in and the moisture in the atmosphere makes the colors dance.