A quick post…
this morning went quite well. Out the door by 7 AM, setup and running well before 8. The light was actually the only drawback, in that the sky was almost perfectly clear, and I realized that I’d have to adjust my values throughout. The darks were darker, essentially because I’d lost a bit of the atmosphere that a touch of cloud cover veils objects with.
No matter, I’ll get that effect again, since it’s one we commonly have, and having the deeper tones won’t be an obstacle. I’ll merely select the tones that work best when I tie the painting together towards the end.
Here’s a reminder of where I left off yesterday morning. The basic values and shapes are loosely established on a warm-toned panel ( 11 x 14″).
Today’s session (of about an hour and a half ) brought the values and colors closer to nature (closer to what the eye objectively sees), and I was able to work over the entire painting due to decent light conditions. As some clouds finally rolled in, the darks warmed a touch and lightened very slightly, which allowed me to get something closer to what I mentioned earlier, the effect I’m anticipating in the final work.
Working with a three-part medium, as I have most of the summer, and many good sized, pointed round bristle brushes on this, which leave a shape-mark that I like.
I’ve been noticing that I’m shying away from filberts recently for landscape…they seem somehow androgenous to me these days.
From here, I’ll take a day off and get back with this on Monday, weather and God permitting, to make it more More.
One change is that I’ll need to add a figure to make this work…the size of this grove of Ironwoods is deceptive, they are bigger trees than you might think from this little painting. It even surprises me a bit when a person goes by them, and this painting doesn’t yet reflect that contrast.
This is the setup I’m running with lately.
The vintage easel I picked up recently has become a great favorite of mine, mainly because I’ve seen it in photos of Willard Metcalf and others for years, and now feel I’m part of the club a bit, kind of like having the same brand guitar pick as Elvis or something. In some ways not as practical as a French easel or an Anderson style easel, I still love this baby. It takes all sizes of canvases, brass and steel fittings, and surveyor-tripod spiked tips.
I found this photo of Edwin Dickinson working on the same easel in Provincetown. (Photo courtesy of the Provincetown Artist Registry)
And, Wilson Irvine somewhere with same:
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