I’m into yet another session on this painting, planning a few more to get it together to the point where I’m (hopefully) satisfied with it. I’m mainly bringing the colors and values together, like drawing a large lasso around the whole thing and gradually corralling everything closer to the moment in nature that I’m in.
Besides the work on the painting, I’ve had a lot of good times with the visitors to the beach, curious to see what on earth I’m doing, the usual questions and comments to which painters out-of-doors become accustomed. I enjoy taking a few minutes to answer the questions and chat a bit because I’m always so surprised by the differences in perception that people have of their surroundings. I noticed Saturday evening someone kindly left an unopened Heineken on the log next to me, presumably a little token of appreciation.
untitled, 20 x 36″ oil on panel
Because the light is seldom steady here ( I typically have mountains, trees, and low-hanging clouds over my right shoulder, which is where the light source is), I can only catch the look of light striking the elements of the painting, especially the cliffs, in snippets…there’s almost no time when it’s visually as I’m portraying it. So the piecemeal effect has to be fought by moving around the painting and not getting hung up on one area too long.
I spent one session eliminating the lower third of the sky and repainting it. The clouds I’d painted simply weren’t contributing as I intended and so I scrubbed them out and reworked the area, which is now looking much better.
The shadows are delicious… extraordinary lavenders set against the yellows and bright greens. I’m gradually getting the surfaces developed in a way that I like, something that is becoming more important in my paintings lately. I anticipate some glazes towards the end as well.
Here’s the little watercolor that started it all, 7 x 10″
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