Spring has arrived a bit slow here in Minnesota this year, but it's here and there's way too much to paint! The Crab Apple trees have already come and gone, the lilacs are going crazy and the green is electric! This new green of spring for the most part is a bit tough to paint and can be somewhat unpleasing to end up with, however it is what it is and the fact that it's green and not white is a very good thing! Last week I spent the week painting outside on location at the farm where I grew up. The little stream piece was done in about an hour and a half in the evening. I stood on the bridge crossing over the water looking North. I had my daughter and my dog along with so there were a few distractions but it's life and the fact I was painting 'from life' it seemed pretty fitting! The added bonus to bringing along a 12 year old and a 6 month old black lab puppy is there is no time to spare! It forces one to put it down and put it down right!
Lilacs, gotta love 'em! And 'gotta paint 'em FAST'! They don't stay perky for long once cut. I did this piece in one full day and decided to be finished. My goal was to use natural light so it would be a bit softer and cooler than the controlled warm lighting I often use in my still lifes. I like that the shadows are so warm and soft. There are lots of little temperature notes in the whites that I'm afraid is difficult to view their subtleties due to my horrible photography skills. The tiny little notes of differences are quite beautiful in their purity. These delicate degrees of differences are what drive and inspire me to paint flowers from life. It's absolutely incredible the colors that exist!
"Fresh Cut Lilacs"
14x14 oil on linen panel
"Stream In Spring"
10x8 oil on linen panel
9 comments:
You and Marc Hanson you are great artists! Beautiful works!
Nice work kami,seems you were rush in both cases,Dont think of time as something that can rush you, think of time as something that helps you to get what ever you want done.
"It's absolutely incredible the colors that exist!"
That's it, the reason why many of us paint. Not necessarily for painters of the Tonalist ideal, but for the rest of us, all of the hard work, distractions, academics of drawing, composition and concept, are really just there so that we can rejoice and show our appreciation for the color that we see every single second of the waking day!
Good job Kami in both showing and explaining the joy you see in your world. :)
That was your quote by the way... :)
I saw the start to your stream and thought it is turning out nicely. The final is great. Greens can be tough but you manged to show a command of color and temperature. :)
thank you Typh, I appreciate your checking in! Happy painting!
Jesus, I agree with your statement about time. I am not a 'rush through it painter' at all and take not pride in painting quickly. However, I do embrace the challenge of time limitions that go hand and hand with painting fleeting light effects and still lifes who's life is short lived. I find that a balance of taking several sittings in a painting to working quick and effeciantly is very important in my work to keep it growing. The added benefit that I always strive for in my work is fresh clean brush work which helps lead to sentual edges, one of my favorite elements besides color in a painting! :) Thanks for the comment, it's a good one!
Thank you Marc, you certainly do know the greens that we are needing our sunglasses to look at around here lately!
I now have my lilacs piece done for the season, the peonies should start doing their 'thing' pretty soon! I've got all my panels ready to go!
Hey Frank, thank you! It's hard to believe how much paint is on that little painting, I don't know what's getting in to me lately.
What I've come to truly notice this season about greens is the color in the shadows, they're FULL of color and completely saturated! Lots and lots and lots!The challenge is keeping them quiet enough not to blow out the tranquility of the landscape that we all love to paint.
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