"County Road"
8x10 oil on linen
Hard to believe I was in the studio today when it was 52 degrees and sunny here in MN in January, but I was! I had this painting in my head and needed to paint it today regardless of the unseasonably warm weather outside. I DID take advantage after I was finished though and took a good long walk, what a treat! :)
Although this small painting resembles most of my 'plein air' work, it's a studio piece done from a photo, and once again, I use the photos as memory triggers, not a literal interpretation. If I didn't have the experience I have from painting from life, I don't think I would be able to do this. I can't stress enough the importance of working from life. When I work like this in the studio on smaller pieces, it's a goal of mine to keep the paint fresh and clean, as if I were painting from life. In order to do this, I limit my time. This piece was done in about 2 hours.
Since I've taken the month of January off of teaching, it's my goal to paint as much as possible on a variety of different subjects. I'll probably do another small piece tomorrow and then start a larger one towards the end of the week. I find after doing a piece like my last 20x16 where there was a lot of subtle quiet work and many hours, it's nice to push the paint around on smaller pieces and start and finish in one sitting.
6 comments:
This is a great painting! I would not have guessed it was from a photo, and I love what you said about the necessity of working from life.
Nice mood to this piece! I love the palette, especially the grays in the road.
HI Sarah, thank you! Working from life is just so crucial isn't it? :) without that knowledge it would not have the life the painting has. THanks for checking in and happy painting!
Hello Ann, thank you for your comment and checking in! I wish you could see the subtleties in the grays, it's so difficult to capture that with a photograph.
I have such a vivid memory of the mood of the evening when I took the photograph, I kept bringing myself back there during the painting to try and stay true to that. THanks for mentioning the mood. :)
magnificent paintings of landscapes!
this painting just floors me, really beautiful. And I really appreciate your generous blog posts, very helpful education.
Post a Comment