30 in 30 - Day Five - Lake Trees

Lake Trees

12" x 12" - acrylic on wood panel - $30

Here is day five's painting in the Challenge. 

A more tempered colour palette and natural treatment of the scene, 

for a change. 

. 

Tree'scape

Tree'scape

36" x 48" - acrylic on canvas

I know I have said (written) this before - that one of my favourite subjects to paint is 'trees in a landscape'. Yes, the basic landscape composition. I have usually been inspired by a particular image based on a photo taken at a particular place, and then, initially, try to interpret the scene in a fairly representative (though expressive) manner. 

While painting, however, alternative interpretations or ways to reduce and further abstract the composition suggest themselves and that leads to variations on the theme. Tree'scape was inspired by the photograph (photoshopped below) I took at my cottage last October. 

The first painting on which it was based is this one, started last December. It went through several drafts, and then I stopped, as it didn't feel like 'me'. But, I began to see other possibilities, and had a large canvas........

         

This was stage 1......

and then stage 2......

and finally the finished work with lots of texture created through using a palette knife. 

I am really happy with the final painting, and love the palette and textural quality of the trees. If some areas look a little 'fuzzy' in the larger photo, it's because those areas of the painting are not as defined.

And of course it has led to another painting which I will post next day!

30 in 30: Day Eight - Nightfall II

Nightfall II

24" x 24" - acrylic on canvas - $400

I decided to try a larger version of a small abstract that I posted on Friday and this is the result. I made a few changes to the composition but basically maintained the darkness and palette. Trying to capture the spirit of one smallish image onto a larger canvas usually does not work for me, but I think this one did. Anyway, it's today's effort in the 30 paintings in 30 day challenge. This is exhausting!  

Back on Track

Morning Glory

acrylic on canvas - 24" x 30" - $450

This painting came together easily after weeks of struggling, and that made me really happy. The subject is based on several photos I took years ago while driving on highway 118 east towards my cottage in Haliburton and features a landscape that I like and have painted numerous times in the past - coniferous trees, creeks and marsh lands. I love the palette and abstract looseness of the foreground. It's good to feel back on track once again.

Another Theme - Another Variation - Provence Meadow II

                                            3                                              1                                                 2

In May I was plein-air painting here (1) and back in the studio later that day, I painted 2 and 3 based on this particular scene. What had intrigued me about the location was the dappled light through the trees, and the light and dark value pattern on the ground leading back to the dark tree verticals with the light behind. It was a view full of artistic possibilities, and I knew that I would return to it as a subject for further exploration.
After working on several larger canvases this fall I decided to try a larger interpretation of the scene. I began by drawing lines denoting tree shapes and areas to suggest shade and foreground on the white canvas with the intense pencil crayons, then applied water with a brush to soften and obliterate the lines and created a watery effect.  Then I a started to add some acrylic and basically kept painting.

              

As I painted and at the end added more intense pencil lines where I wanted some graphic emphasis - which you may be able to see in the details below.

The finished painting looks like this - and I was pretty happy with it - having achieved a painterly, abstract, loose version of the field. And I love the colour too.

Provence Meadow II

40" x 30"  acrylic on canvas

Catching Up

It has been awhile indeed. Life has been busy with travel, socializing, visiting and just stuff.  I finally got back to the studio and painting about 2 weeks ago after a 4 week hiatus - and started some new paintings, and tinkered with some old ones too.

Island Retreat  

(formerly called 'Blue Pines')

24" x 24"  -  acrylic on canvas - SOLD

I first posted this painting last September and called it Blue Pines . At the time I felt it was finished but more recently I began to feel that the palette was not quite right, particularly in the foreground rocks. I experimented with the image and colour in photoshop and decided on the changes that you see here - pushing the blues and yellows towards green, adding complementary reds, and giving the rocks more definition - and I was quite happy with how it turned out.