Saturday, October 04, 2008

Daily Painting Practice - North Woods Bridge Progress Painting

You may have noticed I have not been posting as much lately. That is because I am changing my focus, away from the small daily paintings to larger studio work. I will still post a small daily painting from time to time, but I will try and sell these off the blog rather than through Ebay. Ebay seems to be slowing down with the economy and since Congress is about to charge $700 billion on the national credit card, I thought I better start saving where ever I can. Selling the paintings on my blog or web site eliminates the fees.....One small step!

I will also start writing and showing more of the painting process rather than waiting until I finish one....because as you know, I am the worst finisher there is. I can delay the finishing strokes on a painting for up to a year, even then I can find a way to delay it.

To continue with the North woods of Wisconsin theme:
(Can you tell I fell in love with the landscape up there?) Here is a study I did while we were on our vacation last month. I set up and was standing in the back a our friend's boat. We parked ...or rather tied off the boat in the middle of this waterway that connected two lakes together. I did this study in about 20 minutes. As with the study in the last posting, I only wanted to use this sketch as a reminder of what attracted me to this view so when back in the studio I could recall the day. It was hard to leave it as a sketch and not to try and to make a finished looking plein air painting.

This is the block in for the studio painting. It is on a 24"x18" masonite panel.
This time instead of working from the top left hand side, I am working form the center out. I am also trying to keep the paint thin, using washes like water color.
Using the sketch, I remember how the concrete really caught the warm light of that late summer day...also the intense blue of the water in the foreground. I am hoping the warm underpainting will help add the depth to the shadows. I may glaze the color over the shadow area to keep it really thin.
click on the image to enlarge the painting

Detail - North Woods Bridge
Work in Progress

The title is a work in progress too. All titles must go through my Committee to ensure decent titles/wife. Sometimes I sit back and allow myself to really enjoy the smallest part in one of my own paintings. I have only just started and already the shadows on the concrete really rock my boat!

10 comments:

Sylvia Jenstad said...

This is an amazing piece ... love the colours... the water... everything... really cool

Kathy Jurek said...

I really like your sketch, too, Peter. I can feel the crispness of the changing Autumn air...Hope you don't paint over it.

Marilyn M. King said...

I love that you share that small comment about the concrete shadows "rocking your boat". I know most artists can identify with that and if not then well....
The greens and blues that I see already are just beautiful and I'm sure that my computer screen is not even doing it justice. Your landscapes are just spectacular!

hj said...

Marvellous painting, bravo!

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

Beautiful - it is enjoyable to see the transistion from on site sketch to studio piece. Both very very well done.

Kevo said...

Lovely stuff, Peter. Just thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing. The woods scenes are lovely and I like the progressive photos. Kevin

Anonymous said...

Another great WIP! I like your move to larger works as you have a very good sense of the larger spaces depicted. Really draws me "in".

Also, I'm not at all sure that you're "the worst finisher there is." Most of my best work, I take years on. (?!)

nishad said...

this is a school to learn painting i think.
this is very helpfull for amature artists like me!

rob ijbema said...

this has got such a nice feeling to it,nice one peter

Janelle Goodwin said...

Very interesting the way you build up your painting. Thanks for sharing the progression of your work. You do wonderful pieces.