Thursday, January 02, 2014

Daily Painting Practice - 30 Day Challenge - Day 2 - Maine Seascapes

Day 2

This is day two of (Leslie Saeta's)  30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I will continue with my Maine Seascape theme.  This decision of what to paint for 30 days was the first obstacle.  I originally  started thinking I would do 30 self portraits, but I already did that and it doesn't line up with my current plans to get into several more galleries. I thought maybe  a series on birds, but my references for those weren't varied enough.
 Next came the idea of 30 plein air paintings in the snow. This might have worked because we continue to get new snow each week, but this idea was shot down because we have been in the minus degrees Celsius range  lately. ( This morning was -9 degrees C.) So that left Maine Seascapes.

Surf and Turf
6"x8" oil on canvas board

This  challenge is helping me set up parameters before I begin to paint. First, I must decide why I am painting a particular scene and what I hope to show. The result should be something that will  transfer to a larger painting.  In this case I wanted to capture the sparkle of sunlight and the warm morning light on the rocks.
Next, in order to paint what I intend to, I must keep three things in mind,  Composition, Color and Narrative.

I like the color. The narrative needs work. The waves rolling in and the warm light bathing on the rocks can be improved. It would be more dramatic if I change the composition a bit, making stronger lines diagonally across the picture plane.   Still, I'm pleased with the attempt.

2 comments:

Theresa Grillo Laird said...

Really nice! Interesting, good color good movement. Good luck with the galleries!

Barbara P said...

I really like your use of color in your seascapes, even in these smaller paintings.