Day Three - Canvas #850-2

This is where I left off yesterday. Typically I start at the top and work down, so I'll start work on the corner sunlight details left to right.

Left corner detail

Left corner sunlight detail

Full upper shot showing left corner
 

Right corner detail

Right corner sunlight detail

Full upper half shot showing both corners

Transition line to Iris

 Left detail

Notice the heavy use of Violets transitioning well into Blue Iris line tying in the tree foliage nicely. I also mixed purples into my greens throughout plus Alizarin Crimson to deepen my shadows

By quitting time I made a lot of progress merging my tree line and Iris border, plus finishing a bit into the pond line. Leaving a good transition for the next session.......it also appears water lilies will be part of my composition. 

Later.......

Day Two - Canvas #850-1

Painting #850 (84x72) will be a landscape with pond and blue iris. Will it have Koi and lilies? I don't know at this point. My main reference is this photo from a recent plein air outing at Maymont and the dappled sunlight effects remembered.

The pond did have Koi and a lot of tree canopy so the sun had dappled effects all day and that's what I'm interested in capturing; I was not able to in plein air.

Much of the early morning was spent establishing a shadow rhythm in deep colours like Dioxazine Purple, Alizarin Crimson and Sienna with French ultramarine Blue. Now I have some defined areas I can start working on as groups or independently....divide and conquer

 

Riley napping

Once my pattern was established, I started back at the top filling in the white spaces. I added Oxide green and some French violets to my palette; plus Naples, White and Alizarin Orange (very interesting colour from Williamsburg)

I'm using two brushes; a # 10 Royal SG4590 flat and #8 Royal SG4520 filbert. 
 

Background is fairly easy to do on a large scale so this moves quickly for me. I'm also taking some time to cover the canvas completely in some areas I won't come back into. Easier to do it at the front end than later because fixing small white holidays can take serious time and cause you to cover some good passages. 

Detail of typical brush work...many cases using pure colour.........end of day two

Later...

Day One - Canvas #850

I really started this weeks painting toward the end of last week with a very large canvas so it was an in process painting and not included.

Funny how these things get going - it wasn't my intent because I planned to stay on the beach theme for a while longer....but as a break after the wave study I stretched some canvas which led to a very large 84x72 canvas below.

 

The stretcher bars on the floor measure 84x72 (largest I had)

My 84" canvas roll was cut to 84x90 allowing enough material for a full gallery wrap...very easy to do (link to previous post) With primed face to floor my stretchers are centered and ready for stapling process.

My canvas is ready for shrinking because it will be loose....It's very hard to get it taut at this size. Nice thing about linen, it shrinks easily; perhaps cotton canvas does too.

I placed it on the easel back side out making sure it's secured and square to the easel because, otherwise, it will warp during the process (could be left on the floor - the weight and size will keep it flat) I use a simple spray bottle filled with tap water to heavily spray the back side as shown.

I turned the canvas after it dried. It's big at 84x72 but I like the size and think 84" will be my maximum height for the studios 8-foot ceiling.

No more step stools or ladders required - stepping back is safe and wide open for long range viewing.

No more stooping or lying on the floor with the Hughes wall mount easel. My canvas is always in a comfortable painting position. This will be the first real test run on painting a tall canvas. I'm very excited and looking forward to morning and a new painting experience......but for now getting use to the size and thinking about what to paint is in order.   

Later.....

A Weeks worth of paint and canvas

The days and weeks are going fast......must be having fun. I have settled in to my new studio set up and it's making a difference. The only thing left is to permanently install my lighting system - still using cords and clip on lights. Still on the beach theme.....still looking for the perfect wave to paint.

848 A Day at the Beach 20x20 oil on linen (7-21-13)

 

I have to get serious about this wave painting needed for an upcoming show. What I need is a large version of 583 Breaking Thunder 44x40 (cropped) below. My trip to the beach gave me some good reference and with some modifications...some possibilities.

 WAVE STUDY

  Reference

 849-1 Wave study with figure 14x40 oil on linen (7-22-13)

 849 A Day at the Beach 14x40 oil on linen (7-24-13)

DETAILS

An interesting observation when studying the details and the Breaking Thunder painting - because its a learning study I followed the photo closely plus a very small painting in comparison.....a bit tight on space if you will. My objective here was learning about the complicated movement and details of this particular wave. Not so much about paint quality and aesthetics, which Breaking Thunder was all about. In reality it tells me I was painting the photo not the essence of the subject my reference represented.

The nice thing about painting "big and knowing your subject" is the spontaneous movement is much easier to do because it becomes a natural full body movement with the room to do it, as opposed to a constricted one controlled by space. The 14x40 study took 2 1/2 full days and Breaking Thunder was one Alla prima session. Time doesn't have a lot to do with a good outcome....experience does. Know your subject well then give it your best shot! Small or large!

 
KENSON'S FIRST RED OTTOMAN GALLERY VISIT 

This is a great image of Kenson sitting on the red ottoman totally absorbed in what must have been an enormous painting for her young eyes. Kenson was also experiencing her very first gallery opening with her grandparents Marla and Ned Coleman. They where at the Crossroads open house last Friday night. As proudly reported by her grandmother, Kenson took the experience very seriously. 

I missed the opening. I was attending the opening reception Aquatic at the Peninsula Fine Art Center. A wonderful exhibit and center for the arts. If you get a chance take the time to visit, I promise you won't be disappointed. 

It's at the Mariners' Museum Park, 101 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606  

 

later....

Peninsula Fine Arts Center - AQUATIC: Expressions of Water in Art

Peninsula Fine Arts Center

Mariners' Museum Park
101 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606

 AQUATIC: Expressions of Water in Art

 July 20-October 6
 Aquatic explores the theme of water in art, from paintings of the beach to photographs of ship passengers to Japanese block prints and beyond. Curator Michael Preble has assembled more than 100 pieces reflecting water in four themes:


A Day at the Beach
Conceived from both a literal and metaphorical point of view, “A Day at the Beach” surveys works by both national and regional modern and contemporary artists. It includes paintings and photographs by Virginians Charles Goolsby, Chuck Larivey and Sam Krisch. Nationally known artists Graham Nickson, John Lees, Megan Rye and David Dewey are also represented in the exhibit, presented in the Ferguson Gallery.

447 Afternoon Drink 20x20 oil on linen

661 Observing the Break 24x24 oil on linen
Floating
“Floating” is an insightful and playful look at artful representations of boats in contemporary craft and folk art, graphic design, painting, prints and popular culture. The exhibit includes a print of Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” a ceremonial canoe from New Guinea, a photograph by Alfred Stieglitz and prints by Rockwell Kent.

Hiroshige's Waters
Block prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, one of the most prolific and well-known Japanese printmakers of the 19th century, along with works by Hiroshige III and Hiroshige III, will line the Ascending Gallery walls in “Hiroshige’s Waters.” (Left, Utagawa Hiroshige, #44 The Torch Shrine in Oki Province, 1853-56, ukiyo-e print.)

Swimming Holes
In the Halsey Gallery, “Swimming Holes” features photographs by Christian Johnston, a Portsmouth native, and Debra Gitterman. Johnston and Gitterman photographed Greene County residents in upstate New York enjoying their favorite swimming holes, a cherished pastime of country life.

“Aquatic” is sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding.
Peninsula Fine Arts Center | 101 Museum Drive | Newport News, Virginia, 23606 | 757-596-8175
ninsula Fine Arts Center | 101 Museum Drive | Newport News, Virginia, 23606 | 757-596-8175

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Last weeks beach day produced 445 photos so this week had to be all about waves, kids, their beach guards and sand with colourful beach umbrellas. 

 844 A Day at the Beach 20x20 oil on linen (7-16-13)

845 A Day at the Beach - Guard Duty 20x20 oil on linen (7-17-13)

MY REFERENCE

I divide this  into two sessions, background and figures last....better to be fresh with a full day to complete them in one pass. 

 DAY ONE - BACKGROUND

DAY TWO - FIGURES

 846 A Day at the Beach 20x20 oil on linen (7-18-13)

DETAILS

Surfers in far distance


LAST PAINTING OF THE WEEK

847 A Day at the Beach 15x30 oil on linen (7-20-13)

later.....