Chuck Larivey OPA, Oil Painter: A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Last week I left off with a new fascination, Peacocks....god knows where that will go. The challenge will be capturing the iridescent luminosity in paint associated with these creatures. This week I'm not looking for a challenge. This week I'm hoping for a seriously quiet week; in fact, many in a row would be most welcome.

Monday, contractor Greg installed my Hughes easel. Now I can settle in and do what I do best..Paint!

INSTALLATION PHOTOS OF WALL MOUNT HUGHES EASEL

This easel is better than advertised....very easy to install and smooth as silk operation. Guess what? I can reach the top of a 6' canvas sitting down at eye level......or the bottom.

Many thanks to Don, owner of Hughes easels for thoughtfully designing and building these wonderful contraptions...:=)))

I started with a 20x20 sun study from a series of sunrise photos caught on the Delaware River while searching for a parking place, to painting plein air in Bucks County last week....Lots of morning fog to play against the sun.

I wanted to break this shot down a bit so I lighten it in Photoshop curves. Much closer to what I was seeing
(close to top photo)

COMPLETED PAINTINGS

840 Delaware River study at Center Bridge 20x20 oil on linen (7-2-13)

Enough plein air, enough small paintings! I need to get back in the big game and put my new easel through its paces. It's been a while so I needed a practice piece and a "I don't want to think about it much subject"......like Koi. I used a grid system and a complicated reference to keep it more to shapes and colour. I wanted to sharpen my focus and attention to detail....a warm up painting.