More of the Dunes

After finishing the dunes painting from a few days back, the value sketch for this study was next in line. This is a view from the top of Mt. baldy at the state dunes. There was a lot of overcast that day and it helped emphasize the atmospheric effect on the background. With this study I'm happy with how the mid and background turned out. The values and colors give the scene a sombering effect which plays well with this large industrial plant shadowing behind these beautiful dunes. The foreground didn't turn out as well as I would like. The amount of water on the paper or lack of got a little out of control as I was hurrying to get in the darks before the paper completely dried up. I enjoy the composition of the scene and think it plays out well. The trees in the foreground overlap into the mid-ground and the mid-ground trees overlap into the background. This gives the scene a soft transition from the bottom to the top which works with the horizon being where it is and the perspective from up high. I'm happy with the values and this will be a good map for a large painting.

Sun against your back

This morning I wasn't planning on going outside and painting. It was sprinkling off and on so it seemed like a good day to stay inside and get work done. It started to clear up so I got a hold of Donna Shortt to see if she was going to be out painting. She was looking to get out once the rain let up so we met up at a fellow painter's place in whiteland which is only a few minutes drive. At first I thought it was in the town but it went from urban to rural in less than a mile. It was really nice being out of the city to paint. When we got there it started sprinkling so we looked around for some good places to paint. Thankfully the rain didn't last long so we set up and got to painting. When we started there was a lot of overcast and it felt amazing. It was cool, there was a breeze and no direct sunlight. That changed about 30 minutes after setting up. It went from wonderful to feeling like the sun was sitting on your shoulders. The thing that always gets me when setting up in overcast is that I don't get behind a tree or in the shade somewhere. When that light shines on your paper or canvas it gets hard to tell what value you are laying down. A month ago I finally went through my palette and arranged all my colors by value so that helps combat getting values that are wildly off.

This was the second painting that I set up, the first never had its under painting dry. For anyone that does under paintings using mineral spirits or turpentine, I would suggest that you never use turpenoid natural for plein air. The turpenoid natural is thicker and when put on it made some interesting runs down the paper, but it set in the sun for 3 hours and didn't dry. If you are going to do an under painting and set it away to work on the next day turpenoid natural might be something that you look at, just don't try it when you want to get down to business. When it does dry I will try and paint it from memory using one of my value sketches. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at the house today so I wont be able to use that to help me. Who knows that could be a good thing with helping me re-invent the scene using only my drawings and imagination.

Dunes revisted

So a couple of days ago I decided to start adding landscape elements together in watercolor again. This painting is based off a photo from the dunes paint out. I thought it was already a strong composition although now I have noticed a few things I would like to change about the layout. The biggest change I would make is the large mound and pine tree. They should be moved further down the hillside starting right where the background trees end. The foreground trees should be better defined but that's for another painting. As far as what I like about the painting, the sky is one of my favorites. Skies in watercolor can range from a simple wash to a complex series of clouds. This sky is of a sunset which I have rarely done and it turned out surprisingly well. It has a subtle gradation change and the clouds are slightly darker in value which is typically not the case during any other time of the day. The grasses are another area of interest. When a person thinks of painting grass it sounds simple and easy. It just so happens that grasses are one of the toughest things for me to paint right now. So this painting has given me a couple of ideas on other landscape elements that I need to spend some time practicing. After this painting I need to work on trees as well.

Overall I like the effect of the painting and it is fairly successful of what I was trying to show. It has the warms in the left and it quickly becomes cooler as you move to the right. The warm colors draw you in and then you begin to wonder into the cooler areas. It reminds me of my time at the dunes. It was beautiful and exotic for being in Indiana. The warm sands and lake sunset initially caught my attention but it was the trees, grass, and hills that kept calling me. Typically that warm feeling draws people together and that is where they congregate which is wonderful but eventually people seek to venture out alone for that solitary place where mysteries are waiting. I'm thankful painting allows me the time to seek out these places and ideas. With time I will become better at showing them and perhaps it will be something that others can relate to.

Late Start

I was busy this morning so it wasn't until after 5 that I made it out the door to paint. That was a mistake. After driving around out in the country for about 30 minutes I decided to head back into town and go to the park. After walking around for another half an hour I stumbled upon a little crook in the river. The sun was getting fairly low at that point and it was shinning at the top of the bend. After I put down the under painting the light on the bend disappeared. Once the light was gone it started to get dark quickly where I was at. The darkness was followed by frustration and a ton of mosquitoes. By the time I had decided to quit the painting had come close to finding a new home in the river. But I'm not the kind of person to throw expensive paper in water so I brought it back, took some pictures, and wiped it down. Always remember to spray yourself down with bug spray before you go out there in the afternoon. That or roll around in some mud.

Up the Ohio

Today I was in Madison for a few hours so I walked down along the Ohio river and did a quick painting. Before I even had my materials out a barge floated by and it was neat to watch a massive piece of metal to float down the river. I kicked myself for not taking any pictures but the scene was beautiful so I set up everything anyway. Then as soon as I had the under painting done another barge came around the bend. I'm happy with how the boat pushing the barge turned out. It was quick and ended up looking better than everything else in the painting. The rest of the painting was filled with problems. The light blue I used for the sky and parts of the water ended up getting muddy as soon as I smudged it the slightest. Typically I use large bold strokes and don't blend, but I want pastels that can do both without creating mud. So that blue had to go. The composition also seems lacking. It isn't the worst painting I've done by far, but it is boring. With that being a problem I'm not sure any amount of reworking can fix it. It is starting to feel good being able to wipe down a painting even if there are parts to it that I like. The urge to keep everything that is even slightly successful in one aspect is diminishing. This is the beginning of a new chapter as far as space saving in my studio is concerned. Also it feels good to know that everything doesn't have to be great. They are just exercises for when a great idea for a painting pops into my head.