Two demos are presented here. Click on either title to jump to the beginning image.
"Corn Crib, Muscoot" — Oil on Linen, 14" x 22"
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1) I've begun the painting on stretched, 14" x 22" canvas toned with a mixture
of yellow ochre and raw sienna. While the background tint is still wet, I've begun the scene with a number 6 sable round and
a wash of mauve blue shade and raw umber.
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2) Here the color has been roughed in. Not caring too much for detail, I'm
looking to block in the color and value areas so that the composition can come forward.
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3) In this stage the details begin to get some attention — trees get
branches, the rock wall now contains individual rocks and the structure of the building's roof gets some attention. While
I spent a lot of time on the fence, I still wasn't able to get it to feel parrallel to the bottom of the canvas yet. Too, I've
begun some misteps on the foreground — while trying to give it some personallity, I've made it way too prominent.
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4) Okay, I toned down the foreground. That helped. Too, more density in
the shadows is helping bring the other color into focus. You might note my vacillation on the size and shape of the arbor at
right — turned too much to us and the fence looks wrong, too much to the side and it
loses personality. I've tried to bring more life to the sky by providing a glow along the tree line with a little more to
the right side.
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The last details — The fence has been cleaned up and the sky "re-organized"
to heighten the mood. I also found that I wanted a bit more detail in the foliage above the fence and in the stone wall to
the left. Sometimes it's "done" when you just can't find anything you want to change.
The Corn Crib — Muscoot Farm, Oil on Linen — 14" x 22"
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"Wave" — Oil on Linen, 18" x 30"
Click on an image for a detailed look at the progress on the painting's
surface.
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1) Nothing special here except the wonderful linen canvas — very rough
woven and a lush surface. This coated with gesso, then a mix of Alizarin Crimson and white. (Very) Roughly sketched with a
#6 round.
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2) Begining to work the color. Top to bottom here. In part, this is because
I can work down the canvas without getting my hands in the still-wet paint as I go. Later, I'll be working "around" the canvas
with less chance of running into all wet areas.
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3) As the waves begin to appear out of the background I'm forced to learn
about how each interacts with the other — which is breaking over which, for instance. At this stage, the middle water
area and the beach area are left unresolved. Decisions about these areas will follow the determination of the focal area of
the foreground waves.
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4) It became clear that I had to have a stone in the foreground. I think
it helps bring your eye forward and gives a balance to the visual flow of the wave from lower right to middle left.
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The final work on this piece focused on refining the details of the major
waves and the transition to the calmer sea behind, particularly in the leftmost area. The deepest shadows got some emphasis
and I hightened the color in the middle ground and the green wave to the right, before finally saying "enough".
"Wave", Oil on Linen — 18" x 30"
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All paintings reproduced on this site can be made available as
high quality giclee prints on canvas or archival papers.
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