Near Hawkley study
- Thread starter Arnie
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Jo Castillo
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Beautiful and welcoming.
Bartc
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To my eyes not just a "study", rather a lovely finished piece.
FWIW, I have never understood why watercolor en plein air paintings are often labeled as "study for", unless it is clear that the artist intended that and/or an oil followed on the model.
But you are the artist and you know what you intend.
FWIW, I have never understood why watercolor en plein air paintings are often labeled as "study for", unless it is clear that the artist intended that and/or an oil followed on the model.
But you are the artist and you know what you intend.
john
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Excellent painting Arnie. If I can suggest one thing though. The path. I was recently watching a YT vid from Dianne Mize, who is wealth of great instruction, and she was talking about visual paths. I was looking at a painting of mine and realized that it had a closed off visual path. I had a field with a hedgerow behind it that blocked any path to the sea beyond. I opened up a path through and it works better now.
If you intend to do another version of this.....perhaps if that path went through the fence gate and back to the right and then behind the tree row on the left we could spend more time walking through the scene.
It's really good as is though. Enjoyed looking. This the video I was talking about.
If you intend to do another version of this.....perhaps if that path went through the fence gate and back to the right and then behind the tree row on the left we could spend more time walking through the scene.
It's really good as is though. Enjoyed looking. This the video I was talking about.
ColorEnthusiast
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Lovely, especially the trees in the background.
Bartc
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I certainly agree about visual paths, but didn't read this painting the same way you did. In fact, I didn't even notice the true path to the gate until mentioned. The visual path I saw was the line along the field breaks reading from the left and right back into the focal point.
john
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Yeah Bart, you know, almost immediately writing that I started having doubts. In the case of my painting it was a solid wall with no COI or path out and around. In his painting above there are good diagonals to lead the eye around and places to go.
This composition stuff is so confusing to me. I just got a new book about contemp landscapes and so many of the paintings in it break so many of the rules that I wonder if they even matter. I think at some point we just have to trust our instincts.
So Arnie.......nevermind. And perhaps too obvious a path just seems trite. Forget I even said anything, great painting.
Bartc
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Do trust your own artistic vision, John. What else really matters?
COMPosition is damn COMPlicated. LOL
Couple of years ago I was involved with an historic art project cum exhibit about one of the European "discoverers" of our local California scene (the natives didn't tell him they'd been there and done that....) Involved having 4 different art groups and unaffiliated artists too visit 4 different historic sites, then a juried show of the resulting paintings aggregated by site. It was really interesting to see how each artist chose to depict the same scene, with the general elements being similar, but the interpretations being quite varied. And remember, these were at least semi-realistic based on actual geography, so the basic views were a take off on the same material. Sure, there were similarities, but there were also distinct differences in the compositions. None of us really "sees" the same scene quite alike. Nor should we be expected to, IMHO.
COMPosition is damn COMPlicated. LOL
Couple of years ago I was involved with an historic art project cum exhibit about one of the European "discoverers" of our local California scene (the natives didn't tell him they'd been there and done that....) Involved having 4 different art groups and unaffiliated artists too visit 4 different historic sites, then a juried show of the resulting paintings aggregated by site. It was really interesting to see how each artist chose to depict the same scene, with the general elements being similar, but the interpretations being quite varied. And remember, these were at least semi-realistic based on actual geography, so the basic views were a take off on the same material. Sure, there were similarities, but there were also distinct differences in the compositions. None of us really "sees" the same scene quite alike. Nor should we be expected to, IMHO.
Arnie
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Thanks John. I've been watching the video whilst you guys have been commenting. The first 10 mins is a good illustration on how to create a visual path in a painting. The remaining questions and answers are also informative. It's certainly made me think about visual paths eg from value contrasts in my paintings. The field edges in this painting form obvious paths, but I must look at this more to see what else I can do in the oil. Thanks for posting the link.Yeah Bart, you know, almost immediately writing that I started having doubts. In the case of my painting it was a solid wall with no COI or path out and around. In his painting above there are good diagonals to lead the eye around and places to go.
This composition stuff is so confusing to me. I just got a new book about contemp landscapes and so many of the paintings in it break so many of the rules that I wonder if they even matter. I think at some point we just have to trust our instincts.
So Arnie.......nevermind. And perhaps too obvious a path just seems trite. Forget I even said anything, great painting.
Arnie
Arnie
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Thanks Bartc. This was left out for a few days in my 'studio' and every now and then I went in, had a look, rewetted some paint and added a few details. So in the end it did get the care and attention I like to give to 'finished' work. However initially as it was just a study I used a gash piece of paper that I had rejected due to its poor quality. I didnt have a board large enough, so I just left it on the counter top, but couldnt tape it down as there wasnt enough room. The paper buckled/cockled everywhere, but to my surprize it dried completly flat, and I liked its brightness. May well get some more of the 140lbs version of this paper to try. Its made in India from cotton sourced from recycled T Shirts, so its got good eco creds.
