The painting previously known as "The Cove"

[john]

The Cove was OK but I though I could improve it. It was a little wishy washy. Not sure I did but I did something at least.

This was The Cove

And this is Over Fire Island.

1/2 sheet WC paper. C&C welcome. It makes me mad because I thought it was improved and good and now I think it's not. I don't know why. It's so close, but no. Seems to happen a lot.

 

[PaintBoss]

Well, I think it’s improved quite a bit because it’s a lot more clear to me what it is. Before it seemed a little bit ephemeral. Dreamy. But this more representational.
I hope you don’t mind me maybe suggesting that it’s the angle of the bay that I think is throwing off the picture. And if the bay turns in like that, I’m thinking the curve might not be quite right and perhaps the perspective of the left side of the painting meeting the bay. Also the sand line meeting the upper water on the left looks like dunes Is that how you intend it -that there’s a slight roll in that sand line? I like it. But it looks like there’s two different perspectives at work.
Do you have a reference photo? I’m curious to see it. Because I think that might be throwing you off a bit. But I liked how you handled the sky, the water and shrubbery / trees. I think this is a perspective problem. Just my two cents.

 

[john]

Thanks Christine I think you are right. I don't like how much water is on the right foreground or the shape of it. I kinda had to work with what was there. There isn't any photo as this was all from imagination. Which is part of the problem. Without a clear idea I tend to wander back and forth and end up with an overworked mess in between realism and abstract.

 

[PaintBoss]

Thanks Christine I think you are right. I don't like how much water is on the right foreground or the shape of it. I kinda had to work with what was there. There isn't any photo as this was all from imagination. Which is part of the problem. Without a clear idea I tend to wander back and forth and end up with an overworked mess in between realism and abstract.

Oh it’s a mistake we have all made, especially when we’re working from our imagination. So you have to decide which perspective you want because you have two. You have one that’s looking out and across. And then the bay looks like you’re looking down from a real height. I think you want to have the perspective that goes out and across so you can pick up the sea in the background and the dunes the way you have painted them.
I quickly grabbed some images off Google to show the difference in perspective. Please make note of how you draw the bay, especially.
Standing lower and looking out and across

And now where half your painting is looking like it’s from way up high looking down on the bay…

I hope that helps!

 

[Enyaw]

I find it near impossible to work without a model. Vincent said he needed a model to work from but the painting did not reflect the model as the model was simply inspiration. I agree, the second is stiff and not reflective of your ability. Do away with hard lines except he intentional where you direct passage.

 

[snoball]

What an unusual sky on the second one!

 

[Donna T]

I like how we can see evidence of the first painting under the second and the sense of depth that resulted, especially in the water. Your first version was a softer, dreamier look and this one is more focused; it’s all good but if you feel like working on it more maybe it will fit your vision.

 

[Artyczar]

It's a completely different painting now. Both are/were great, in my opinion. There were some great qualities about the first. There were places you could have gone to perhaps improve or "detail" it if you wanted, or you could have left it alone and started over with a brand new piece and came up with the second, had you gone in that direction. Don't be afraid to do that. Now the new one has a great sky, but I know you could have made just as interesting of a sky again. Good work on the change.

 

[john]

Thanks for the comments and ideas guys. Christine that's amazing how you got those images that look just like that! Thanks! Yeah I need to work from a reference photo or life. As much as I try abstraction I have to admit that my paintings that I like the best and have on the walls are realism based landscape and they are the oils. I love watercolor but they have a tough time competing with oils, with my skills anyhow.

This was just one of those things that I had to get out of the way. It was on the wall asking for attention. But I'm going too many directions at once with my ideas and mediums and styles. I watch a Youtube video and see some artist make something nice and I have to try that. Before I finished the last piece.

No kidding, just call me the ADD artist, my painting area looks like this; There is a studio easel with a large half finished realism oil seascape. It could be good if I finish it. There's a stretched canvas drying with a coating of absorbent ground..... for something. Could be any medium...... haven't decided. There's a palette with gouache and another with watercolor on a table. There's a box of acrylics waiting also, hands on hips impatient and imploring that I use them. "Don't forget about me!" they say. There are sheets of watercolor paper and a new sheet of raw unstretched canvas draped over a chair. It came folded so there are creases so I'll have to stretch it or iron it or something. I've never stretched canvas so I have get more tools and stretchers and add them to the mess. Because I saw a Youtube video about acrylics on raw canvas.

There are brushes everywhere. All kinds and lots of cheap ones. Rollers, painting knives, etc. They used to be segregated in containers by categories but now they are liberated from any such discipline. They seem to be multiplying and getting closer.

So this is all great fun until the chaos starts to consume and confuse and paralyze with too many choices. I'm going to have nightmares that my art materials become animate and attack me. By shear numbers alone...... hmmm, good horror movie theme there.

Blah blah, sorry for the long rant thanks for reading but this is easier than actually doing something about it. Like a clear-out of all except maybe the oil stuff. ... Only oils.... Ummmm, maybe a little acrylics. With some watercolor underneath? Oh I forgot about the inks........

 

[PaintBoss]

JOHN, you sound just like an artist!
You definitely have found your tribe! I understand what you mean as everyone else here will too. It’s easy to get distracted. I like to have two on the go at most. Although honestly, sometimes there’s an old painting hanging around that I have to tweak/ finish but it is definitely on the backburner. I like having 1 abstract on the go as well as doing something more representational. They can be different mediums. I go back-and-forth between them. But if I feel pulled to one, I’ll stay on it for a while. And I know that as I finish one I can start another in a different medium I want to try. Or I tell myself I have to finish both paintings before I start anything else. I have all my art stuff laying around too. Drives my husband nuts, in fact, I insist on seeing it so it’s all out in my bedroom which I spend a lot of time with my health. I like seeing my art stuff out as I’m thinking about what to do with what I see. it also encourages me to keep fighting on with my health because I get quite determined that I want to do something. And it may take me a few years, but I do it. So it’s great to have something like that.

 

[Grapes]

John, sounds like my studio! I used to be little more organized few yrs back but now the chaos is just not avoided. My studio chaos starts to affect to my working and I don't want to go to my studio to paint. I can't fit anymore storage units either and I pretty much have occupied the rest of the house with my art stuff as well. Next is to move to a bigger place and there hope for the best.

Some yrs ago I started learning how to paint similar kind of bays and water as you have here in the beginning of this thread. I couldn't paint either of them (water/water movement/bay/cala). I was horrible with them. I never tried with any other than oils. It occurred to me that besides what is said in this thread there's one more important factor to notice which took me for a while to figure out. My workshop teacher helped me with that. It's the water movement in the bay like yours the 2nd painting (fire island), water hits to the shore in certain angel. You need to look which direction the general wave movement goes and paint that. Same goes to the rivers. Ok, water can be painted as a mass and then you don't see that much brush strokes but if you want to indicate waves with for example brush strokes, they do move towards shore in certain direction and often changing their direction randomly and unexpectedly. I paint these waters often now specially en pleinaire and am often very puzzled observing how can water change it's direction over there that way and right next to it moving to completely other direction. Well, on location I don't believe it but I paint it as I see it and surprisingly it seems to work. So, this is something I've figured out the past couple of yrs. Hope this helps. It's possible that you're aware of it already when painting with oils but I wanted to mention.

 

[PaintBoss]

Very good point Grapes.

 

[Artyczar]

You are definitely an artist, John. No doubt about it! We all have attention-deficient disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or something of the sort, and more. I have a mixture and have been diagnosed with a few different mental illnesses. I have to take a handful of medications every day, so it's no joke. It's hard not to get overwhelmed with trying to make decisions or what direction to go in, and even finding motivation some days. Being an artist and navigating this stuff, keeping a studio semi-organized, and trying not to self-medicate on other stuff, or whatever else we need to do to cope is hard. It's great you (and I) have a good sense of humor about it.

 

[Enyaw]

.. all you need is love, daw daw diddy daw