Foundations and Values

Analogies and metaphors have always played 

an instructional role for me to understand something new.

Lately I have come to think of "value studies" in art like

 underwear, or perhaps even the footers, of a painting.

In other words, a critical part of making the final effort hold together.

Recall these value studies done in the Andy Braitman workshop:

The two pieces on the left were both started from the same photograph and done in three values: dark, middle and light.  From this foundation I had a recipe for making the final effort hold together and flow as I had predetermined I wanted it to go.  Let me show you how each piece took on its on look.

Using the same color palate I decided to take one piece towards the cool and the other much warmer. Putting away my reference photograph I got bold and let the rocks and water take on their own forms.    Even the background trees and skies began to be different in each painting. The key was to keep the darks in the black zone, the light colors in the white areas and tie them together with mid tones of different colors.  

I love the idea of layering colors as I build the piece overall.  It takes a lot of patience to paint, sit back, think, let dry (while I literally write down notes so I don't forget them) and then start again.  I found that the slower I went the more I had a cohesive plan to execute.

This piece is 30" x 24" and definitely has a cool, closed-in feel to it.  I think I have "been here" many times on my hikes.  The water moves gently and has lots of colorful reflections in it and the rocks have a mossy feel to them.  On the other hand...

This version feels more exposed to the sunshine to me.  The water is moving fast and furious and I can hear the water falling as the sun heats up the rocks.  At about this stage I set it aside and my kind husband gently informed me that my crashing waters had no discernible direction...in other words, they did not read true.  And I agreed: water flows downhill, not up!!  

I thought about the changes and, not losing the energy of the foreground, was able to paint a more believable flow upstream.  I still feel the sun in this version although there is very little sky to confirm it.  I feel like I have been here as well.  Both locations are clearly different although they started with the same reference photo and then took off in different directions.  As long as a landscape is reasonably believable and touches something we can relate to (moss, heat, cool, sounds of water and such) it can be "of" any place you want it to be.  

I like both equally but you might prefer one over the other.  Can you articulate why?

ROCKING OUT IN COLOR,

Cindy

Lisa's Lilies

The word "commission" gives many of us the shakes!  After the initial compliment of someone wanting to pay you (me?!) to paint something specific for them comes the dread that they won't like the final product, or the fear that they will micro-manage the process, or even the pain of not being able to understand exactly what they want.  It can turn into a very stressful experience for all sides.

But sometimes it is well worth the challenge because you know you are entrusted with something that the buyer obviously wants and will cherish for a long, long time.  Much of the skill lies in knowing when the match will work....in other words: when to say yes.

Lisa's Lilies

24" x 36"  acrylic and oil on board

 

Here's a "yes."  OK, I'll admit I hestiated because Lisa is a pond expert and her lilies are really precious to her and jokes about Monet notwithstanding I had told her the art world already had enough water lilies in it!  But this is her front yard...and honestly it was all up to me as long as I included the rocks and the lily pads and the blooms and the grasses and the white flowers on the grasses and....

See? it's the "as long as" they gets an artist into trouble every darn time!!

 

But I love a challenge and took some photos and began to play with the idea and slowly it began to fall into place.  It is almost finished; it needs some "warming up" and a few other tweaks but so far it has the approval of it's soon-to-be owner.  But do you see the white flowers?  Me neither.  I can't accomodate her on this one as I think it would detract from the pink blooms and the light cast across the scene from the sun.  I scratched my head on this and decided if white spider flowers were a deal breaker that artistic integrity was worth breaking the deal over...that or start all over again.

See why "commisions" are fraught with concerns?  Anyway, I just thought I'd share this and attempt to explain that when you commission anyone to do anything (creative or artistic) for you, it is my opinion that you will get more than your money's worth if you give them a broad description of what you want and then step way back and let their muse take over.  This holds when ordering flowers, hiring a carpenter or commissioning a piece of art.  The more they know about the use (I knew the size needed and the location it would hang) and your desire for a result (to capture their front yard pond in all its glory), the more exciting the results will be. 

And for the record (in case she reads this) may I state publically that Lisa and her lilies were the perfect clients!!

 

Off Trail

I find myself painting versions of this scene often: a backlit mountain creek

running through the woods as it ripples over the stones.

I guess that's because such a scene is one of my favorite places to be and as

such I am never quite satisfied with my interpretation on paper. It's a lot to ask:

capturing the beauty of an area as well as all the wonderful

feelings and thoughts you held while there.

But I will keep trying.

Hope you don't tire of this scene...I can guarantee there are many more interpretations

waiting to be painted!

Pastel, 5 x 5

matted in white, 12 x 9

comes framed in black

$100.00

BUY NOW

Mountain Creek

 Painting the creek is almost, almost as good as being there, sitting beside it

and playing with the stones...almost.

pastel

painting is 10 x 8 but matted and framed to 12 x 9

frame matches inside wooden liner

"Mountain Creek"

Roca Roja

Roca Roja  12 x 12 framed

Sedona is a magical place, I needed a bit of intrigue to properly present the mystery it poses.

This is graphite on a cradled board with acrylic.

sold