UP

3 Hour Study...

This painting was the first one I did while on vacation and I think it is definitely a step in the right direction. I did some reading and some drawing at the beginning of the trip that put some things into perspective. 

I could definitely improve upon this painting and will in the future. One of the few paintings completed on the trip with diffused light from time to time. 

The book I looked over again is Richard Schmid's Alla Prima. It's a phenomenal book and put somethings into perspective again which is always helpful. 

Roughly a 3 hour study

Not the greatest painting, but I enjoyed working on it. I think I've realized that when I do a landscape I never commit to a focal point therefore I want everything in the painting to "shine", thus I make poor value and color relationships which deprive the whole picture. This is my biggest issue that I learned from the trip, I tend to focus to quickly on the details / color of individual elements. 

A 2 hour study

I think this is the most successful painting I did over the entire trip. I think my excitement for the subject  matter paired with a healthy douse of painting all day prepared me for this one. Although it's not a masterpiece I do think it is an improvement. My edges in the water could use a bit of work however. I forgot the reflection for a long while and had to add it in there... therefore muddying the colors a bit. 

A 2 hour study

This beach is confusing and undefined in the space. The plane for the sand does not recede on the left as it should which is more than likely an issue with edges and potentially temperature. 

A 2.5 hour study

Probably my least favorite study. What caught me about this subject was the light, and unfortunately I did not capture it. I attempted to paint the form of the chair instead of the light. This is another issue of mine that I learned. I still am working on this and will for a long time. I think separating a scene into distinct values in drawing will help with this problem. 

As a note changing light is hard... 

A 2.5 hour study or so...

Point on the lake in morning light... I tried to do this painting on an unprimed pine panel. The texture was interesting to work with but slowed me down a bit. I think this painting has a nice atmosphere to it, it simply isn't finished due to the light changing so much, however I did try and work from memory a little bit in order to fill in the gaps. Memory is something that I will have to work with from time to time when the moment is so fleeting.   

Two 4 hour sessions

I should have left this painting alone after the first session. I needed to simplify quicker in this painting because the light on the cottage changed so drastically. Also I think painting in mid day with no cloud cover is just not as appealing, however I do realize that as an artist I should make the moment have appeal. 

3 hour 

Outhouse at a beach. I like this painting because I feel like the majority of it came along efficiently. My main issue with this painting is that there was no place for me to paint in the shade, therefore my colors / values were distorted by the direct sunlight. I think that with experience these sort of situations can be compensated for. 

Some Thumbnails