Painting a Large Sky Scene Part 1

It all starts with an idea, a spark, something that catches your eye and stays in your thoughts while your working on other projects. That's how this studio painting came about. It started with me driving to Grand Junction, Colorado from Moab, Utah. I drive this route every couple of weeks and I always love the color and shape of the clouds that occur around 13 miles north of Moab. So a couple weeks ago I went out on a cloudy afternoon and painted this 8"x 8" plein air study. My original thought was to turn this into a 36" x 36" large work, but I started noticing the great clouds floating by to the right of this thunder head. So I photographed it as well.

Back in the studio a few days later I did this preliminary 8"x 8" painting of the different cloud layout, using the original plein air piece for a color reference.

Next I built a stretched canvas, using stretcher bars from French Canvas of New Jersey and primed canvas. This photo is from a canvas I built last year but the construction is the same.

Now that the canvas is on the easel the first thing I do is texture the surface. I use acrylic paint to add brush strokes as an under painting. Once that dries, I paint a wash over the entire canvas. I don't like painting on a white surface; this time a chose a light blue/purple wash because I'm painting mostly sky and I didn't want to struggle against an opposing color, like orange. Once the wash was dry I drew a grid out on the canvas surface . I also drew a grid over a scaled drawing and photo. Then I transfer the outlines of the clouds and ground to the canvas, using the grid as a guide.

See Part 2 for the remaining steps

 

 



Developing Large Paintings from Plein Air Sketches #2

Picking up from the last blog; this image shows the early block-in of color on a 16" x 20" canvas. Notice first that I chose a warm color for the initial wash. I don't like painting on a white canvas. It seems that when I have painted on white, I'm continuously fighting the surface to make sure that the white doesn't show through. When you lay down an initial wash, it eliminates that problem and creates a background color that can easily show through in several spots to tie the rest of the colors together; creating a color harmony. This image shows the block-in of colors in the shadow areas of the painting which includes the back rock wall with rocky tiers and snow piled on each tier. Also the willow bushes get their block-in of color. You can see that the base color for the willows is purple; not black, brown, green or yellow ochre. As I mentioned in the last blog, the color mixing for all studio paintings is subject to the color as seen in person and captured in plein air paintings...DO NOT TRUST PHOTOGRAPHS. One more thing; I took the willow block-in color and used it in the shadows of the rocks and bushes on the right side of the painting. This helps to create a color unity throughout the entire work.

This image is the finished painting with possibly a few minor tweaks to the stones in the shadows along the frozen river bank, (the 4 stones are too evenly spaced), I'll probably add some variation in the studio on Tuesday.  Notice the open water in the river; it's darker than the rear wall. Also notice the bush reflections are darker. The base color for the snow is a warmed-up reddish white (never use pure white....never). The sun lit bush closest to the river and the ice next to it are the brightest parts of the painting. This is intentional, it becomes the focal point. I designed this painting so that your eye leads in by following the open water, (left to right whenever possible). Then the eye travels up the background snow to the left, then right to the upper right corner, then follows the sunny rock wall down to the bushes in a clockwise fashion, then loops again.

Do you have comments, suggestions, questions? Let me know and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Canyon Light in Moab, Utah

Canyon Light
Painting No. 1-L-12
36" x 36"
oil on canvas

This is my latest painting of the rock formations around Moab, Utah. It's based on plein air field studies and a few photos of the area. This is also my first studio painting from the new adventure of leaving my old life and starting a new one here in Utah.

Here's a view of a portion of the studio-gallery space I will be in beginning in 2 weeks. It was a hassle moving everything I own across 2 states in the middle of winter but I made it and nothing was damaged in the move.


Under Construction

Under Construction

I was comparing art with a fellow painter when it struck me that perhaps others would be interested in seeing the underside of my paintings. This is my current work of the rock formations north of Moab, Utah. As some of you know, I'll be relocating there within the next 6 weeks. So I'm working on larger paintings for the gallery.

Ok, to start off I used a very light purple for the base wash, I usually lay down a warm wash but this felt different. Also, I spent a considerable amount of time with the composition. The exact placement of the main rock, the background cliffs, the foreground trees (not yet painted) and sagebrush arrangements (only rough shadow areas visible). Every detail gets scrutinized on a large format drawing pad with Prismcolor markers usually weeks ahead of production.

The palette is based on a plein air sketch from October's "Plein Air Moab 2012" event. The canvas size is 36" x 36". I went with the square size because it carries a neutral feel, meaning that it isn't bias to horizontal or vertical lines. Also, square equals strength and stability.

Have you every heard of gathering all the remaining leftover paint from your palette, mixing them up and saving it in empty paint tubes? I used this warm grey mix as a base color for all the shadow areas (only shadow areas exist at this stage). The grey has a unifying effect on the overall painting.

I've also decided to change my technique up, by painting the entire scene as in total shadows, then I'll come back in at the end and begin to detail the rim light as being in the sun.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn
Painting No. 2-K-12
30" x 40" oil on canvas

This is a view of Dead Horse Point in Southeast Utah. I was there at dawn painting small sketches for larger works and I fell in love with the lighting of this particular monolith.
So let me ask for your comments; Did I capture the scene correctly? Do you like the composition?

Mountain Melody
Painting No. 3-C-12
8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Small studio painting of our wonderful Sierra Nevada mountains.

The Corner of Pike and Main

Painting No. 149
The Corner of Pike and Main
Dayton, Nevada
20"x 30", oil on canvas
December 10, 2011

The finished studio painting.
Dayton, Nevada is a small town east of Carson City. It was a stop over for wagons heading to the California gold rush in the 1800's. Then gold was discovered in the local creek bed, which led to more gold being discovered a few miles northwest of here near the town of Silver City. The town has a lot of history.
There's an old restaurant/bar/playhouse just north of here that was used by Teddy Roosevelt to give a speech from the balcony. In the 1960, The Misfits starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was filmed here.
I first came to this town in 1975, when my Grandmother Louise Goddard decided to bring surplus stationary supplies to the flea market on Sundays. At the time, the country side was nearly desolate. Very few houses were built east of here. No schools or stores except for a hamburger stand on the corner of Main and Hwy 395. Today the old section of Dayton remains in a state of suspended animation. The feel of the 1970's is still here, with the addition of good food can be found in the local businesses.

Painting from Small to Large Paintings Part 3

 As the painting is slowly coming together, it is important to see the details of the painting rather than viewing the whole painting at once. By focusing on small zones within the overall image, we can work diligently to perfect these small areas which will eventually fill-in the entire painting. My biggest struggles were with the back lit trees in the lower 1/3 of the painting. I think I repainted those 4 times.

Then the final struggle was the trees in the lower right corner. Trying to balance the shadow details with the highlights and keeping everything in perspective with the trees in the direct background. I like the way the painting came out, I think I captured the essence of Faith Valley and maintained the color/atmospheric qualities of the Sierra's.