Wednesday, November 30, 2005


This painting is the result of trying to do something a little out of the ordinary.
The normal proceedure for a plein aire painter would be to do a small painting of the subject in the field or at the site as reference material for a larger studio painting to be done later or at the leisure of the artist.


You will notice that the painting is recognizable from a previously posted piece entitled "Oxtongue Rapids", (16"x20") which was my reference material for this smaller painting. In this case, I have worked backwards, if you will. Working from large reference material and painting on a smaller support, in this instance, an 8"x10" panel, made simplification of the smaller painting that much more difficult.


In doing this painting, it was not my intention to do a more detailed piece, but to maintain what I considered to be the "painterly feeling" of the larger original painting. I think that this "feeling" can be easily lost when working in the studio under a consistant light source and ideal conditions as compared to a ever changing, fleeting light source that add up to a limited time to capture the moment on canvas.


This painting is a 8"x10", oil on panel and I like to think of it ("Birches On The Oxtongue") as a companion piece to the larger, "Oxtongue Rapids".
It was fun and I am pleased with the results.


'Til next...

2 comments:

Israel Yang said...

This is one amazing painting Frank, this is a gem. It captivated me completely, an artist's dream to having produced such work.

Frank A. said...

Thank you, Israel. A very generous compliment. I am happy that you enjoyed it.
Frank.