Friday, March 16, 2007


Another Enlargement...

So, after some prompting from a few colleagues, I decided to
do a larger studio piece of the earlier plein air painting, ''The Road To Picton'. (which may be seen here to the right) This was the only reference material that I had to work from as I did not have any photo reference.

Knowing that my plein air piece was a 10"x 12" , I felt that my larger canvas should be proportionate to it. This means that I would be able to stay as
close as possible to the original composition and drawing when I began the freehand transfer.

"The Road To Picton" 20' x 24" o/c

I used a 20" x 24" canvas that was previously coated (roughly applied) with three coats of gesso. After the gesso had completely dried, I applied a mixture of acrylic colours, Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna to the surface. In this particular case, I had to apply two coats in order to arrive at a number five value or close to it. If you have to apply two coats to your support as I did, remember to apply the second coat after the first has dried.

For the final painting , I used the same oil colours that I previously used for the smaller reference piece.
As I was painting the studio piece, I changed the "mood" of the piece and this may be noted in the handling of the sky, the warming of the colours in the crowns of the trees and the warmer feeling in the snow areas.
In other areas such as the house and in the green of the trees, additional colours were added to my palette. These differences may be readily seen in a comparison of the sketch and the studio painting.

For now, I am pleased with the results. But, ask me again a few weeks. ;-)

'til next.



4 comments:

Ed Terpening said...

I think the larger studio painting is an improvement. You've really kept the painting looking fresh/spontaneous.

Frank A. said...

Ed.. I appreciate your comment and compliment. Thank you for taking the time to post a reply.

Hope the painting is going well.

Take care, Frank.

Michael Pieczonka said...

Hi Frank, I have to say that I love the PA that you did this studio piece from (which turned out excellent as well!). You definitely changed the mood with the sky in the studio piece, and it somehow has a much warmer feel all around. I'm floored that you can pull a larger studio piece with no photo ref and just the sketch!!
I'd like to ask how long it would take you to pull off a piece like the original plein air??

very nice work, Mike

Frank A. said...

Hi Michael

Thank you ! If I remember correctly. the original painting time (plein air) was about 3 hrs. and I spent some time on it in studio.