Tuesday, April 08, 2008

This sketch (8"x10") is a piece that was painted as reference material for a possible larger painting. I played with the colours and the composition, which was fun and seemed like playtime.


The composition for this painting was layed in with the oil paint washes that I similarly used in previous paintings that I have posted here. My palette for the sketch was my split palette. I felt that it gave me more colours to 'splash' around with. I find this palette is less intimidating. When I was close to finishing what I had to say in the sketch, I put in a few areas of textural flourishes with the oil painting brush for my own personal taste.

Armed with this sketch, a couple of pencil studies and a few reference photos, I feel that I have a good head start for a rainy day painting.
"The Stone Church In Moscow" 5"x 7" Oil on Panel

A painting from the near past. This is a small picture that never was completely finished at the time of its' painting. I was not sure of it (meaning, it was going nowhere) at the time and decided to "live with it" for awhile. So, after three months, I decided to finish the painting. This " living with" it happens more often than I would care to admit. I am sure most artists will know what I am talking about. This "going nowhere", in a nut shell, is usually just a case of 'life' getting in the way of ones' concentration.


I am happy that I have finally resolved this little painting.


'til next.

9 comments:

Papierflieger said...

Hi Frank,
I am impressed by the warm color harmony in the first piece, a wonderful balance between the light blues and the dark greens.

Keith Tilley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Keith Tilley said...

Hello Frank. The deleted comment was mine I'm afraid, I made a bit of a mess of it. I'll try to do better this time.

The sense of enjoyment really comes across in the first painting. I hope you won't feel any less of it because it is just a study. I think it stands in its own right as a finished painting. I will look forward to seeing the larger version, if you post it here, and I hope you can keep the same fresh feeling.
The second painting looks nice to me. Yes, I have the same problem. I have learned to never scrap anything until I have left it for a while. I often see it differently when I come back to it later.
Thanks for the link and I have put one on my blog for you, if that's OK. Also, I have been working on rebuilding my website and the new version is now on-line.

Frank A. said...

Hi Martin.
I feel luckey to have anything happen in this piece. It started as a quick ref. with a little more sorting as I neared what I thought would be of use in a larger piece. I kind of like it as it stands.
Thanks for your kean eye remarks.
Things are finally warming up here.
Take care..

Frank A. said...

Hi Keith..Yes, that painting was fun and I like to think of it as the "loose as a goose" method... :-) After looking at it again with your remarks in mind, I may carry it a bit further using the other references. What's to lose, right ?

I agree with you about the "sleet marks". They make a great painting even better. I'll check out the web site . Looking forward to it.

Take care.

rob ijbema said...

oooh love that top one,the dark days before spring,
fantastic mood frank.

good luck with the big one...

Frank A. said...

...Yup !.."the dark days before spring,"..like purgatory, or hurry up and wait. ..:-) weather wise, good paintng days are on the way.

Thanks for the comment, Rob. It will, as you know, be tough to capture that mood again. But, hey....!
Take care..

Jack Riddle said...

Frank--love the sketch--very energetic and fresh. Nice palette(s) too. Isn't the coming of spring nice? Hope it comes soon. Here in Maine we take a couple of steps forward and 1.9 back. But your piece reminds of where we are and that, even so, we can find inspiration.

Frank A. said...

Thanks Jack. I am glad that you can read into this piece your thoughts and time of year.

"Isn't the coming of spring nice?"

Yes, you are right. Got to love it ! Spring fills us with new hope and if we are plein air painters, with it comes the inspiration to be 'out there'.

Thanks for dropping in and commenting, Jack.
My apologizes to you for taking so long in getting back to you.

Take care.