Friday, June 20, 2008

Inspiration ? - The Book Cover 30"x36" Oil /Canvas
This is a studio piece that I painted over the last two days. The inspiration for the painting was the cover of my recent book, Landscapes From Life. (left 'click' for better view)I had the original plein air piece and a photo reference of the scene to work from.

The support for the painting was a stretched canvas, 30"x36" that had three coats of gesso and a final coating of orange oil paint that I had thinned down and brushed on. It was thin enough to force dry with a hair dryer.

The above illustration shows the orange canvas, scaling and the beginning of the painting process as it was shot in my studio. ( My apologizes for the disturbing glare from the flash)
The palette for this piece to begin with was Alizarin, and Ultramarine Blue. I used this mixture for drawing and establishing the trees and the dark values. As I moved along , I added when needed, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Lemon Yellow, Vermilion, Yellow - Green , Sap Green and Raw Sienna. A pretty wild palette in my estimation . As you can see, not to much preplanning.
Not having painted a larger canvas in some time, I was pleasantly surprised with the result. Just a little "pushing and pulling" will see it finished.
'til next

6 comments:

Phyllis said...

Beautiful painting! Amazing how often that hairdryer comes into play! Seems the creative mode is impatient! Fortunately my studio is next door to the bathroom so I don't have far to go to get it.

Frank A. said...

Thank you Phyllis. It is nice to read a familiar name from the near past.
"Seems the creative mode is impatient!" ... : ) Guess you are right..Most things became a means to the end as in this case.

Nice to see your work.

Take care.

Wayne Gaudon said...

Inspirational .. great piece.

Frank A. said...

Thanks Wayne.. I needed that. : )

Keith Tilley said...

A beautiful painting Frank, and a nice example of the use of complimentary colours.

Frank A. said...

Hi Keith.. Thanks for dropping by and commenting..."nice example of the use of complimentary colours."
Thanks ! Maybe the next one will be monochromatic : )
Hope your summer painting goes well.

Take care.