Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Island Queen 10" x 12" Oil on panel

This painting is dedicated to my "Friendly Followers".
The Island Queen is a fun tourist boat reminiscent of the old paddle wheelers. She plys the St. Lawrence River , carrying visitors among the Thousand Islands during the summer months.
Rain was threatening today, and rather than paint something that I would ordinarily paint outside, I decided to 'push the edges of the envelope' a little and give myself a different challenge. The whole while, I lived in fear of it looking like a wedding cake when finished.
I used my limited palette for this painting. The big difference for this piece was in the ground coat that covered the gesso. It was a cad. lemon yellow, applied "runny", the excess was evaporated with a hair dryer and the panel then rubbed to an even colour finish .
My method for painting was much the same as it would be if I were painting a house. I established my darks first and went from there.
It was fun to push myself in a different direction and paint an unfamiliar subject.

'til next

12 comments:

Unknown said...

This is such an impressive image, I'm reaching for my Dramamine!

rob ijbema said...

is it me or is your text getting smaller and smaller,your eyes are better than mine frank
such a dramatic painting,wonderful!
full of movement

Unknown said...

Hi Frank,
I can feel the wind tossing around those passengers, and I understand why She is leaning on one side. A very tender boat indeed your Queen. You captured a vibrant scene . Your experimentation paid off. Great.

FitFoodieMegha said...

Mr.Frank...You have done a great job. Choosing a different subject than we usually paint make us skilled. Even I try many different things. Well done. You have given life to this painting..:)

Keith Tilley said...

Very nice Frank. Actually it's not unlike a big house with verandas. :)

Frank A. said...

Sheila..Sorry to take so long getting back to you. Thank you for your comment and compliment.
It was a little different for me..for sure..:~)

Take care...

Frank A. said...

Hey, Rob..no, I do not think the type is getting smaller.Although, I have been using "gray" instead of black.
Thanks for the compliment ! It was fun to bite into something a little different for change. You can understand that wth the variety that you have.. :~)

Fall's a comin' ! :~)

Frank A. said...

Mariano.. Thank you! A nice compliment coming from an "ol' salt" such as yourself. :~)

It was fun to do, and the excitement level was high..

A Real rush !

Smiles..

Frank A. said...

Megha Chhatbar , Thank you very much for your friendly compliment..
You are right about extending our skills by attempting to do something outside of our envelope.
It was fun !

Stay well ..

Frank A. said...

Thanks Keith..

"it's not unlike a big house with verandas. :)"

Right !

...Or, a big wedding cake without the couple on top. :~)

It was fun though...

Take care, Keith

Keith Tilley said...

You're a popular man Frank. I've just noticed you've got 100 followers!

Frank A. said...

..Just a luckey guy,I guess, Keith. :~) I think that I get more from my "friendly" followers than they get from me. They seem to all be so diverse.

Smiles.. :~)