Friday, July 16, 2010

Old Barn and Summer Hay.. 8" x 10" o/p

This piece was painted on a very hot, humid and sunny day. And not unlike most painters who paint outside, my setup ended up in the sun ! I am sure that we have all been there more than once.
The support for this piece was a gessoed Masonite panel. Usually, my panels have had a coloured surface of oil or acrylic paint applied to the surface before being painted on. This particular panel was left white. The fact that the surface was white certainly contributed to the glare on the panel being more harsh and harder on the eyes. Umbrella, where art thou now ?
My palette for this painting was my usual limited palette. Those colours are, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, alizarin, cadmium red med. cadmium yellow med, cadmium lemon yellow and titanium white. On the side, I put out a dab of yellow ochre.
Because the "greens" are so dominant in the painting, I will mention that the greens were mixed by using the yellows (and yellow ochre) with the two blues in varying amounts. Touches of 'red' was added in some mixture to gray the greens were needed in darker areas. Thus, the variety of greens.
Because of the heat, the paint was much more loose (runny) than usual and I found that I did not have to use the medium as much or at all.
...Another great day in the sun !
'til next.



10 comments:

Victor Errington said...

Hi Frank.
Another brilliant Painting from you. This one and the previous two, all brilliant. And thanks for the photo reference and your explaination of your preperation and colours. I always look forward to your lovely colourful paintings. All the best Frank.
Vic.

Frank A. said...

Victor,
Thank you very much for your observations and compliments.
Always nice to hear comments from another working artist.
It is always a pleasure to hear how other artists value each others work.
We can all learn from that.
I have been following your blog and your busy 'group' at Strand on the Green. Someone is having way to much fun I see!
It looks as though you have had a very productive paint out.
..Keep pushin' the "green stuff", Vic.
Take Care..

SKIZO said...

Exquisite
Work

good
sources
of
Inspiration

Frank A. said...

SKIZO,

SKIZO, a double compliment. How very charitable of you. Thank you very much. As I have said to others, I hope that I have not led you astray. Perhaps use what works for you and your style and ignore the rest would be my suggestion.
I am happy that that my painting could be an insperation for you.

Happy painting..

Rodney van den Beemd said...

I just "discovered" this blog with your work ... I really like your style; you captured this barn on a very hot and sunny day excellently! And indeed, a source of inspiration for others.

Carol Horzempa said...

Thank you for sharing your palette colors and process in painting this lovely painting of an old barn.

I have a question to ask; do you find it hard to paint in sunlight? I have done that in the past and found my bright colors look so drab once I bring my painting indoors. What is your secret in matching the colors in the landscape in front of you?

Frank A. said...

Rodney..
thanks for "discovering" my blog and for the lovely compliment.
I am pleased that I could be/am an inspiration for others as you mention.
Frank.

Ida M. Glazier said...

Likewise, I look forward to seeing your work, and reading what you have to say about its prepation, and whatever you are thinking. Love the captured feeling of light and sence of a hot day. Thanks for your work!

Frank A. said...

Carol, Thank you for your compliment. Meaningful, coming from you..
To try and answer your question..

Yes, it is harder to paint in full sunlight and it is as you say. I have also noticed that as I paint in the sun, that I over compensate with the darks. They just do not seem dark enough ! And the same happens to the light colours, their strength is also drained. I think that the glare bouncing back and forth from your support to your eyes has a great effect on the interpretation of how you see and paint the scene . ( for me, another reason for getting rid of the 'white' of the support or canvas)
I have a saying that the painting "dies" when I take it inside and look at it under the inside available(normal ? )lighting.
If at all posible, I do look for available shade and try to decide how long the painting will take and set my easel up accordingly.( Where will the shade be about the time I am finished) Setting up in the shade can be disconserting at times as the dappled light and shade falling on the canvas or support, never seems to stay still.. Sometimes turning your easel and support slightly away from the direct sun helps without altering your view of the scene. When worst comes to worst , I have tried to paint in my own shadow !
Of course, it goes without saying, an umbrella is an obvious option under certain conditions.
Even under ideal painting conditions, there seems to always be an adjustment to be made between the values of the subject and the values seen in the painting ( the light is different over there !)
I guess that we as artists have to be creative with our setup and our interpretation of the subject, dealing with the light that we are presented with. Each time will be different and challenging.
Hope that this helps...

Happy summer painting.

Frank A. said...

Ida M. Glazier
Thank you very much for your comment.I am happy that you find my blog of interest to you.

Have a great summer of painting.