Beach Trees, 12 x 16, BFK Rives and Colourfix liquid primer

Another week, another snow event!  We will get up to 3″ today; New England will be hit much harder. I”m thankful I went last week!  Enough!!!!

I’m sharing with you all the demo that I did for a wonderful group of ladies in Tiverton. The top image is the painting, completed in my studio yesterday with full light and pastel set. One of the participants said she never got to see a finished demo. As someone with a lot of experience, I can understand why. Doing a demo is a performance for me. I talk, take questions, consider changes, and try not to take more time than I should or bore people. In order to finish the painting, I need quiet time alone in perfect conditions that enable me to see what is needed. I did the final picture without the photograph and really didn’t need it. I’ve painted this scene a number of times before and i knew what was needed.

Here are some of the major changes from the bottom image and the top. The first thing you will see is that the colors are not as refined in the original demo–the trees are too blue, the light grasses are too light. The bottom lacks the color of the final image.  I began with the sky and background trees, adding more yellow (sky) and blue green (trees) on right. Added a little violet to trees on left.  I also added more light to the water. I did a lot of work on the trees and grasses around them, adding more warm sienna colors and a more nuanced transition of color. On the far right background, I added a hint of a bush that broke up the curved line, which I didn’t like.  I darkened the light band of grasses and tried to refine the darker spots. And I added more light to the sand, particularly in the area of the trees, along with some roots. Then I got out the red oranges–really bright!–and added them very carefully at the bottom. I could immediately see how lovely the blue green in the background read with the red orange, so I added darker pieces of blue green to the bottom and mid sections to carry it through the piece.  I think it’s done and I’m very happy with it. Might enter it into a show.