Here is the picture that I mentioned yesterday. This is a house in Mattapoisett that I drove by almost every day and finally stopped to film the last day I was there. The front of the house was more complicated with multiple sides and gables and I simplified it. Otherwise, it’s pretty much what was in the photo. I used a mix of violets, grayed browns, and some grayed green Giraults in the house and roof. Worked really well. Actually, much of the picture, other than the sky and light highlights are Girault. I started with a hard pastel underpainting with a fairly dark brown in the house. I didn’t think I was going to like working on the sanded surface, but it really worked and I was happy with it. ( This image looks a little dark to me right now; hopefully will look better in the post.) The composition is all about triangles, including the shape of the sweet peas massing about the fence.
House with Sweet Peas, 20 x 16, UART 500
There is almost a nostalgic feel to this piece. Congrats on such a successful painting. Do you ever “freeze up ” when starting a commissioned work?
Beautifully done!
Marilyn–I didn’t have any problem with the commission, given that I wasn’t getting paid for it! I was happy to be able to paint and not worry about what to do with the painting. The buyer wants me to add a white day lily into the pond, so I’m going to have to remove the piece of bright yellow that’s there and replace it with the lily. Hopefully, that will be easy. What amazed me on the Mattapoisett picture was how easy the foreground was, using an underpainting and a variety of Giraults for the greenery and Schminckes for the flowers.