On the Rocks, 14 x 11, UART 400
Morning Impression, Marshmere, 9 x 12, Wallis Belgian mist
I’m back from the cool, wet Northeast. Back to the hot, humid, wet Mid-Atlantic! It’s been a real contrast from the very hot and dry Southwest. (Better for my skin though!) Unfortunately, I had very little time to paint outside. These two were done the day after I arrived on a beautiful morning with early yellow light. I worked hard to keep them as loose as possible.The picture with rocks and heron was done first and has more detail. But I tried to keep the background suggestive and loose. The pointed rock catching the light was my intended center of interest. Then the heron flew in and I couldn’t resist adding him. But I never got his legs and had to resolve the problem by adding another bush! The second picture was done very quickly and loosely and I really did eliminate most of the detail, focusing on shapes, colors, and light. When I was out painting these pictures, I was in heaven and really looked forward to a week of plein air painting. However, the workshop I took was all indoors (when there was sun), then two days later the fog and mist arrived, followed by rain. I did get one more picture and will put that in a separate post. One thing I’m not sure about in the second picture is the grass and reflections in the water. I think it distracts from the basic shapes at high tide. What do you think?
Would not touch the first one: On the Rocks, it is beautiful, the heron is a fun touch.
Like the second one also, I like the shape of the water, but the color looks a little off, but that is from a computer view.
THanks for both comments Gloria. I appreciate it. I’m quite happy with these pieces, just wish I could have done a little more. I had a great time on Sunday and hope that the demo was successful. It’s not the greatest painting I’ve ever done, but it was all about the process and I was glad that people got engaged in it. I look forward to next summer.
I would lose the grasses & their reflections from the “point” down to the bottom right. You have really captured humidity in these 2 works – something I am not used to painting!
Thanks Marilyn. I think I’ll remove them and refilm to see what it looks like. I think they are a distraction myself.
I am drawn to Morning Impression – I like the contrast of dark/light and your putting in some colors other than green – which is a very hard color for me to use in my own paintings. Keep up the great work, Jean. – E
Thanks Elizabeth. I’m thinking I’ll remove the grasses and reflections, which look like little hairs! And I’m also thinking I might try a larger version, maybe on Reeves BFK with gel to see what I can do with it. I hope things are a little cooler now in Santa Fe?
Love your work. I see examples of various times of day. I wonder how to do night scenes.
Since you’ve studied with Doug Dawson, you’ve no doubt seen his work. He is the master of night scenes. I am not! Never done one in my life, as far as I can remember (but I have his notes!) I love early morning as I’m often up early and out walking. Tend to get out to paint during mid day. Rarely get out at dusk but have taken pictures.
Doug did not focus on night scenes as the weather was sooo bad.