Afternoon Cloud Study

"Afternoon Cloud Study", 6 x 6, oil on panel

Another long stretch without posting!  Unfortunately, it has been a bad winter for technology in the Caribbean.  Between frying my laptop (now replaced!) and lack of internet access it has been difficult to post the last few months. But, the season is winding down here in the Virgin Islands and I will be back in Saratoga in a couple of weeks.  I am looking forward to some Spring painting!  This is a small study for some cloud paintings that are in the planning stage at this point.  This painting is all about the edges:  edges of the clouds and edges of the trees against the sky.  Again, it is painted from memory and sketches in an indirect manner.  For me at least, it helps to paint these kind of paintings in stages rather than alla prima (in one sitting) as it allows more time to work through the design, drawing and edges in the first phase of the painting process.

Late Afternoon in Lubec

"Late Afternoon Lubec", oil on panel, 8 x 10

This was the view from the backyard of a house I rented in Lubec Maine a few summers ago.  I painted this study mainly from memory and pencil sketches.  My photo reference was quite dark and blurry so I  used it solely as a starting point.  I am trying to do more complete drawings and studies in pencil, pen or charcoal on location so that I can use as them as references instead of photos.  Drawing takes much longer than painting and really requires you to focus on what aspect of the scene you want to capture.  I think you end up retaining more visual memory of a location because it takes so much more time and concentration to render something in pencil and paper than with a brush and paint.

Moody Marsh

"Moody Marsh", oil on panel, 8 x 8

I have done several paintings of the marshes around the Thimble Islands in Connecticut.  There are so many design possibilities with marshes because of the serpentine nature of the water winding its way through the islands.  I have revisited this particular design a few times and am still refining it.   I wanted to avoid leading the near edge of the river directly into the corner but I think I created a perspective problem.  I will adjust it when it is dry.

Edgar Payne Study

Wow! I can't believe it has been almost a month since the last post! I am still in the Caribbean and we have been very busy with guests the last four weeks so I have not had much time to paint or post. I have been able to get some work done between charters for my Deborah Paris online classes which I will talk about at a later date. The painting below is a copy of an Edgar Payne painting that I did for a recent class on painting water and reflections. I would normally spend more time on something like this but I ran out of time . . . As usual!

Work in progress eden

I havenot had an internet connection for days. Here is one of the final paintings afer two layers. I know it needs more mid value transitions between the light and dark areas which u will do in the next layer.

More Caribbean Skies

This study was painted at dawn so it was still dark outside. It is painted on carton board which is an interesting surface. It is the color of cardboard and quite "scratchy" in texture. Carton board is also very absorbent so the color change is more noticeable when dry versus linen. The impressionsts used a similar surface for their oil sketches at the turn of the last century. I like it for studies and sketches but the drawback is that it has to be framed under glass (as do all works on paper) .

Sky Painting

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Unfortunately, I have had a tragic incident with my Macbook and a glass of water. I wish I could say it is the first time it has happened but it isn't. It's tne second time in less than two years. They can create all this incredible technology but they can't (read:won't) make a laptop than can withstand water. aaarrgggh. In any case, I am solely reliant on the ipad until I return to the US. It is maddening. i am growing less fond of the ipad on a daily basis and I am REALLY unhappy with the blogger app which as you can see has basically no capabilities to edit or change anything whatsoever. So, after all this complaining, here is one of the sky studies I have been working on this week. It is really interesting painting clouds. Quite challenging! i will go into more discussion on "skying" as Constable called it in the next couple of days.