I have no idea who this is, or more acurately who this painting of a photographic representation of a person depicts. Yah I just typed that. I find it interesting how some of us cling to memories and others just let them go. This is actually the first of these paintings that I have finished from photo’s I have found I’m sure that things will evolve as I continue.
I really enjoy seeing how other people paint and the different states that a painting has. I sometimes take pictures while I’m painting and thought I would share this one. As you can see I did do some thin under painting in order to get the elements in place. I followed this with heavier direct painting and then finally some more details like the scratches on the clear plastic. Also you can see that I completely re-located the word MONTH.
This is a view of the tailings pond of the Highland Valley copper mine, euphemistically refered to as the valley impoundment. As you may notice I’ve titled this as number one, I intend to paint others including hopefully this site in the future.
Detail from Highland Valley Copper Mine (I)
I have to admit I like buying art supplies. I like it even more when they are on sale. I added a few new pigments to my palette and bolstered several others that I was running low on. If this isn’t reason enough to do some more painting then maybe I need some new brushes.
Having completed my small water colour rough and having in mind how I wanted the image to look I forged ahead with an oil painting. In the first image you can see the under-painting where I have laid out the composition and tones. After that had dried and I found the time to paint (seemingly the most difficult thing lately) I began to paint more directly. The next stage will be to make a few corrections and to do some transparent passages over the water. After that I intend to add some small details to strengthen the sense of scale.
There is an enormous tailing pond at the Highland Valley Copper mine and I want to try to create an image that gives a sense of the scale. At this point I’m just exploring the relationship of the elements: the sky, mountains, water and the tailings. I did a small watercolour sketch to start but I think I will need to work some more and decide if it would work better as a print or a painting. The sketch itself doesn’t really convey the scale or clearly define the tailings but that is the point of working through these issues before embarking on a larger piece.
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Bradner flower show this year, but I did start this painting yesterday from reference photos I took previously. While a large field of daffodils is attractive, I think that when there are different varieties being cultivated it is all the more beautiful.
As a break from what I have been primarily working on and as an excercise I painted this today.
I was reminded of that remark one of my college painting instructors made when I found myself scrubbing a brush nearly devoid of paint across a canvas. I really should have thanked him at the time. My dutiful response then was to make my next painting look like it was sculped from butter. Now I don’t care so much, but I do love thick creamy paint, more placed on the canvas than painted, mmmm butter.
Despite the effort to find time and the struggle to know when to stop I have managed to complete the first painting from my latest series. I originally came up with the idea in November of 2009 so at this rate it would take awhile. Fortunately now that I have the basic look and feel set out future paintings, in theory, should “develop” faster.
