Here is a drastic before and after; Since I had worked on the Fall Aspens last weekend and I still had color mixed, I decided to take out this painting from two years ago, painted of the same grove of aspens along CR 50 near Marie's home in Fraser. I originally had thought to not show this painting in its original form, as at the time, I felt it a break through painting and now I look at it and go, oh my! There are still things I like about it but overall, I am not happy to actually put it out there for you all to see. But since this is about my journey as an artist and not about my best work, (obviously, "best work" is all relative to where you are at the time, anyway) I decided to post it along with the photo of me starting it on location. You will notice that I have not even set my easel up yet as I was new to being out in the field again and I was trying to figure out how best to approach what it was I wanted to say about this scene.
I tried to keep the colors true to the original, as I do remember the day being one of those clear crisp Colorado BLUE sky days with the color contrasted with the gold of the aspens. I did change the spirit of the original as I tried to make the trees more realistic. I remember that what I was drawn to was the path of light on the ground under the aspens.
I read this quote from Victor Higgins while drinking my coffe this morning "A painter never paints because he wants to paint a picture, as that he wants to solve a problem. A problem in form, in composition, design if you prefer the term, in color harmonies..." This is so true.
My next post will be about one of these problems...and whether I have solved it or not.
1 comment:
Oh yes, Colorado BLUE sky has to be seen to be believed but if that's not possible, then we can allow paintings such as yours to transport us to this beautiful place. Thanks for the ride! Looking forward to more visual explorations in the new year.
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