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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Denver Plein Air Event

The top painting, 16x10, is the one I did yesterday. Below it is the study I did for it to figure it out. I had taken some photos the week before after I did the painting of the church spires. Since the reference photos for this scene  had two photos taken at different angles, I thought I would try to figure it out before hand - see if what I had in mind would actually work, being a sort of composite. In the original photo references from which I did the study the sky and the building were just about the same value, though different colors of blue. Yesterday though, the sky was noticeably darker, so I put that in to see if I liked it darker, and I do. I decided to not put in the windows on the right because I didn't get the angle quite right on the telephone pole to allow enough of the windows to make a difference. I didn't quite get the cattywampus look I was trying for, but I still like it. The study is on linen watercolor paper with oil paints thinned down. You would think having worked it all out before hand the actually painting would have gone faster, but I spent 3 hours on location. It was easier, if not faster, and it was great to have the study with me to keep me from chasing the light. I may change the angle on the green doors as I think I like it better in my study.
Here is the painting I did last weekend. Now you can see that it isn't quite the great painting it was made out to be by my admiring audience. But the suspense was fun, wasn't it? I have not decided if I will submit it to the juried show. I have a week to think about it. "One Way" is 11"x14" painted from around 9:30-11:30 a.m.

1 comment:

Aloha Sistah said...

"One Way" may not be your best painting from a technical standpoint, I agree. However, the composition with the church spires and the directional sign is (divinely?) inspired.