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A second attempt at this scene at 11"x15". Some of this I really like, but it doesn't quite have the sense of calm I felt when I saw it. Any ideas would be helpful.
Paint in the light washes across the entire scene.
Then the shadows in the trees that wrap around the road sign and above the road, across the road, under the car then down into the massive foreground shadow - prepare enough paint, in varying shades and treat that as one shape. Basically everything you see when you squint at the photo.
Then add a few dark details here and there. I imagine the focal point is sort of in the middle distance looking down the road.
This visual cohesion will give you a greater of calm.
It definitely has the sense of powerful sunshine. It looks like you can, very easily, put the paint on the paper, with very confident brushstrokes and I like that, very much. You know the and result from the beginning.
As the sense of calm....maybe fewer brushstrokes in the foreground and thinner in the distance....
Thanks Antolella, I agree about the foreground and fewer brush strokes. I'm starting anoher version this afternoon and I'm going to incorporate your suggestions and some others to try and simplify the image. I'll post it when it's done.
I'm really trying to figure out the progression of washesthat Olly talks about, especially because I do a lot of plein air painting, and this particular painting is just the kind of situation I find myself attempting in the field. I've heard people say their plein air work helps their studio work, but for me it goes both ways. I can spend hours spread over days on something in the studio but may only have 90 minutes outdoors before the light changes too much (or a truck parks right in front of me!! or the people on the park bench leave...). So having an idea of how to approach a scene -- worked out before hand -- is really helpful.
Me too, kept looking over and over the videos in this last series and it looks so easy in Olly's hands...he beautifully, easily handles the brushes, logically lies the washes and I always think "I understand", but yet, I now have to admit that I have to work a lot on paint consistency, for example, and a lot more things... I can't unfold the whole painting from start to the end. I have to stop, from time to time, maybe I work on something else, than I return to it, seeing how it evolved, than considering the following steps. Maybe, it's not the good way.
Eric, simplifying is an option you can take, an artistic choice. I my eyes the painting is awesome, as is. The light comes across very well, the colours look good (the yellow is from the scan, we know that), the contrast is balanced, there is depth, the trees are suggested and clearly look like trees, the car and the house have the right level of detail and realism, I like it. the only suggestion I would have is to make the foreground shadows more even in tone, as is also the case in the reference picture (with exception of one little zone). With more straight strokes (rather than ondulating ones) of a relatively dry brush you could (probably) suggest the effect of the sunlight reaching the street through the trees. That's would I would try. This is all super subjective, so no obligation to like it :-).
There is quite a lot going on in your photo, and you have included everything in it in your painting, which makes it very busy, preventing it from having a sense of calm.
As artists, we have the advantage of being able to change reality! I would simplify the foliage, the building on the right, and the foreground shadows. Maybe consider cropping the picture. Perhaps from the left side as far as the tree. This would eliminate a very busy area, and make it a roughly square format which is static and calmer.
Trevor, Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure I can crop it yet -- it's too soon! But what you say seems right. I'm going to try another go at this and work to simplifying the detail. I got quite calligraphic at the end and that may be part of the problem.
Paint in the light washes across the entire scene.
Then the shadows in the trees that wrap around the road sign and above the road, across the road, under the car then down into the massive foreground shadow - prepare enough paint, in varying shades and treat that as one shape. Basically everything you see when you squint at the photo.
Then add a few dark details here and there. I imagine the focal point is sort of in the middle distance looking down the road.
This visual cohesion will give you a greater of calm.
It definitely has the sense of powerful sunshine. It looks like you can, very easily, put the paint on the paper, with very confident brushstrokes and I like that, very much. You know the and result from the beginning.
As the sense of calm....maybe fewer brushstrokes in the foreground and thinner in the distance....
Eric, simplifying is an option you can take, an artistic choice. I my eyes the painting is awesome, as is. The light comes across very well, the colours look good (the yellow is from the scan, we know that), the contrast is balanced, there is depth, the trees are suggested and clearly look like trees, the car and the house have the right level of detail and realism, I like it. the only suggestion I would have is to make the foreground shadows more even in tone, as is also the case in the reference picture (with exception of one little zone). With more straight strokes (rather than ondulating ones) of a relatively dry brush you could (probably) suggest the effect of the sunlight reaching the street through the trees. That's would I would try. This is all super subjective, so no obligation to like it :-).
There is quite a lot going on in your photo, and you have included everything in it in your painting, which makes it very busy, preventing it from having a sense of calm.
As artists, we have the advantage of being able to change reality! I would simplify the foliage, the building on the right, and the foreground shadows. Maybe consider cropping the picture. Perhaps from the left side as far as the tree. This would eliminate a very busy area, and make it a roughly square format which is static and calmer.
Hope this helps, only my opinion of course.