Backyard Snow

 

Backyard Snow

6" x 6" oil on board

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I have three paintings currently in progress.  Despite completing this painting in one sitting on the sun porch yesterday, I'm trying to spend a little more time "finishing" my paintings: adding some washes or glazes, thinking of more interesting ways to say things, etc., which was the advice I received from Jon Redmond.  It's a bit of a quandary for me, though, because pleinair is my favorite way to paint. And when I paint outdoors, I feel like it's a snapshot or memento of a particular place and time and to go home and mess with that takes away some of the freshness of the moment and somehow detracts from the freedom I felt in the moment, although I'm sure no one cares about that.  Not to mention the fact that the more I fiddle with paintings, the worse I usually make them. So, I'm trying to find a balance, and I'm still getting the hang of some new techniques.  One new technique or tool that I feel has added another dimension to my paintings is using a scraper tool or paint squeegee.  That's what I used to create the highest value parts of this painting - I just scraped away the paint down to the toned board and voila, sled tracks/footprints. I also used it to create the little highlights at the top of the painting. Almost all of my recent paintings have felt like a step forward, and I have more ideas than I have time for, so that's a good thing. 

'Wet Snow'

16" x 20"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$100

This is the last of three that I'm posting for October. I like this one a lot although my photo is bad as usual. When I look at my last 15 or so paintings I can see improvement, which is my goal. I've posted some links to a few of my favorite artists below - Although I know I'm improving, when I took at the work of the artists below, I realize that I have a long, long way to go. Some formal teaching might help too at some point.

http://jennifermcchristian.com/
http://www.johnsingersargent.org/
http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluecloudstudios.com/default.htm
http://matthewpeck.com/

"Snow on the Lines"

16" x 40"
Oil on canvas
Offers Accepted

This painting is hanging in our bedroom and has been since mid-February, 2010. But, it goes to show that you never really know when a painting is "finished." I thought this painting was finished until last night when I was laying in bed staring at it and thinking that it needed a few spots of bright-white in the foreground...So, I added them just a few minutes ago.

There are differing schools of thought on adding to paintings once they are supposedly "finished." Some artists are very much against "retouching" and view it as a blasphemous act that takes away from the original, creative moment. Others, like myself apparently, think it's done when we say it's done. I respect both lines of thought.

I painted this during one of the many 2010 blizzards - I think this was during the first February blizzard. Either way, these are the woods near our house in Reston, VA. The open, white area in the distance is an underground power line that runs through the neighborhoods. It's nice that Reston chose to bury their power-lines. Keeping the area around the lines open has allowed the surrounding neighborhoods to get a lot more use out of the space. There are garden plots, sports fields and courts, and paths all along the lines throughout Reston. It looks pretty good too...