All About Reflections

This summer I've been trying to do more 'plein air' painting. It's been FUN! Just observing colors, values and color intensity has been SO informative! Seeing what happens with light and shadow is amazing! Nature creates combinations of shapes and colors that no photo can replicate. An added bonus is painting while listening to the birds, feeling the warmth of the sunshine, and the touch of the breeze. Talk about a COOL classroom!

Below I've included a photo that I took before I started painting. My camera will also photograph in black and white and I've found that useful to really look at values. Next is my value sketch and then the finished painting.

I usually begin on painting on location and then finish in the studio. I start with a value sketch in which I try to very clearly delineate about 5 shapes (sometimes more) and use 3 or 4 values to fill in my shapes. Next I rough in the values and shapes on my canvas and then paint over that. This piece was done in acrylic. I used medium to keep the paint from drying too fast. I can work for about 2 hours this way without having tacky paint.

This is the photo I took before I started. You can see that I really pushed the color in the finished piece!

This is my value sketch. I decided to cut off the top a little. It's helpful to figure out where the sun is! I also date these and note the time and the weather as well as the location.

This is the finished painting! "All About Reflections" •  10" x 10" • Acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, ready to hang

 

If you're interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.