Progress on the Sunset Painting

Today I didn't think about what I was going to tackle, I just went straight to my painting. The more I work on it the better I like it. My method has always been to block in a section and do as much as I can on that section before I move on to other sections. I do this mainly because I like to start with the background and then paint the mid-ground and foreground on top of that. For me it's easier to paint the trees over the sky instead of paint the sky behind the trees. There are always openings in the trees that show sky through them and I like to have the sky down first so I don't have to mix the sky colour and paint the openings in the branches afterward. It's just preference but I usually tweek those openings any way.

In this painting, I did the sky first and then did the water and the rocks while leaving the trees for last. I'm not sure that was wise. Last week I did notice that I liked the painting better after I had added the water and the rocks. So this week, I decided to put the trees in. What a difference that made. I really started to like the painting again.

This is where I left off last week

Above I blocked in the trees and felt the rocks were a little too light for the time of day. I also wanted to subdue parts of the sky to show where the sun was. I wanted that area of sky to be more of a focal point to draw your eye into the scene.

Here I toned down the rocks and added grasses to them, I gave the trees some better form and toned down the sky on the right side.  I also added some pinks into the water which is hard to see in these photos. Trying to distinguish the trees closer to the viewer, I made them a little lighter and more varied in colour than those further back but I can see that I will have to do a little more on that. I'm still not satisfied with the sky but I think I'm ready to take that on next time.

Ok, That's Enough Procrastinating!

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my procrastination. My acrylic painting was not going well and I just couldn't bring myself to continue it. I know that if I just keep working on it, it will get better but I just couldn't muster the desire to get back at it.

Today, I realized that I had put it off long enough and decided I would just do it! Since the sky was giving me difficulties, I turned the painting upside down on the easel and started working on the water. This was a really good tactic because had I started on the sky, I would have been so frustrated, I wouldn't have painted very long. As it was, I painted for 2 hours!

Why did I turn the painting upside down? Because the water is at the bottom of the canvas and the very bottom is obstructed by the easel so it is hard to paint that way. Also when painting something upside down you see it differently and then you are forced to look at shapes and colour and value instead of the subject. You get a truer interpretation when you don't have preconceived ideas about what the subject looks like.

This is where I left off before the procrastination set in.

I'm happy with the water so far. It reflects the sky and the distant trees (which I haven't painted yet).

After working on the water, I solidified the rocks a bit and feel that they add dimension to the painting because now I have a foreground and a mid-ground. I'll probably work on the background trees next and then start tweeking the details. I feel like I've made some headway and gotten my drive back to finish this thing.

Inspired by Sunshine, Urban Exploring and New Growth

So today, the sun was shining and the temperatures were such that I could leave my winter coat in the closet! It is "art day" for me but instead of spending it in my studio, I had to get out and enjoy this weather especially since the afternoon forecast is rain....again.

I love to be out in nature and living in Toronto, I always thought I had to travel out of the city to find pristine, quiet areas to enjoy wildlife and trees. Not so. I have found areas within the city where I can get my kayak into the water and paddle to my heart's content. Today, my daughter and grandson and I headed to High Park in downtown Toronto. It is prime Cherry Blossom time and we decided to spend this beautiful morning there.

When we were young, my parents often took my siblings and I to High Park to see the small zoo there. It was and still is a free excursion and we also took our children there to see the animals and play on the playground. This is the only section of High Park I had ever been to but today, I saw a whole other side of the park.

We parked on a side street near the park in a beautiful neighbourhood and walked across into the woods. Once in the woods, we didn't even feel like we were downtown in a huge city. We walked the trails until we reached the cherry blossom area. It was a great day to go because it wasn't really busy with lots of people. We wandered among the trees and eventually found ourselves on the shores of Grenadier Pond where we saw swans, Canada Geese, Wood ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, Mallards, Beaver, and turtles.

I had my camera with me and I took lots of photos. Here is a sampling and perhaps some among them will inspire some new art.

Improving in my People Drawing Skills

I'm still doing my People Drawing People Course and trying to get out to draw from life. It does seem to be getting easier the more I do it. I find it easiest if I just take my sketchbook and pens with me wherever I go so that if I have to wait, I can just get them out and draw. That way I don't have to plan an outing to a place that may or may not have people who are relatively still or standing/sitting in one spot.

I tend to get anxious when people move too much because that means I have to abandon my sketch and begin anew. However, I am learning to just get down what I can and if the subject moves, just start a new sketch of the new position or begin drawing someone else in the area.

I still make heads too long or too small but I am seeing some improvement so that's encouraging to me. I have also let go of the expectation that it has to be perfect. I kind of like the quirky, wonkiness of the sketches.

We've covered general drawing, drawing moving people and foreshortening. I haven't checked this week's lessons yet so I'm unsure what the subject is. I hope to have a look at it today at some point.

Last week I went to the library and sketched this woman at her computer. She was a great subject because she didn't move very much. Later a man and his wife walked over to a shelf of books and spent a little time looking so I quickly sketched him as well.

When I was done with the live sketches I opened the magazine I had picked up to hide my sketchbook inside of so no one knew I was sketching and drew some people out of it.

When I'm watching the videos with my lessons in them, I sketch the instructors as they are talking. Here I had to contend with some movement in the position of their heads as they spoke.

Here you can see my issues with head size and profiles. Every time I sketch I learn something new and I feel more confident in my abilities.

This was practice for the lesson on foreshortening (not a great example). The foreshortening of my leg shows that my lower leg is not visible but then my foot is partially visible. Here I was watching the little ones in the nursery at church and thought I would try to sketch them. They move way to much and their proportions are totally different than adults.

The above and below were done today at the lab as I was waiting to get blood work done. Everyone is on their cell phones as they wait....except me. I don't know if anyone in the waiting room knew I was sketching and interestingly, it didn't bother me. I guess I figured they were all so preoccupied with their phones that they didn't notice me.

 

This guy changed his position before I could finish the top sketch so I just started a new one. Eventually, I'll get faster at sketching and then might also be able to include some shading.

If any of my followers are interested in a free Sketchbook Skool course, I have a coupon for the course called How to Draw Without Talent. The deal expires on May 31/19 so let me know if you are interested. It is an online course and you will be sent the lessons via email. You can do the lessons whenever you have time. I think I can only give it to one person so first come, first served.

Procrastination is my Enemy...or is it?

I don't think we always know why we are procrastinating about something but in my case the last few weeks, I do know why. My acrylic painting is moving painfully slowly because I am struggling with my paint. Acrylic paint dries very quickly so it is really hard to blend the colours. My subject has so many different colours and values in the sky (which is why I chose it. I like the drama in the sky.) I feel like I have to paint one area very quickly to get it to look like I want it to. Perhaps I'm not very patient with this medium. I am more patient with my fabric medium, it seems.

Well, often procrastination is the enemy and it could mean that nothing gets done. That hasn't been my experience. When I procrastinate one project, I just work on another. So this week I was putting together a few art aprons for some of my younger grandchildren.

Today, I decided that I would put some more effort into the painting. I really am not sure if it is improving at this point but it is good to look at the progressions and determine what I need to do further. I only worked on the top two cloud formations today and blocked in the rocks and the water.

As I look at these now, I can see that I have to be bolder with my colour because the pinks, purples and oranges do not really show up in the photos and the sky seems a little flat still. Adding the rocks and water does bring a little more life and interest to it though. I'll keep on plugging away but I'm seriously considering changing my medium to oil paint.