Saturday, November 26, 2011

An Autumn Day... WIth Ice Around the Edges!

An Autumn Day... With Ice Around the Edges - oil on canvas 20x16 inches



Friday brought along another unusually beautiful day to get "out there"... and I did! With midday temperature hovering at a warm +12 C... I headed out in search of a "little smackeral" of something... other than the constant diet of houses and buildings of the past several weeks. I was determined to look for a woodland theme... something that perhaps twinned that favourite theme of mine with another... moving dark water.


Since it was going to be a short outing, I quickly decided not to spend precious daylight minutes touring about looking for the perfect scene. I headed due south three minutes on 93 Highway and hooked eastward on Ingram Road... intending to make my way past the Copeland Forest... and working my way towards "The ol' Honey Hole"... 6th Line Oro... where I knew good solid painting material existed all along the meandering oxbow Moonstone Creek.


I glanced southward for just a instant as I was cruising along... and my eye caught sight of the subject for today's 20x16 inch canvas. Emerging through the mass of trees from the Copeland Forest... was the diminished version of a much larger flowing Willow Creek further upstream.Not much more than six or seven feet across at this point... it passes under Highway 400 to merge in confluence with Moonstone Creek and the Sturgeon River... finally ending up in Georgian Bay.


There was just enough dark water and movement... in concert with the yellowing and rusty weeds and marsh growth and a maze of vertical and horizontal trees to create what I felt might make an interesting quick sketch. I even managed to find a flat concrete culvert... a perfect platform to work from... just off the road and with a high vantage point. Perfect!


I took a couple of quick reference shots to record the light and shadow... then dove headlong into setup and the painting process. I decided to use a vertical format to capitalize on the vertical strength of the composition, as well as the lovely network of lacy sky holes at the top... that broke up the horizontal massing of the mixed trees. Since I was painting on an acrylic burnt sienna toned canvas... I added darkest darks first... followed by a washed in version of the lightest lights.


I quickly chose and added in with a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin (blackish purple) the particular trees that interested me the most... and which had the greatest compositional value for me. That done... I established the dark water element... again by staining it in. I then stepped back to analyze my plan of attack through the mid tone range.


I painted very rapidly... totally avoiding any fussiness or detail... to fill in all of the existing toned area. I accomplished that within the first hour of painting. I then took a break... did a "walk about" to get away from the painting... had a drink and looked at other things nearby. I then returned to the easel and worked my way through the "dots n' dashes".... or "push n' pull" as many refer to this process of making balances in tone and hue strength. In the last 15 minutes... I used my rigger to add a few details like twigs... rushes... reflections in the water until I felt that I has said enough.


I am pleased with the loose...painterly and not "mannered"quality of the brushwork... as well as the fall light and mood that is present in this sketch. I don't think that I'll add anything. It simply is... what was there... "A Warm Autumn Day... But With Ice Around the Edges!"


Good Painting!...to ALL!!!

22 comments:

  1. Hi Bruce...
    Good to see your work... and hear that all is well with you and yours.
    I enjoyed reading about your process... Thanks!!

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  2. Stunning! I love the light that you have captured. Thank you for sharing the process too.

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  3. Hi Bruce, it's nice to see something from out there in the wild again. As usual, you've managed to convey the sense of distance, looking along the stream, and all the tangled undergrowth.

    All the best,
    Keith

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  4. Such a beautiful landscape, Bruce. I love these types of spaces and always seek them out myself, though not for plein aire work. I just love them for the beauty and the peace, all of which you've captured here.

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  5. Hi there Marian!... And good to hear from "You"! A belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

    Most often... the thing I most enjoy about the art of other artists... is found in their explication of their painting process and their philosophy. One can always glean new insights from others to support growth in our own journeys!

    Always a pleasure to talk to you Marian!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  6. Hi there Lisa!... Thank you for visiting and for your gracious comments!

    We share a high interest in light in our picture making... both of us! On this particular day... the light remained constant for me during the entire painting session on location... highly irregular for November days!

    Process is everything as you well know and understand Lisa. Each of us has his or her own way of throwing paint around... and thinking as well. Having insights into those areas is a privilege that I enjoy and learn from... in your work as well!Sharing my own is a joy!

    Thank you for sharing all of these things and your time!Always a pleasure!

    Good Painting!
    Warmet regards,
    Bruce

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  7. Hi there Keith!... Good to be back "in the wild" painting for sure! Being "out there" is very important to "Me"... with or without a paint box! These "footloose and fancy-free" days energize me and lift my spirits... so that "The Call of the Wild"... is not just a good book to read! HA HA!!

    This one has all of the same elements of "Tanglewood".... avery similarly structured and painted piece from last year's winter painting season that you enjoyed! Someone else did as well... and it's gone!

    Manipulating and highlighting distance in paintings is a common goal that we both search to make use of in our work. I am greatly pleased... that you can recognize that asset in this painting... though it is hardly a panorama in format. Great!

    Thanks for dropping by Keith... always a pleasure to share!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  8. Hi there Sherry!... Thank you for the lovely and uplifting comments about this piece!

    Isn't it a wonderful thing that a painting... made thousands of kilometers away... can be shared and serve as a topic for meaning friendship and conversation?

    Plein air painting... or not... being "out there" affords "Me" the very things that "You" seek out too Sherry! I have my own trials and discouragements... believe me! But these trips.... never fail to "lead me beside still waters... and do restore my inner peace and hope in my soul."

    Thanks for visiting and commenting! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

    Good Painting and Writing!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  9. Hey Bruce,
    Beautiful painting. Very peaceful. I admire your ability to catch the subtle light. I always wait for a sunny day with shadows but you've really got that 'November in Canada feel' in this one. Great job.
    Happy Painting,
    Nora MacPhail

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  10. Hi there Norma!... Thank you for visiting!

    Knowing that I have presented "that November in Canada feel" in this painting for you... is high praise.

    Your portrait work... as of late has that same peaceful and suble sense of character and lighting Nora. We all have our interests and fortes! Isn't that the beauty of Art... and the creation of it? It's about the differences!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  11. Nice painting Bruce,lovely work of the woods.

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  12. Hi there Jesus!... Thanks for dropping by and for leaving the encouraging comment!

    We share a love for the woods and places... wild don't we Jesus? We met in one of those beautiful places... Algonquin Park... purely by coincidence! Or was it?....I wonder!

    Look forward to getting out for a paint together when we can arrange that... hopefully during the Xmas break... or early New Year!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  13. oh my, i think this might be one of my very favorite of yours....absolutely lovely bruce!

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  14. Hi there Suz!... Thanks for visiting... and your vote of confidence!

    This part of autumn can be a bit of a painting challenge due to the tawniness that surrounds you out there. Fortunately, the sun has continued to show up... till yesterday at least... providing excellent light and dark contrasts to create excitement in the landscape.

    It has been a great fall for plein air people like myself! BONUS!!!

    Hope that your online sale continues to be successful... it seems a great success!

    Good Painting!... and a belated Thanksgiving!

    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  15. Beautifully painted, Bruce!! Looks like a difficult piece but you aced it.

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  16. Beautiful painting, love the fallen trees across the water and the light at the top of the piece, in fact every thing, it's perfection!

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  17. Hello there Hilda!... Thank you for stopping by... (the snowy woods today in our area)! What strange weather!

    Thank you for the compliments. The difficulty during the painting process...was working through the masses of upright trees... taking away just enough of the massing to allow the eye to pass through... but maintaining enough, so not to totally reduce the feeling of mass. A balancing act, I guess... or just plain ol' good luck! HA HA!!!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  18. Hi there Diana!... Thanks for your uplifting encouragement... and for noticing what were key elements that attracted me to paint this scene.

    Those trees in the foreground really anchor the entire subject and provide a visual counterpoint to all of the verticality in the rest of the painting.

    The light at the top performs the same function... forcing the eye to travel back down onto the picture, rather than out of the compositional loop.

    Glad that you enjoyed the piece... as much as I enjoyed painting and sharing it! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to make your constructive comments!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  19. Superb work Bruce and I'm amazed at how simple you make it all sound. I've never worked in oils but this looks far from easy. I've recently been trying to understand how to leave out enough detail to avoid clutter yet retain enough not to detract from the original scene. In this painting I think you've nailed it!!! Excellent!

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  20. Hi there John!... Thanks for visiting... and for your most gracious comments about the work!


    What you have described is the essence of what we all seek in our work- Simplicity! That is much easier said... than done! Most of the time, we all plug along past that "S" mark and do in fact... clutter the painting with extraneous detail!

    One good tactic for avoiding this is to go out... if you plein air.... or place the smaller brushes out of reach for an entire painting. Force yourself to paint wiyth a medium to larger brush... on point... or on edge to take away the rigger feel.

    I leave mine in the box... under the palette... until the last ten minutes of the outing. Stick to that time alloted... and you'll be surprised at how little you will depend on the rigger... and how much more simple your work will become!

    Good Luck with it John... and Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  21. Lovely painting Bruce...we don't see many spots like that here on the south Island, but I fondly remember scenes like that throughout the Ontario of my early days. Thanks for sharing your process.

    Jeffrey

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  22. Hi there Jeffrey!... Thanks for the visit and your compliments!

    Ain't it great to be able to share our separate worlds with friends through our paintings? While I never lived on the Island... my couple of visits there left very strong impressions and a love for the unique landscape there!

    Your own beautiful paintings transport "Me" back through my own memories of your area... and I always look forward to each of your new posts... and lovely word thoughts!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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