Finally... Drawing to a close

Though I at first found my Self up to my boot tops with the "frosting" on the Winter firs... I rethought the first impression I wanted... after "conferencing" with my trusty sidekick Deb. She has a great eye and often gives "Me" a perspective that sheds light on my predicament at hand. Usually I can work out my own problems... but this was one of those occasions when I required input.

Tomorrow... will be spent in "pushing and pulling" values in a few areas... but for the most part what you see in the jpeg posted is the final stage of the project. The canvases are gallery wraps... one and three-quarter inch stretcher bars. I paint around these completely to match the colour and the perspective at the edges all the way round. I'll get at that over the weekend to make my Wednesday delivery date deadline at AyrSpace.

Hope that everyone enjoyed the project as much as "I". I learned a great deal from the process... and would repeat such an undertaking again... after a rest!HAHA!!!

Good Painting to ALL

The Home Stretch...

Sorry that I didn't post my progress last evening... just too bagged after a long day of pulling things together. I had to make up some time over the past two days... and have done so. After looking at the jpeg for today... I am ready to drop the whole piece down to its original level to work up the flatter areas... particularly in the upper reaches of the Winter and Fall panels. Be prepared for some startling changes in those obviously unexplored areas.

I ended yesterday's session by carefully placing some of the vertical elements... more or less to break up the strongly dominant horizontal nature of this panoramic view. One can already see that it requires only a few carefully placed verticals to accomplish the task... so I will be very careful from here on in. "Little can say a lot." Leave something for the viewer to do in the experience of viewing. That's important.. "I" personally always feel!

Well... back to the "twin easels".... one for all around colour and the second reserved for the
"lights" of the snow...sky... and water elements. Keeps those lights "uncorrupted."

Good Painting to All! Stay tuned!....

A Meeting of Seasons ...

An unfortunate mishap which happened on Sturday cutailed my plans to work further on the weekend. We had blizzard conditions and sub-zero tepmperatures here that deposited over a foot of snow. Travel was sketchy... but I needed a few items to prepare the evening meal... co I headed out in the weather to Craighurst... about a ten minute drive. I got there all right... but on my way into the food store... I slipped on a place which was unshovelled or salted at the entrance and found my feet above my body in a millisecond.

I landed on my elbow thankfully... which broke my fall... but the back of my head continued back and struck the sharp and unforgiving undercarriage of one of a long line of shopping carts. I was stunned for a moment... and knew when I felt my head... that I had a substantial head wound. I managed to stem the flow of.... and went inside... wad of paper towel under my ball cap... and completed my shopping. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the ER in Midland... and I came a way with a tetanus jab... and six staples in my noggin'... no airport departures for sure... evene tho' I did see stars for a brief second.

Today's session was fruitful and encouraging! I had mapped out a strategy to work up the mid to bottom portion of Winter (on the extreme right). This required glazing in layers of colour to the snow passages... then adding broken strokes of other hues to give the snow the lighting effect that I desired. I then worked at "knitting together" the two adjacent seasons to create a natural and gradual transition. I believe that I achieved that. I will tweak it more at the conclusion.

I then moved to the mid to left side of the project working towards the same goal... to create a subtle believable transition from summer to Spring. At the end of the day... I was pleased with the growth of the project. I can see the final state in my head at this point... so with the lay in nearly at a close... I will prepare my Self for the final push... adding vertical elements and a minimum of detail so that I don't lose the painterly quality already evident.

I have a couple more ideas I might consider... but there still on the back burner. They may... or may not enter the picture. Stay tuned for the next stage. MY deadline for completion will be Friday... or sooner! Delivery date for the show is next Tuesday!Keep your fingers crossed for "Me"!

Good Painting to All!

Foreground Sweep... Lay In's Near Completion

Day #5-Friday, January 14th

I raised the whole canvas about 2 feet and set to work working up the lay in right-to-left across the entire foreground. I felt that Winter and Fall at this point lacked a "presence" as strongly painted as the other two... and to maintain the soft gradation and tradition between the seasons... these other two had to "speak" out more clearly.

I worked quickly... washing in flat washes of diluted colour for the snow and fall foliage... paying absolutely no attention to any other purpose than to reduced the "blackness of the toned canvas. I did... however "reserve certain locations of black where I was still uncertain of the outcome I wished.(much as is the case in working a watercolour... when one reserves the white of the paper).

My next task was to add some variations in light and shadow in the snow passages... but lightly... just to infer where interest might be later on. At this point I also made some decisions and started thinking about how later vertical elements would come into play... and effect the horizontal feel already established.

My attention then was directed towards establishing colour and pattern possibilities in the foreground water... which occupies a very central part of the foreground space. I added some basic ideas for bull rushes... lily pads... shoreline ice and brush. Those elements were key to the process of "marrying" the seasons through acknowledging the slight changes in them from season to season.

I am going to take a breather over the weekend to be fully with family... but i will certainly be looking and evaluating my strategies for making the final assault on finishing the project next week. I am well on the way to "seeing" the final image already in my brain... on the canvas. As I said earlier... years of early thought and planning combined with decades of seeing this scene in all seasons makes the process not necessarily easier...but more "imaginable." The term I used way back... "Imagineering" is the act of creating from "Within"... a collage of what is first looked at... then "seen"... then felt... and finally brought into reality. The "impression" then is the embodiment of visual... spiritual and tactile responses to the outdoor experience!

Have a great weekend! More to report next week! Thank "You"... for checking in!

Good Painting to ALL!

Painting... In All Seasons

Ironically, the theme of my upcoming solo show is Painting In All Seasons... and today... I did just that! I painted in each of the four seasons in one painting session- a first for "Me"! HAHA!!Though it did take some getting used to in the beginning of the project... it is surprising how quickly the brain adjusts and allows one to shift without thinking actually between seasons... and in a single brushstroke to advance or retreat to another!

The trick is to keep walking back at regular intervals to survey the direction that you are working in. I do that always in my process either in the studio... or en plein air. That is highly evident when you see my painting location in winter... with its well-tramped pathway leading back about a dozen good paces. Remember that the painting is best viewed when completed from about the same distance. Moving up close reveals the "magic" if you will be between the "reality" seen 12 paces back... and the reality of the suggestions that create that distant perception.

The day began early and proceeded with only a quick break for lunch and a few shorter time outs to look things over and to give the back muscles a much needed rest! It went without a single hitch really... and I have been able to complete the second of the three horizontal planes... leaving only the foreground to be worked up... and that will come tomorrow I hope. I intend to elevate the whole project on saw horse to make the painting easier... and to spare my back any undue bending and twisting.

I think that you can clearly see the transition of the seasons moving from Spring on the left to Winter on the right. The transition is gentle between seasons... and each seems to flow into the next without being abrasive or jarring to the eye. I include a jpeg showing the mock up that I produced before actually starting the painting. I do so to illustrate clearly... that I "own" the process and canvas... NOT the other way round. I have attacked the project in the same manner that I paint en plein air. I can choose the outcome... and use what is in front of "Me"... merely as a starting point and guide. The final outcome... good... or bad... rests with "Me.

Hope that the project helps you with your own journey. Have fun! That's what painting should be all about! This one is for "Me"!

Stay tuned... for a further progress report tomorrow!

Good Painting to All!

Let there be light... Pushing ahead

As I promised.. an update on the progress on the new Algonquin piece! It didn't take long to get into "The Flow"... and by the end of day one painting session I felt that I definitely had a handle on things!

Day#1-Tuesday, January 11Th

I decided to work up the lay in in the entire sky area first for a couple of reasons. Firstly... by putting in the differentiated sky areas for each season, I would create visual markers to orient my development of the four basic panels. The cloud formations and the sky colour are recognizably different for each season. Secondly... I could get the higher reaches of the painting as a whole developed enough... to permit me to elevate the entire piece early in the process by about three feet... therefore taking away the tedious and back-breaking work to be done in the lower reaches of the painting.

I accomplished the full lay in stage for the sky by the end of the first day- a good feeling and encouragement to get right back at it fresh in the morning. I will certainly have to "tweak" areas and modify tonal values all around... bit for the most art ... I'm satisfied with the good start and the direction I have !

Day#2-Wednesday, January 12Th

Today I decided to simply slip down to the next horizontal plane below the sky, which would allow me to establish the transition of each season... beginning with Spring on the left, working my way through the seasons in sequence... up to Winter of the right hand panel. I tried to show the "overlap"... or gradual time lapse between each season and did so reasonably well I feel. I will certainly adjust values and "push and pull" the boundary between the seasons as I wish later on.

I decided near the end of the session to push downward when I reached Winter to try and establish a feel for how the Autumn and winter will look... and how the bottom painted... will compare top the top. Surprisingly... I feel it is still moving as I had planned... or at least hoped for.

I will stress the point that the "Idea" for this painting has been in my sketchbook... and been distilling for nearly twenty years. Life is about "readiness"... whether we talk about child growth and development... marriage... or taking on a larger-than -life challenge such as this one for "Me". Planning is everything in making paintings. Working plein air for my entire career as an artist has taught me that at least. Nothing is more discouraging than failing to hit the mark... when you have "bitten off ... more than you can chew." I started with 11x14 panels in the beginning to paint on location... moving to 16x20 canvases and then 20x24 canvases and panels (now my preferred outdoor format)... was a HUGE leap of faith.

Tomorrow... I will move forward to hopefully lay in the middle ground area completely across at least... maybe further... but no rush. I have two weeks to complete the project... and I'm certainly on the money right now at least! Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all of the comments and support from my Followers! Hope that these posts encourage you... to broaden your own horizons... and to take reasonable risks in your own journeys! Stay tuned for further updates....

Good Painting to all !

Something Old.... Into Something New

I am busy getting ready for the solo show at AyrSpace Gallery in Ayr , Ontario opening on January 28th. The theme for that show is Painting In Four Seasons... and will feature a combination of plein air sketches and studio paintings that chronicle my impressions of the Ontario landscape... as it passes from season to season.

Each season will occupy a single wall and each wall will contain at least one large painting as a main focus... with other smaller paintings and sketches grouped around the central work to give the flavour of the season.

Painting outdoors in all seasons has always been part of my method dating back to the very beginning of my painting journey. While I enjoy painting in all seasons and in all weather... strange as it may seem... I prefer painting in winter. Winter is a time when light is the most varied... shadows the most beautifully raking and transparent. Colour is pure and objects that are normally overlooked during other parts of the year... stand out starkly against the whites and blues of winter. Even the wind takes a hand in sculpting marvellous snow patterns and deeply enhances movement and light and shadow.

I decided to attempt a major piece for the show that would embrace my joy of all seasons and in particular... my great love and affinity for the northern wilderness aspect of Algonquin Park. I have painted for close to thirty years in the Park and always look forward to my forays at various times to that inspiring painting destination.

One particular part of the Park holds special significance for "Me" because on most of those occasions I have been in the company of a group of fine painting companions... some of whom are no longer with us. This part of the Park centers upon the area around Opeongo Lake Road and Costello Creek. In the last few years, this particular area has become very "homogenized" really... due to the Ministry's efforts to improve the Park and thereby increase tourism and use. Not a bad thing... on the surface. However... on the other side of the coin... this new influx of tourists and the impact they have on the landscape and the wildlife takes away from the original raw wilderness attributes. Increased access... particularly to bus tours in the high seasons makes being in this part of the Park or the Highway 60 corridor through the Park... very difficult to enjoy... either as an artist or a hiker.

I decided to create a challenge for my Self ... to create a single canvas that demonstrated the changes in seasons in this particular place. In other words... one will have the sense of passing from spring through summer and fall... back to winter on that single canvas. Doing that has required a lot of thought and planning... frustration... and uncertainty! Achieving that goal is far from being accomplished... but the task is underway. "The Devil hates a coward!"... the old saying goes!

It began by deciding upon the actual dimensions and format for the painting. I have decided on a painting (on canvas) format that is composed of four equal panels of 36x72 inches. That makes the entire project 12 feet wide x 6 feet tall. ... and believe me... that's a TALL order!!! The painting will be painted on the floor and on box horses because of weight and height factors... and because I hate ladders! I further decided to tone the whole canvas... BLACK. The effect of this toning will make the piece crisp and bright.... much like the recent Birch Copse piece... I hope!

Today's jpegs show my sketch and photo references developed to begin the planning... as well as the scale of the work... the "loose"white chalk line drawing guide to allow the actual painting to commence... and the "concept". Tomorrow... the fun begins! Stay tuned!

Wish "Me" luck!

Good Painting to All!