As mentioned earlier the weather in the field proved to be uncooperative and intermittently unpleasant with gusting winds...rain and cold. During times such as these my strategies change...as do my expectations for finishing work as much as usual.
I try to work quickly to capture the essence of design in the subject first... and colour to a lesser degree.I am happy to come away with a well defined "map"on which to build detail and mood either at a time later in the day...or as it would happen this time...in my studio where I wasn't fighting the changing light and the elements.
In the "sketch" version of "The Watcher" you can readily see that I have roughed in the most dynamic lines and blocks of colour...but that the overall mood or feeling of the painting is dark and rather lifeless. Despite this obvious disadvantage.. I felt original excitement and was able to step into the piece again in the studio with the same energy and optimism as I had on location.
In the reworked version...you can see that I added brightness to the overall colour patterns and changed areas such as the sky and grassed areas to add sparkle and interest. I also dropped in areas of dark to add contrast to the new lights. I feel that the new painting...does in fact carry forward the strong elements from the earlier "rough" sketch. I am pleased with the overall success of both sessions. I think the success of this exercise speaks strongly to support the value of painting on location...even in inclement times. "Eighty percent of success is in just showing up"! (Woody Allen)
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