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 !