Work in Progress - Sandpipers, Update 10

Just completed the Sandpipers. Just a few more touchups since last week. As I sat there looking it over, I could always look at something that I could add a bit to or touchup but I are they really necessary? So this one is complete. I've started on the next and will have an update to it next week.

Checklist For A Successful Painting

For a painting to be successful it must be able to engage the viewer and keep his or her interest. It must have the right combination of elements and arranged in a way that keeps the viewer from walking on to the next painting without any further thought. It must draw the viewer in and make the viewer become a participant in it.

There are many good books out there on composition and I have a few. Well, more than a few. I try to go through them before each new painting, so that hopefully I retain enough to put together a nice composition. I recently condensed thoughts from these books into a checklist for myself that I could use when putting the composition together.

My process runs along these lines. First I refresh myself on the most important elements of composition – my Checklist. Then I do some small, quick thumbnail sketches to get a general idea of what I want the painting to look like. The size varies but I generally make them 3” by 5” to 5” by 7”. It may be that I already have a photo of a scene I want to do, so I use it to develop thumbnails. I might have to rearrange things a bit. Take some stuff out, move other things over a bit. Maybe the branch of a tree is blocking part of the view I want to keep or maybe I want to extend the branch to help frame an area of interest. Maybe I want the sky to be more interesting or less interesting. The good thing about the thumbnails also is that I can forget about individual objects for a moment and concentrate on forms and flow and balance – how they fit together and relate to one another.

When I’m satisfied with the arrangement of elements in my sketch I work out the tones and colors. This requires a tone sketch and a color sketch. Both are the same small thumbnails and, again the sketches are elemental with just forms and lines blocked in – no emphasis on objects. The tone sketch comes first because I think tone is more important. When I’m pleased with the arrangement of tones I work on the color sketch using the tonal sketch as a basis. Sometimes I’ll make a black and white photo of my finished color study to see if it matches my tonal study.

After I’m satisfied with all of my study thumbnails – the layout, the tonal sketch and the color sketch, I start to gather reference material. I use the reference material to start working up the full size pencil drawing. I don’t intend the pencil drawing to be a finished piece of work, just full size with all the elements without small details. I usually do the drawing on tracing paper because it’s easy to erase and start over. Also, I can draw elements of the painting on other sheets of tracing paper, cut them out and move them around on the main sheet and when I like the arrangement, tape them down. Then I just lay another piece of tracing paper on top and re-draw it. I might do this a few times before I end up with a drawing I like.

When the composition is finished I use the checklist to see how I did. Sometimes I’m happy with it, other times I have to make more changes. It doesn’t always work out perfectly but I think the less I leave to chance the more likely I’ll wind up with something good. At least, that’s the plan.

Next week I’ll present Part Two – The Checklist.

Work in Progress - Sandpipers, Update 9

This has been a difficult week. One of the changes I wanted to make was to darken the upper left hand corner a bit. The idea was to show some sand as the waves drew away from the beach. I did put that in but it was unhappy with it. It turned out too dark in my estimation, so I had to remove it. The darker area became more of a focus point for the eye. It competed with the Sandpipers. Removing it took some doing but I got it back to nearly the same tone as in Week 8. Just a bit darker. That seemed better. Another change I made was to subdue the seaweed a bit so it wasn’t as colorful. The brighter colors also competed with the birds, so dulling it down somewhat by adding more green helped. The birds now stand out more. I have done a little more on the foam but still have just a bit more to do. 

For realism and control, try the Priming Method

I recently took time to write an email to Susan Harrison-Tustain, a watercolor artist who I admire for her detail work and control, concerning how she approaches different kinds of paintings using her unique priming method for watercolor paintings. I wanted to know if she used the same priming method for landscapes that she uses for her botanical studies. Briefly, Susan’s method involves first applying clear water to a section being worked on, allowing that to nearly dry, then applying a second layer of clear water. Care is taken to wet only the area to be painted, such as a leaf or petal, with sharply defined borders. When the area has lost the wet look but is still damp, she applies the color. If another glaze is desired on top (which most often it will be) allow the first glaze to completely dry first. Otherwise the new glaze will loosen the previous glaze.

This method allows for a uniform layer of color and enables the artist to apply graded glazes for nice uniform transition in toning. Great control is also achieved. Sometimes an undercoat of yellow is applied during the priming to achieve a glowing effect.

The priming method is used to achieve high detail and realism and is not for those who like to do loose, spontaneous watercolor paintings.  This method seems more in keeping with my style of painting and is one I intend to put into practice in doing my architectural and botanical paintings.

That being said, I also love the loose watercolor paintings, too, and sometimes have a tough time deciding which to use. I think both techniques have their pluses depending on the situation. The loose, free style can be so liberating.

In answer to my query to her concerning how and when she applies her priming method (PM) to landscapes as well as botanical subjects, Susan wrote back that she uses the priming method for all paintings where the area is big enough, that is, areas greater than 1 square inch. She uses the method for the first few layers, then goes on to traditional wet in wet techniques. With the first few layers she has already established a good base with gradations and blending. If she is working on skin or fabric she may continue the priming.

In a second email exchange Susan was quick to add, and rightly so, the importance of Composition. Regardless of technique, composition is critical in laying out a compelling painting. Painting comes after all the pre-planning. Susan believes that what is crucial to good composition is color, color temperature, tone, intensity and edges. Composition is a good subject for another discussion.

My style is one of realism and detail. Most times, nearly always actually, when I start drawing or painting, I may think loose, even start loose, but as I progress, I tighten up my painting, and add more and more detail. It suits my personality and style. The priming method of Susan Harrison-Tustain seems a great way to practice my style. If you think you’d like the priming method or just want to know more about it, you can learn more of Susan’s method by visiting her website susanart.com.

Work in Progress - Sandpipers, Update 8

My last update on the Sandpipers prompted a number of comments on another website (A Singular Creation) that caused me to re-evaluate it. I asked for comments and opinions on Fine Art America and A Singular Creation, and emailed a number of very talented, knowledgeable and respected wildlife artists whose opinions I thought valuable. That brought a flood of comments ranging from "it looks good just as it is" to suggestions that I change this or that. I'm pleased that none suggested any drastic changes. However, there were enough comments and suggestions that I thought it necessary to take another look at the painting and see if there was room to improve it. There was, I thought. At the risk of being redundant, I've decided to include my thoughts here again from those discussions because many of you may not want to seek them out on those discussion boards. For those of you who do, forgive me for repeating myself. Next week I will post again an Update to the Sandpipers. So, here is what I posted on those discussion boards concerning the Sandpiper painting:

           

I've spent much time going over comments and advice from everyone on this website and others, and from emails I sent out to other artists who have a great deal more experience and talent than I have. The comments have been thought provoking and helped me to take a further serious look at the Sandpipers painting. It's allowed me to further analyze its strengths and shortcomings. Thanks to all who have made suggestions. It's been hard to decide what to do because suggestions have ranged from "do nothing, it looks good just the way it is" to some criticisms of technique and composition. None have suggested major revisions or "do over". All that just goes to show how a creation can affect many people in many different ways. Everybody is right! We all can look at the same thing and have entirely different responses to it based on our experiences and background. Everyone looks for something different in a painting. It's the feeling one gets by looking at it. That's why we can't always understand why someone wins a juried competition. The judge's background and experience dictates what's important and if another judge were to examine the same paintings, results may be quite different. That's also why so many books have been written. Some people find detail and accuracy very important while others are more concerned with color or tonal balance or composition of elements, and detail is not high on their list. In the end, the artist is the one who has to decide if a painting is "right". The artist has to draw on all of his or her experiences, knowledge, and feel or intuition, technical skills, style and not the least, the helpful criticisms, advice and opinions of others who he or she respects, and how they relate to his or her own feelings. Do the suggestions fit in with the artists style? The artist can't make all the changes or the painting will no longer be his or her painting. The changes have to be in keeping with the artist's style and comfort. If the artist fundamentally disagrees with the change or it doesn't feel right, the change shouldn't be made. But that can only be done if the artist has enough background, knowledge and experience to understand what the change means. I'm not sure if I'm all that experienced yet but I have gone through the comments and made some decisions that will change the painting. I hope that the changes I'm going to make will make the painting better. We'll see after the changes are made. Whether they make the painting better or not, I will learn something from the experience. I will learn something that will help me make a better painting in the future. What works and what doesn't. It will help me to build my knowledge base, to analyze my paintings better,make it easier to analyze criticisms in the future, and help me to evaluate those criticisms in relation to my own (hopefully increased) knowledge base. So, after all this rambling on, here are the changes I've decided will improve the painting. You're welcome to weigh in with your opinions.

     1. Strengthen the air bubbles in the foam a bit. Add a bit more to those in the foreground and not to those further back. I still believe that the foam should look real but not have so much detail that it attracts too much attention.

     2. Dull the birds in the back a bit to create a bit more depth.

     3. Dull the seaweed some. The bright colors of the seaweed were beginning to compete with the birds for attention.

     4. Darken the sands in the upper left of the painting. This may help to balance the heavier elements in the lower right.

So, now it's time to get to work. I'll post next week an update to the painting.

Work in Progress - Sandpipers, Update 8

Completed the painting this week. Finished up the sea foam and added a few touches here and there. I could have worked in more detail on the foam but decided against it, as the foam is of secondary importance and I felt adding detail to the foam would not have benefited the painting in any way. Attention is on the Sandpipers and that’s where it needed to stay. I will set the painting aside and look at it here and there to see if anything stands out or needs adjustment, but I think this will pretty much stand. As always, observations, critiques and advice are welcome.

My next painting is already started and I’ll start posting Updates on it next week.

New Painting - Lady Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum)

Just completed this colored pencil painting of a Lady Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum) and wanted to post it for all to see. The plant from which this painting was made actually grows in the Garden of a north Florida estate I managed for many years. It seems to do well in rich garden soil and is a bright spot along a Garden Path. The painting is also for sale and can be seen on my Fine Art America and A Singular Creation Websites.

Cedar Key 50th Annual Fine Arts Festival

Cedar Key is holding its 50^th Annual Fine Arts Festival April 12 and 13. This beautiful little fishing village and artist community is located just off Florida’s west coast about 50 miles southwest of Gainesville, Florida.

            Cedar Key’s history is a story of boom and bust, and boom again, the area tormented by both economic and natural disasters, but has persisted and has ultimately become a magnet for artists and tourists alike.

Cedar Key has probably been inhabited by Native Americans since about 500 BC. The Timucua Indians lived in the area from 200 AD to about 1000 AD. Evidence of their presence can be found in the form of shell mounds scattered about the islands of the area. Spanish explorers pretty much replaced the Indian population by 1500 through wars and disease, and Spain remained in control of Florida in general until 1815, when Spain traded Florida to the US in return for a US promise to stay away from Texas. We know how that played out.

            In 1842 Congress encouraged settlement of Florida by passing the Armed Occupation and Settlement Act, giving 160 acres to anyone who farmed five acres of land for five years. The first lighthouse was built on Seahorse Key after Florida was admitted to statehood in 1845. Wealthy Plantation owners were also attracted to the Keys and used them as a resort of sorts until the Civil War. The original settlement was started on an outer island named Atsena Otie in 1843, but after a terrible hurricane destroyed nearly everything in 1896, the settlement was moved to a more protected island..

            David Yulee Levy started construction on a cross Florida railroad in 1856, beginning in Fernandina Beach on Florida’s east coast, just south of Jacksonville, and completed the rail line to Cedar Key in 1861. By the time of the Civil War there were 215 men, women and children living on Cedar Key. Growth and construction pretty much stopped during the war. A Union blockade of the area in 1862 shut down all fishing and the rail and port were destroyed.

            It seems fitting that this small community so well known for its art festival should have really taken off after the pencil manufacturer, Eberhard Faber, bought land there and  started grinding out pencils from locally harvested Cedar trees after 1859.  Another factory built by the Eagle Pencil Company opened on nearby Way Key. In 1869, with the Civil War over, the township of Cedar Key was incorporated, and started to grow. Tourism began to increase and many of the 400 residents made a living in the fishing, green turtle and oyster industries. That burst of prosperity came to an end in the 1890’s with the depletion of timber and seafood, and the oyster beds gave out just after the turn of the century. A hurricane and fire in 1896 wrote the final chapter, destroying the manufacturing plants, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the railroad was redirected to Tampa.

            In 1867 the famous naturalist John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, completed a 1000 mile trek from Indianapolis to the Cedar Keys. President Herbert Hoover, after the depletion of the oyster beds, dedicated a large area as the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge (Muir would have been pleased about that). In 1989 more than 80,000 acres in and around Cedar Key were added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1995 a Federal program helped many of the local fisherman by retraining them to grow clams. Today that industry has been instrumental in reviving the area.

Many of the earliest structures on Cedar Key were destroyed, but a number of interesting historic buildings still exist and are still being used.  The two earliest buildings constructed on Cedar Key were the Cedar Key United Methodist Church and the Island Hotel in 1855. The 13 room Hotel, still standing today, is supposed to be haunted, with guests from the past walking the hallways.

Edward Lutterloh built a residence and store in the early 1870’s and those buildings can still be seen today. In fact, the residence is now home to the Cedar Key Historical Society Museum.

The White House Annex was built by the Florida Town Company sometime between 1884 and 1890. It was later purchased by S. T. White, who operated it as a rooming house for a while, then sold it to C. C. Widden, who ran it as the White House Hotel. It’s interesting to note that beneath the building is the largest Indian shell midden in Cedar Key.

The J. Ira Gore Residence, on the corner of 2^nd and F streets, served as the headquarters of the local newspaper, The Florida State Journal, in the 1870’s.

The wooden, two story School House Building at 658 4^th St, circa 1880, was the area’s principal school until 1915 when a new brick school was built on another site. The Schoolhouse was bought in 1936 and is now used as a private residence.

The Eagle Cedar Mill Company built a house on the southwest corner of 3^rd and F streets in 1880 for one of its employees. The structure was later purchased by Boaz Wadley in 1919 and it stayed in the family until 1991, when it was turned into the Cedar Key Bed and Breakfast.

            The festival, called Old Florida Celebration of the Arts, is a juried art show exhibiting the works of 100 artists who’ll be competing for $10,000 in prizes. There will be plenty of food and sightseeing as well, so plan to go and spend a day or more and take in the area’s history.

Work in Progress: Sandpipers, Update 7

 All Sandpipers are pretty much complete, except for some final touches, which I’ll look at near the end. Last week I blocked in the colors for the seaweed and now I’ve completed coloring them. Just the smaller clump remains in the front. I’ve also worked in the reflection of the larger clump in the foreground and I added a bit more reflection to the clump on the right, behind the bird that is leaning over with its bill in the water.

At first I was a bit unsure how to handle the reflection of the Sandpiper with outstretched wings. Should I break it up more toward the bottom or not? After looking through other photos of birds standing in water I decided it should be treated just as the other birds were. Although the reflection takes up more space it is still relatively close to the bird and should hold together fairly well. If I was doing a large structure, the reflection would break up more near the bottom. It also depends on the water. This water is very shallow and fairly smooth with only a bit of rippling, so the reflections should be pretty stable, with broken edges. I think it looks realistic and natural. Any thoughts on the subject?

All I have left now is a bit more of seaweed and the sea foam. Maybe just one more week

Work in Progress: Sandpipers, Update 6

Week 6 (26 March 2014)

All three Sandpipers have now been completed. Last week I had done most of the third Sandpiper, except for the left wing. In this update that wing is also complete. I’m not sure about the detail on the wing and whether it needs to be muted a bit more or left as it is. I’ll decide that later when more is done. In this update I’ve also filled in the sea foam behind the back Sandpiper. Another subtle change is bits of darker blue in the water here and there to indicate slight rippling on the water surface. I didn’t put in any more yet until more of the painting is completed. Photos show a bit more rippling but I want more complete to determine how far I go with that. When I get to this point I tend to skip around a bit to all parts, bringing them all into the same level of completion, to see how that fit in with each other. I also don’t want all the rest around the Sandpipers to have so much detail that they compete with the birds for attention. I’ve blocked in the colors in the rest of the seaweed clumps also and they seem to frame the birds a bit and enlarge the picture some. From here, I’ll complete the seaweed, figuring out how much detail to put in. I want to keep most of the focus on the Sandpipers. Then I’ll go on to the sea foam. As I do so I’ll roam around to other parts, adding here and there as I think it needs. I’m hoping to have this completed by the end of next week. We’ll see.

I hope to add update 7 this week. If I do, that will bring all updates up to date with my other sites.

Work in Progress: Sandpipers, Update 5

Week 5 (19 March 2014)

On this next installment of the Sandpipers I haven't done as much as I would have liked but I have managed to finish the second sandpiper and get about half of the final sandpiper in. What's left on this one is the other wing, which has most of the dark colors. I'm hoping to finish this bird today and then start on more of the sea foam toward the back and the seaweed. I used mostlly french greys on the underwing with a bit of black on the wing tips. Same goes for the side of the body away from the sunlight. Also used a bit of blue violet lake on shaded body side. May need to darken the body side a bit. what do you think? The bill, legs and eye were done with verithin black and 90% french grey. Burnt umber, raw umber and ginger root used on the head. That still needs a bit more work. I'm anxious to get the other wing in because it has darker values and I think will make this bird stand out more.

I'm doing the birds, sea foam and seaweed in colored pencil and the background in water color. I'm using Prismacolor and Faber Castell colored pencils.