Work In Progress: Seven Sisters Inn, Update 4

I’m going to concentrate on the House from here on to get it completed or nearly so. I first re-drew most of the lines for the house, getting all the detail in, penciling it in lightly. Then I started painting. The colors I used were various combinations of Winsor Blue, Hookers Green and Winsor Violet for the blues of the House. Paynes grey was used for the roof. Winsor Lemon Yellow and Ochre were used for the window trim.

            The colors for the House weren’t mixed, but layed down in layers. Layers were built up until I was satisfied with the intensity and hue. For instance, the blues for the House made by alternating blue and violet. The roof was built up by layers of paynes grey. Same with the yellow trim. I also used a priming method to make sure colors were uniform. On the larger areas I would first put down two layers of water and then layer the colors in when the paper was still damp. This made for greater control and less rushing. The paper was throroughly dried between layers using a hair drier.

            For shading I first painted in the colors as usual, then put in layers of paynes grey until it was dark enough. Paynes grey was used in most of the windows unless there was sky reflection. A straight edge was used for all straight lines. A magnifying glass came in handy also. The siding and shingles were ruled in with straight edge and paynes grey. Highlights on the siding was added using titanium white.

Artist Showcase, Crystal River Mall, Florida

            This past week has been busy – some good and some not so good. On the “not so good” side, an older couple we are close to had some serious medical problems that we all worked through and are still in the process of resolving.

            On the “good” side, I participated in an exhibition this past Saturday. The Crystal River Mall just north of the town of Crystal River, Florida, sponsored an Artist Showcase exhibition along with its usual twice monthly farmer’s market. This was the first time the mall sponsored the Artist showcase, and that was all due to the brainchild of Becky Nolan, the Mall’s Events Coordinator. Becky did a fine job and the Exhibit seemed to be a big success. She hoped to get a few local artists to show off their works and I believe she wound up with around twenty. We had a good time and met many people, had some good conversations about art and the mountains of the Southern Appalachians. Some very good artists also participated. The event was successful enough that Becky has decided to do it once a month.

            Hope everyone has a good holiday!

Work In Progress: Seven Sisters Inn, Update 3

I decided to paint in the trees on the left first. Once in they will give some shape to the left side of the House. Other than that, I don’t know why I started there. I think I just wanted to start the trees first. The House is going to require a lot of restraint and tight work – a steady attention to detail - whereas the trees can be more loose. On the other hand, the House would be more orderly, methodical and systematically carried out. Flat planes filled with color. I wanted to see how I would do with the more creative, loose, undisciplined shape of the trees.

For the trees I mixed cobalt blue, yellow ochre and cadmium yellow in various proportions and added some indigo for the darkest areas. I wanted to get some detail in but too much because the trees are backdrop for the House and not the center of attention. I painted the trees in until I felt comfortable with them – their shape, color and detail – and stopped. I wasn’t sure if they were finished but felt it was a good place to stop until the House was finished. I could them work them further if necessary, based on how they looked against the House.

Then, I started on the House. I’ll discuss the House more fully next week – the choice of colors for different parts and how I decided to lay in the washes.

Checklist For A Successful Painting, Part 4

Here is a distillation of all the thoughts from the past three discussions. Once again, much of this comes from The Simple Secret To Better Painting by Greg Albert. There are many fine books out there on composition and I have a few of them but Albert’s book seems to simplify a lot of it and for me, at least, it’s a bit easier to remember.

Boundaries and Objects

1.      Is the painting divided into uneven sections?

2.      Is the spacing between objects and groupings within the painting varied?

3.      Is the size and shape of the objects within the painting varied and interesting?

4.      Are the objects grouped into varied sizes?

Balance

1.      Do the objects in the painting cross over the central axis?

2.      Is the weighting of the objects balanced across the painting?

3.      Is there a balance between different visual and energetic objects?

Center of Interest

1.      Is the center of interest at one of the “sweet spots”?

2.      Do lines and leads direct the eye to the center of interest?

3.      Is there a value contrast around the center of interest?

4.      Is there a color contrast around the center of interest?

Blocks and Exits

1.      Is there view block that prevents the eye from leaving the painting?

2.      Is the view block near the outside?

3.      Have I eliminated lines and objects that run into the corners?

4.      Have I eliminated objects that are tangential to the outer boundaries?

5.      Have I eliminated objects leaning outwards at the boundaries?

6.      Have I eliminated figures near the edge that are facing out of the painting?

Values

1.      Is there a variety of values?

2.      Are the values mostly, some and a bit in quantity?

3.      Is the painting mostly dark or mostly light?

Color

1.      Are the colors mostly, some and a bit in hue or groups of hue?

2.      Is the painting composed of a family of compatible hues?

3.      Is the painting predominantly warm or cool?

Following this checklist is not a guarantee that you’ll create a masterpiece, for there are many factors that go into creation, but this checklist is a significant help in that direction.

Work In Progress: Seven Sisters Inn, Update 2

After completing the preliminary pencil drawing, the next step in this process was to determine the tonal layout and color combinations that I would be pleased with. I already had some ideas based on previous experience, so I worked up a few simple sketches. First I worked out the tonal layout. The House is, of course, the focal point, and because of its size it can’t be missed in the painting, but I still wanted to make it stand out more. I placed it at a sweet spot in the lower right part of the picture and decided to encircle it with a dark frame that would contrast with the lighter colors of the House. I did two tonal sketches using 3 markers to keep it simple. One sketch left a light area near the bottom and the other continued darker objects – shrubs, sidewalk in shadow – around the bottom. I liked the encircling arrangements and decided on it as the basis for my tones.

            Next, I worked out some color sketches with different greens. Some were a bit to limy, and I rejected those. I settled on two that had more olive green to cool green in them and chose the one with a little brighter green, especially in the lawn grass.

            The sky was to be simple, especially since it is broken up by quite a bit by the foliage of the live oak tree. A graded wash would work well. No distraction with clouds.

            One image shows the tonal and color sketches I worked out and shown also are the two images I chose for the tone and color.

            After working out the tones and colors I was ready to paint. First order of things was to paint the sky in. I had a couple of choices here in laying in the wash. Since the Live Oak tree was dark I could just put the graded wash in, then later paint the tree and foliage over it. I decided on the second option and that was to mask the tree and foliage, and tops of the House, as well as the trees on the left. It took longer, maybe wasn’t necessary but it allowed me to keep the tree and foliage right there in front of me as I painted in the House. Once the liquid masking was applied, I did a graded wash of cobalt blue. I did a number of layers until I was satisfied with the intensity. I removed the masking when the sky was dry.

Checkist For A Successful Painting: Part 3

The use of tonal variations is probably the most important aspect of composition. It’s an easy way to create interest in the painting and to isolate the center of interest. Tone also sets the emotional level of the painting. It can represent high excitement with high contrast such as strong sunlit areas and deep shadows or represent sadness or melancholy with a narrow range of contrast. As an artist, you have to decide what emotion you want to get across to the viewer.

In addition to portraying emotion, contrast in tones helps to lead the viewer’s eye to the center of interest. The strongest contrast should be around the focal point of the painting, making it easy for the viewer to see your point. Contrasts can be used as the pointers.

Remember also to vary the proportion of lights, darks and middle values to make the painting more interesting. Making a simple value sketch allows you to see how well balanced the painting is. Just use three or four values and do a few sketches. Pick out the one that you feel most comfortable with. Don’t have equal amounts of each. Decide which value will determine the overall feeling of the painting and let that value dominate. Then, add the other two or three values in, in different proportions. Remember the phrase “mostly, some and a bit”. Mostly one value, some of another and bit of the last. And have the most change in contrast around the focal point.

After you’ve determined the value layout for the painting that you like, tailor the color to that layout. Color follows value in importance.

Many books talk about the properties of color, so we don’t have to go into any depth here. We just have to decide how to use the color to convey our idea. First, as I mentioned, use the value sketch as a basis for determining the combination of brights and darks so the balance of tone is maintained. Next, decide, based on the mood you are trying to convey, what colors to use. Choice of colors is sometimes easier if you think in terms of temperature. Do you want the painting to be warm or cool? Keep the choice of colors to a minimum. You want variety but not so much that the painting becomes chaotic. Pick out the dominant colors of the painting in such a way that you can mix all the others you’ll need from them. This keeps the painting more unified. A whole jumble of different colors will just be confusing. It’s a balancing act, too. The rule here, too, is “mostly, some and a bit”. Mostly one color or color group, some of another and bit of a third. Use this formula to set your center of interest.

Here is where a simple color sketch becomes valuable. The sketch will show you just how good the colors look together before you launch into your painting. It might be helpful to make a black and white photocopy of the color sketch and compare it to the tonal sketch to see if they agree.

All this preparation may seem like a lot of work before actually painting but I like as few surprises as possible when doing a painting. My paintings usually take many, many hours to do and if I’m happy of the layout, tone and color beforehand I’ve got most of the battle over. Then I can just concentrate on the mechanics of doing the painting. I don’t want to get two thirds of the way through and find the colors aren’t compatible and I have to start over.

Next time I’ll summarize all this in a checklist that can be followed for each painting.

Work in Progress, The Seven Sisters Inn (Rheinauer House), Ocala Florida. Update 1

This is the first in a series of Work in Progress Updates on my new painting project, an architectural rendering of the Seven Sisters Inn in Ocala, Florida

First, some interesting history.

The Rheinauer House, better known as the Seven Sisters Inn, a Bed and Breakfast in the historic district of Ocala, Florida, dates back to 1895. Charles Rheinauer, born March 5 1846, the builder and original owner of the house, emigrated to Georgia from Germany as a young man. He married Emma Hohenberg in Watumpka, Alabama in 1890 and soon after they moved to Ocala, Florida. He and his brother, Maurice, set up a dry goods business on the south side of the town square. The men’s and women’s apparel sold in the store became so popular that the business expanded statewide into a clothing chain that lasted into the 1990s.

            Charles Rheinauer also served as the Vice President of the Ocala Iron and Machine Works and was the founder of the Ocala Board of Trade. Notably, he was instrumental in the introduction of Thomas Edison’s incandescent electric lamp into the community. In 1906 Rheinauer served as Mayor of Ocala.

            Rheinauer’s friendship with Latin American freedom fighter Jose Marti led to a partnership that started the La Criolla Cigar Company with Rheinauer as President. Immigration of large numbers of Cubans to the Florida peninsula provided workers for the factory which eventually became the center of a Latin American Community known as Marti City. By late in the 19^th century La Criolla was one of the largest cigar factories in Florida. It eventually re-located to Tampa in what is now Ybor City.

            Charles and Emma moved into the Gothic Victorian House around 1895 and both remained there until their deaths, Charles in 1925 and Emma in 1942. Both are buried nearby in the city. The House now serves as a Bed and Breakfast and is said to be haunted, which makes for an interesting overnight stay.

            The House is one of the most noticeable in the historic district. The variety of blue colors adorning it set it apart from all those around it, which is why I was so attracted to it in the first place. I photographed it from a number of angles but found the one that included the large Live Oak at the end of the driveway to be the one to use for the painting. The low hanging limbs frame the House from one side and overhead. The trees on the other side and the shrubs in the front also help to frame the House. Shown here is the pencil drawing of the House that I started along with the photo that serves as the basis for the painting. The painting, 16” by 12”, will be done in watercolor on Arches 140 lb watercolor paper. I’ll try to post once a week on its progress, going through at first preliminary tonal and color sketches, then on to the painting. 

Checklist For A Successful Painting: Part 2

Although I’m not always successful in using the Checklist for Good Composition formally, I do try to keep it in mind and review the principles each time I’m ready to start another painting. By going over Composition before each painting I hope eventually the ideas begin to stick and become part of the unconscious process. Even if I don’t remember everything, the more I remember the better. Much of this Checklist comes from the ideas contained in a book by Greg Albert titled “The Simple Secret To Better Painting”, published by North Light Books. Albert is Editorial Director of North Light Art Instruction Books and has been teaching art for more than twenty years. He has tried to simplify the principles of Composition to the idea of “variety”. We human beings need variety to keep us interested and variety is achieved through Albert’s simple rule “Never make any two intervals the same”. Intervals are all the elements that make up a painting.

So as not to make this discussion too long I’m going to divide the Checklist into two parts. I’ll cover the first part now and the second part next week. Then I’ll summarize it.

Boundaries

Is the painting divided up in an interesting way? The first part of the Checklist has to do with boundaries. Never divide the painting into even sections. If it is a landscape, the horizon should not be in the middle. The landscape should be divided such that the area isn’t divided into equal parts.

The objects in the painting should have an interesting and varied spacing and the objects themselves should be of different sizes and shapes. If the objects are grouped the groupings should be varied. Even the objects should have interesting shapes. Trees shouldn’t have round canopies but be irregularly shaped and have sky holes in them. The trees should be of different shapes and sizes.

Balance

Is the Painting Balanced? The painting must have balance. Objects cannot be all on one side of the painting. Nor should they be in two groups – one on each side of the center axis. Though they may be balanced here, it’s static and there is no way to connect the two sides and have the viewers eye move through the picture. Balance can be achieved through a number of ways. One large object on one side can be balanced by a number of small objects on the other. Different shaped objects can balance each other. A small area of activity on one side can balance a larger, more quiet object on the other. Colors can balance each other. A large cool color can balance a small warm color. A large simple object can balance a small complex object. Balance can be sensed in the painting by standing back and just looking at the painting as a whole without looking at the objects themselves.

Center of Interest

Does the painting have a center of interest? The painting must have something in it that draws the eye to it. A focal point. The center of interest should also be different from its surroundings such that it stands out. This can be achieved by tonal contrast, intense color, hard edges or a change in pattern. In addition to being different from its surroundings, elements in the picture must lead the eye to it. This can be achieved by the use of lines or the way shapes are arranged. A meandering river can lead the eye to a fishing shack. The ridge along a rock formation can lead down to a fisherman standing at the edge of a stream or a line of grasses can direct the eye to an elk standing on a hill.

Sweet Spots

Is the center of interest located at a sweet spot? The placement of the center of interest within the picture is also important. The best spots are called “sweet spots” because the eye has a tendency to look to these areas when exploring a painting. So, the eye should be helped to settle there by the use of lines and pointers. These sweet spots are the intersections of invisible lines that divide the painting into thirds both horizontally vertically. If the painting is divided in this manner, the intersecting lines produce four sweet spots. Locate your center of interest at one of these spots and have your pointers lead the eye to it.

Blocks and Exits

Is the viewer’s eye kept from running off the painting? Just as important as getting the viewer to look at your painting is keeping the viewer’s eye from leaving the painting. Everything should be directed into the painting, not out. Don’t have objects on the sides lean out toward the edges. Don’t have figures on one side facing out. Lines shouldn’t lead out or end up in a corner. Objects shouldn’t be tangent to the outside edge.

To keep the eye inside the painting put in blocks. If the eye is led toward the outside stick in a tree or branch near the edge to stop it.

These are some good principles to keep in mind when composing a painting. Check out “The Simple Secret To Better Painting” by Greg Albert. It’s helping me to think more about the structure of my painting without getting overly technical.

Next week I’ll discus the last two items in the Checklist: Tone and Color.