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.