River and Bridge 4 (Oil Bar with Digital Overlay)

River and Bridge 4 (Oil Bar Painting with Digital Overlay) Originally posted by randubnick

I have been working on an oil bar painting of the Merrimac River in Manchester, New Hampshire. Yesterday, I posted the most recent version of the painting (Day 4), and was trying to decide whether to add clouds and reflections of clouds to the painting, or to leave it as it was, with a bright blue sky. Originally I planned to paint a cloudy sky and reflections of clouds in the river, based on a photograph that I took of the river. I was interested in the reflections of the coulds on the water. But time pressures of the upcoming show in January led me to wonder whether or not to take the time to paint in the clouds. I decided to try a digital overlay to see if I liked the painting better with a cloudy sky. So last night I opened a digital image of the painting in Painter IX and added the clouds, using digital pastel. I also changed the blue color of the sky and water just a bit. After looking at the image with the digital overlay, I decided I liked the clouds. I was unsure if I could create the same effect in oil bars (which are very difficult for me), but if I don't like the result, I can always paint the clouds out again. Besides, I will learn more if I paint the clouds in than if I don't. That's the most important thing, and so that's the decision. To be continued. . . .