Here is one more of the photographs that I included in my art show. I posted the original version of this photograph here a few years ago. And recently, I have been using the photo as a reference for one of my oil bar paintings. But last Tuesday night, I used my Painter program to create this posterized version. Then I printed it, framed it, and took it to New Hampshire on Wednesday. And now it is on display. . .
On Tuesday night, I was printing and framing my photographs for the show in New Hampshire. I wanted them all to be posterized. Some already were, but this one was among those that were not. So I opened the image in Painter and fiddled with the controls until I got the effect I wanted.
Yesterday I went up to Manchester, New Hampshire, to hang my art work for an upcoming exhibit. I am showing seven oil bar paintings, as well as the photographs that inspired them. Yesterday, after the work was (finally) up on the walls, I took pictures, and last night I posted a photo of the paintings here. The picture I am posting tonight shows my framed photographs on display.
This is a photo of my oil bar paintings, as they looked this afternoon right after they were hung. (This is for an upcoming show at the University of New Hampshire Graduate Center in Manchester.) Today was the big trip up to New Hampshire with a car full of paintings and photos. There were times that I doubted I would ever get this exhibit finished on time, especially in early December when I moved out of my studio, and even last night, when I was having trouble printing and framing the photos. I was still frazzled today, but I had a lot of great help getting the work hung, and in a straight line! Now I am tired, but happy, and very glad that I didn't give up!
My paintings are done and just about dry, which is great because tomorrow they are going up to New Hampshire. My plan was to display the photos that inspired the paintings, time permitting. (I have done this before, and I group the photos together, separate from the paintings.) Today I bought some little frames, and thereby committed myself to do this. I plan to show posterized versions of the photos. I love the way it looks, for one thing. And it seems appropriate because a posterized photo can be so helpful when I am painting because it emphasizes shapes and colors. But the most practical reason to posterized these photos is that they were several cameras (including my old low-res cell phone) and in a variety of situations (including photography from the passenger's seat of a moving car). So some are low res and fuzzy, and some are very clear. Posterizing kind of evens out the resolution issue so they look good together. Although I had already posterized some of the photos(and published here that way), about half of them had not been posterized. So I posterized the rest tonight and printed them out. (I omit here all the battles I had with the printing process.) But I still have to frame seven photos tonight, so I am going to stop typing and just say that this image is the photo that inspired my painting of the path and footbridge. Tonight I created this posterized version of it.
I thought this painting was finished a couple of days ago, but yesterday I decided to deepen the shadows on the footbridge just a bit. Now I am ready to say that this is finally finished. I am planning to use this image to publicize the exhibit.
Yesterday I worked on this painting of a New Hampshire lake. I started by reworking the cloud formations, adding a little bit of purple to the clouds. I also reworked the dark shadows within the clouds to get them to line up on the diagonal a bit more, for the sake of perspective as well as the composition. Then I added just a bit of variation to the color of the water. I thought I was finished, and walked away. But then I decided to to eliminate a horizontal line near the top of the canvas by extending the break in the clouds all the way to the top of the canvas, creating a strong diagonal line.
I am getting my paintings ready to take up to New Hampshire next week for an exhibit. So I am cleaning up any last minute problems and applying paint all around the sides, to serve as framing. Today I made a few small changes to this painting. Using my reference photo as a rough guide, I added a little more dappled light to the footbridge. I also decided to add just a few small touches of light blue to suggest sky. The sky isn't visible in my photo, but I wanted to make the image feel more open. Now I think this painting is just about ready to go.
This is an oil bar painting in progress as of Jan 22. After posting a photo of this painting yesterday, I decided that the shadowy part of the path was losing the orange and yellow tones. So today I mixed up some golden apricot color and added some of it, applying it as a glaze in some places, and in others, stippling it on over the purple shadows. I was hoping to create the effect of leaves on the path. I think the color is better now, though I know it is hard to see by comparing photos, because this one was taken in artificial light, while the others were taken in sunlight. While I was working on this painting, I also made a few more little adjustments to the lines in the painting, putting my ruler right up on the canvas, to try to improve the perspective. Now I am just about ready to say this painting is done. Anyway, I am running out of time to do more! However, if I see something that needs to be fixed, I will.
Today I made a few modifications to this painting. I made a little adjustment to one line, to improve the perspective. Then I intensified some areas of light and shadow on the path, and tried to create the effect of autumn leaves on the ground. Although I might make some very minor changes, I think this is very close to finished. And that's a good thing, because next week I plan to take these paintings up to New Hampshire for the show.
Today I continued to get my paintings ready for an upcoming exhibit. (The plan is to take them up to New Hampshire next week.) I made some small last-minute changes to this one this afternoon. I did a little more work to even out the colors of the sky, and also added some definition to the trees and to the horizon line. Now I think this one is just about ready to go. . . .
This is another oil bar painting in progress as of Day 4, which is today, January 19. I am trying to get my paintings ready for an exhibit in Manchester, New Hampshire, and I am scheduled to have them up there next week. So now I am making sure the paint extends all the way to the edges of the canvas, for each painting. And today I also started applying gray or neutral oil paint to the edges of the canvas (as a kind of frame). I want to get that done in the next few days so everything will be dry in time. But even as I do these tasks, I am still making small modifications in the paintings. Today I adjusted the shore line in the foreground of this painting, something I have been meaning to do. Now the image is closer to my photo (not that important), and the composition is more peaceful (very important.) I also made the edge of the shoreline, in the foreground, just a little darker. I also added some purple shadows to the land masses in the distance.
I have also made some very small changes to this painting. This is how it looked when I finished on January 6 (Day 4). I added some highlights to the sun and clouds, and added a bit more red at the horizon. Now I think this one is just about finished, but I am never absolutely sure. . . .
I continue to make minor changes on this painting of a sunlit path in October. This is how the painting looked on Day 5, which was January 6. I added some detail to the foliage on the left side of the painting, as well as to the path in the distance. I am happy with it so far, but I still have a few changes in mind. . . .
This is my oil bar painting of a sunlit path at Long Hill Gardens (from a photo that I took in October). I have been working a little bit on this painting since I last posted it, and this is how it looked on Day 4, which was January 4. That day, I worked on refining the line of the path, and adding highlights and shadows to the foliage.
This is another oil bar painting in progress. This is how it looked when I finished working on it on January 9 (which was Day 6). My new painting supplies arrived via mail order, and I used my brand new white oil bar on this one. I used straight white to add highlights to the sun. I adjusted the line of the snowbank in the foreground. I used a very blue-gray for shadows, and a very pale yellow to even out the sky color and then put just a touch of it on the snowbank, where the sunlight might fall. Then I added a little definition to the base of the trees. I am not ready to say that this is finished, but it is close.
I have been making small adjustments in this painting. On January 9 (which was Day 8), I finally had a chance to change the color of the sky. I used my brand new white oil bar (just arrived by mail order) to mix up a pale blue. I wanted to make sure there were no traces of yellow paint. Then I applied a thin layer of blue as a glaze to get the green tones out of the sky. I used my hand instead of a brush. (I wear gloves when I paint with oil bars because I am likely to put my hands right on the canvas, especially to make small changes. And I try to remember to keep those gloves on, no matter how involved I get in the painting. It doesn't always work, but I try.)
I have been painting, a little bit every day, to get ready for a show that starts in late January. Once I had all of the canvases roughed in, I began to go back to earlier paintings and make small adjustments. This is my painting of a sunrise on snow as it looked on Day 5 (which was December 29). I had been looking at this painting quite a bit, and had been thinking of gently extending some of the foliage near the top of the painting. I tried the idea out in a small area. I like the way it looked, so I added just a little more. Then I stopped, which was very important!
I worked on this oil bar painting yesterday (which was Day 3). I didn't do too much to it, just changed the color of the water and sky. This blue is closer to what I want it to be. I am still thinking about adjusting the line of the shore (in the foreground).
This is my oil bar painting (in progress) of a New Hampshire lake. This photo was taken after I had worked on the painting on Day 2, which was January 3rd. That day, I added more definition to the shapes, and started modifying the colors. I brought the yellow tones down in the green colors, and did a little work on the sky and lake, too. But in this version, the blue tones are still too green. To be continued. . . .
Here is the oil bar painting of a New Hampshire lake that I have been working on. This is how it looked on January 1, which was the first day I worked on it. I am working from a photo that I took while traveling to Durham, New Hampshire. If you compare the painting to the photos (posted yesterday and the day before), you can tell that these are not the final colors. But I used yellow paint to sketch in the composition, which gave the sky and water a slightly green cast. I plan to correct that, but while I was blocking in the composition, it was actually helpful to have such a strong contrast between the color of the sky and the color of the clouds.
This is a posterized version of the photograph that I published here yesterday, a picture of a lake in New Hampshire. I took this photo several years ago, from the passenger seat of a moving car. I found the original photo on January 1 and edited it to use as a reference for one of my oil bar paintings. In fact, the version that I posted yesterday is the one I am looking at when I paint. But I also made this posterized version (using Painter) because a posterized photo can sometimes help me see patterns of color or shape more clearly. Also, for the exhibit, I have been thinking about showing my photos (posterized) along with the paintings, as I have done before. In any case, I like the way the posterized version looks, so here it is. Tomorrow I will start posting photos of the painting in progress.
This picture of a footbridge and path is one of the oil bar paintings I have been working on recently. This is how the painting looked on December 31, which was Day 4. That day I concentrated on blocking in all the foliage blocked in (and covering the canvas). I resolved most of my issues with the composition and decided against any trees in the foreground. I also added more detail to the bridge, and a little suggestion of dappled light on the path. This is still a work in progress. . . .
This is an oil bar painting (in progress) of a path and footbridge in Durham, New Hampshire, from a photo that I took on the UNH campus. I have been posting day-to-day progress on this painting, so this is how it looked on December 30, which was Day 3. I started painting in the foliage, trying to create depth and differentiate areas with color and light. Even though I am using my photograph as a reference, I am making changes, putting trees in and taking trees out as I please.
This is another oil bar painting that I have been working on, and this is how it looked when I had finished painting on Day 2, which was December 29th. I decided to paint the path first, because unless the perspective is right, this painting won't work. So there is no point in starting by painting in a lot of trees! The purple area looks a little strange out of context, but there are shadows on the path in the foreground. (You can see purple shadows in my reference photo, a picture that I took of a footbridge on the campus of the University of New Hampshire. The photo is called "Path and Footbridge at UNH," posted on this site on July 2, 2005.
I am getting ready for a show, and have several paintings in process. This is one that I started on December 28th What you see here is a sketch, on the canvas, of what is to be a path and footbridge. I wanted to get the perspective right, so as I blocked in the composition, I used an oil bar to draw in the whole bridge, even though part of it will be hidden by foliage when the painting is done. The "extra" lines are there to guide me, and to make sure the perspective is right. That was all I had time to do on Day 1, but I kind of like the way the sketch looked on the canvas. (My reference for this painting is a photograph that I took on the Durham campus of the University of New Hampshire. The photo is called "Path and Footbridge at UNH" and was posted on this site on July 2, 2005.)
This is one of the oil bar paintings that I have been working on, as it looked on Day 3 (which was December 28). That day, I added more shadow to the path in the foreground, and more detail to the trees and path in the distance. My reference is one of my photos (also called "Golden Path," posted here on October 27, 2009). I was looking at the photo to sort out some of the details in the trees, and discovered that although I had assumed that the sunlight was coming from the right, in fact the sun is on the left. I took the photo at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA. I go there often, so that shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. In any case, it is good to know. In art, as in life, it always helps to check your assumptions.
This is an oil bar painting in progress.
