Thursday, June 15, 2017

Bright Tree at Long Hill (Revised) as of June 15, 2017


This is an oil bar painting that I started this spring, and pronounced finished back on April 29, 2017.  It has been in my home studio every since, and I have been thinking of revising it, and now I am.  Last week I got started. I wanted to add more contrast and more intensity to some of the colors. This painting is based on a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens in October. ( My reference photo is posted here on November 5th). Although I took the photo on an overcast day, I have been thinking that the colors need to be more vibrant.  Often an overcast sky makes colors seem more intense.  I have been working on this and today I began by adding some bright white to the trim of the buildings.  I think bright white was missing from the painting; I think the eye (the mind) needs to see it as a reference point.  Then I added more yellow to the leaves, and more shadows to the tree in the foreground. Of course I was looking at the photo, and decided to make some adjustments to the composition.  I wanted to show more of the house through the trees, so I opened up that space. I also adjusted some of the shapes of the trees to bring them closer to the shapes in the photo.  To be continued. . . 

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