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Recent Image of Progress Today I share with you some progress photos on a piece of work that has been neglected on the easel long enough. Especially, since I want this huge ass canvas to be the centerpiece for my surreal art show. |
Neglected no longer! I have advanced.
After taking time to sit with the art and study it for a while, I realized that I am, or was dissatisfied with the background. I love the trees themselves. But that background had to go. All painters know the golden rule: work background to foreground. It just makes life simpler that way. Since when do I follow the rules of art?
Not only did I redo the background, but I decided to do so with oil paint on what up until now was a watercolor painting. I am very satisfied about the result of mixing these two mediums. Using short dabbing brushstrokes I was able to give the sky an almost impressionistic appearance (another genre from the surreal work). For the ground work in and around the trees I wanted an undulating, smooth surface, I achieve this with thinned down oils. The trees themselves are painted with watercolor from a tube and a pencil. The interesting thing about applying watercolor to canvas is that it does not cover the nubby texture of the canvas and therefore helps fabricate the illusion of a weathered looking bark. The point of having trees which look textural and natural, yet are a smooth surface is the ability to create details that are completely foreign to tree bark and give them the unconventional patterned look I desire.
Happy Monday,
Peace.
Valerie
