Thursday, May 14, 2015

Light in the Forest


Click Here to Bid (8x10in.)

On my last day in Mendocino, my friend and I drove down to the redwoods. She had a particular park in mind, but it was closed, so we drove on until we found a logging road. It had an ominous "no trespassing" sign, but we, uh...kind of went in anyway. Seeing that it was late afternoon, and no one was about, we set up and painted. My painting was really terrible. I knew the scene was going to change fast, so I hurried and did a terrible job on the composition. But the colors were good so I took what I did home as a study, and used it and photos to create this one in my studio. I'm SO glad I had the study because the colors in my photos were dull and lifeless. I learned a TON from this, and highly recommend the process.

5 comments:

Caroline Greene said...

The underpainting gives this a lovely warmth and liveliness. Loved the disregard for the trespassing sign. So helpful hearing about the process. Any chance of seeing the 'terrible' painting? The lights and darks really lead the eye through and make me curious to follow the path on deeper into the woods. Just lovely.

Barbara Pask said...

Photos distort so many things. Nothing better than painting from life is there? Love your colors in this painting.

Roy Tan said...

Wow, you achieved that feeling of being inside a wooded area so well.

Carol Marine said...

Thanks, you guys! Caroline, I will try to remember to post the study at some point. : )

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

I have some stories about trespassing :D
and despite the sometimes negative results, I recommend it!

You have done so much with this simple scene.
Beautiful.