Finishing the Demonstration Painting
June 13, 2007
I taught several sessions at the IAPS convention, the final one being a demonstration painting and discussion of techniques. Because of the amount of discussion and questions, I did not complete the painting, but promised to do so after the convention and post the result.
The first photograph is the painting as it was at the end of the class session. I began on an 18x24 piece of the new Richeson pastel surface on Gatorboard, using the white surface rather than a color because I planned to do an underpainting.
After a very minimal sketch of the major lines of the composition using extra soft vine charcoal, I blocked in large shapes in brilliant color. This is my favorite underpainting method. I choose colors that were stronger and brighter than what I saw in the photograph, knowing it’s always easier to mute a strong color than to strengthen or brighten a dull one. For the foliage areas, I laid in complements—reds, purple and oranges. After the initial block-in, I brushed each color shape with a flat synthetic brush dipped in Turpenoid, being careful to avoid runs or blending. I dried the surface with a hair dryer, then proceeded to work towards more realistic color. You can see the underpainting showing through in the muddy banks and the reflections.
The next photograph shows the completed painting. I made a significant change to the reflection, deciding that although my photograph showed the two larger trees on the right reflecting in the water, they created shapes that were less pleasing than simply reflecting the bank. I like the way the sunlit bank on the left reflects in the water, and felt the reflection on the right needed to balance it. As I developed the banks, they became a little redder rather than orange, so I changed the colors of the reflections to match them. I added shadows and some foliage on the banks, and strengthened the shapes of the trees in the middle ground.
At some point in every painting, I think it’s important to set aside your photo and finish the painting based on what it needs, rather than trying to copy or match the photograph. As I worked to finish this one, it developed a little differently than I might have originally anticipated, but I am pleased with the result.