Promise - the Process

Promise

Pastel 6x10 

This painting is the result of several changes and makeovers.  My original motive was to paint a morning sky before sunrise - a day that hold great promise.  

I thought this might be a good painting to show my iterative process.  The first stage took less that half and hour, which may have been the problem, but the rest stretched in short sessions over 3 or 4 days.

Stage 1

I originally conceived this painting as at 6x8 so I could use the left 2 inches to test the colors and values.  I wanted the scene to be across a salt marsh that would reflect the sky through breaks in the grass at high tide.  This iteration was too broken, too jumbled and too dark.  I thought a softer execution of the grass would help.

Stage 2

The softer grasses with fewer edges and breaks in texture was an improvement, but the scene had no natural point of interest, and it was still too broken.

Stage 3

I softened the grass some more and added lighter greens but still wanted to emphasize the reflections.  The problem was that there is still not focal point, and I had no inspiration or reason to paint a larger picture.

Stage 4

This was a big step - I erased the salt marsh and extended the painting to the full 10 inches.  The horizon is still too green, but I now have a direction. The reflections on the water were a big relief when the green that was the marsh did not bleed through.

Stage 5

In order to create an area of interest, I had to remove most of the marsh and add some distinction in the trees on the horizon.  I was more pleased with this composition and colors than what I started with, but it was still not satisfying.  The grass and trees are still to dark, too green, and do not fit the color scheme.

Stage 6

Worked on softening the edges in the trees and grass, but it still has no focal point and it's still too green.  I realized that I really needed a low horizon to emphasize the sky, but that means I have to turn the painting upside down!  

Stage 7

Aha!  That's it!  I rubbed out the last of the green and replaced it with purples and grays. The focal area on the right was a natural.  I touched up the yellow and the pink in the sky and water, and I removed the idea of salt marsh and left it as whatever you see there between the water and sky.  I added some touches of white to indicate a few emerging clouds to break up the blue and pink.

Added a few more touches and signed it.

Radiance

Radiance

Pastel on UArt 12x18

I have always been intrigued by the colors and contrasts of the beach in the early morning. After the sun has come up it can often become partially shielded by the passing clouds.  As the sun peeks around the clouds, the colors come alive. The shadows in the dunes and among the grass and shrubs of the beach take on a glow of blue and lavender, and the diffused light of the sun casts a glorious radiance over the sky, the water, and the sand that lifts my thoughts and praises to the Lord my Creator.

I reworked this painting to "fix" some weaknesses in composition and soften some edges.

Quail Pines

Quail Pines

Watercolor and Pastel on paper

These broad stretches of open pines, palmettos, and tall grass evoke a sense of the old South.  In the early morning as the fog rises before the sun, the sense of time is lost and one might imagine walking this old, dirt road with a good dog looking for the quail.

This painting was done in preparation for a larger painting of the same basic subject.  My first pass of watercolor lacked purpose and movement, and the focal area was ill defined.  I added pastel touches to the pine trees and created the old roadway to lead the viewer into the painting.  I am satisfied with the result.