I'm pretty sure I'm not the only artist out there that has painted something to then several years later pull it out from a dark corner of the studio storage closet to have a "What was I thinking?" moment. After all, even the masters were known to paint over pieces that they decided they didn't like. Have you ever painted over a canvas or do you just open a new one?
Last week I pulled out the piece I painted back in 2012 and was struck with what I saw were flaws in my composition and execution. I had an overwhelming desire to FIX it! And fix it I did. This painting is 24 x 36 and was based off photo and memory of our hike at Galena Creek Trails near Reno. The Aspens were ablaze with color and the chill in the air was invigorating. I painted several pieces based off reference material taken during that hike but this was one of two larger pieces that I painted.
This was my original piece that I called "Morning Trail"
I really liked
the idea of the aspen grove and the trail that goes off the canvas to the right
and then continues towards the top. It gives that fell of climbing to a
higher elevation. I liked the shadows and light but I didn't care for
fence that seemed too tall and was cutting the canvas in half.
Undergoing a drastic transformation
I approached this make over
backwards to how I would have painted the original piece. Rather than
painting top to bottom I actually began in the bottom right corner and began
working my way up the painting. I was happy with they bottom portion of
the composition right away and couldn't wait to see how the rest of the changes
I had in mind worked out.
Completed just today- "Mountain Trail"- 24 x 36 Original Acrylic on stretched canvas
Here you can see
that I have painted over most of the foliage and removed the fence. I
wanted the leaves to have a dainty shimmering appearance that is so typical of
aspen trees and I felt that I really had to redo them to get that effect I
wanted. I left the back ground trees in place but decided to change the
middle ground aspens to be more of a small sapling growth.
For more depth I added a mountain range visible in the
background and let more pine trees be visible. The pines make a very nice
dark background to contrast the bright yellow of the aspen leaves. Rather
than an old split rail fence, which was actually really part of the scene there
on the trail, I decided to add a fallen tree.
PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT
YOU THINK. DO YOU AGREE THE PIECE IS NOW IMPROVED OR DID YOU LIKE THE
ORIGINAL PAINTING BETTER?
This past weekend, I got the privilege of taking a road trip to Reno, Nevada to celebrate the first birthday of my beautiful granddaughter. The drive takes a solid 7 hours and that is if you only stop once for a quick purge and fill up. This trip was unusual because we were stuffed to the trunk hinges with all the necessities to stay a few days for the 5 of us. The only thing is, when one of those five is only 10 months old, then the amount of luggage and baggage is multiplied exponentially. That was the case this weekend, but I managed to squeeze amongst the diapers, toys and high chair a sketch pad and my sketch box. It might not be oils and a canvas but you do art with what you got.
I found a few peaceful hours to complete this little sketch of a Navajo girl from an old photo. I like how she has turned and I think the next thing for me to do is to head down to the Hobby Lobby for a mat and frame.
Navajo Girl (At' eed)- 8x10 Graphite and Pen sketch
This week I have been working on a large 24 x 36 acrylic painting that I think I'm going to call "Autumn Gold". This painting was inspired by a collection of photos that we took while on an October hike, with my oldest son on the Galena Creek Trail, near Reno, Nevada. A beautiful hike and has been a continued inspiration for me as I have produced a number of paintings in this past year from the photos we took.
There is just something amazing about the color and contrast that birch trees bring to a mountain slope. The leaves have a quality that make them almost appear to sparkle when there is a gentle breeze blowing across of the mountain side. The white of the bark glows and provides a striking contrast to the heavy pine trees in the area.
With this piece I've attempted to capture that feeling of a crisp October afternoon as you walk along a small mountain stream somewhere in the mountains. The sounds of the breeze and water fill your ears as you stand frozen just drinking up that peace and beauty.
I might add a little bird in the pine tree but haven't decided for sure. I have used a paste medium additive to my paints for the first time. This gave me a thicker application that I actually applied with a palette knife to give that impression of heavy bark on the pine tree. That was fun and I think the final results turned out just as I had hoped for.
Last week we had a real cold spell in Las Vegas and so I started several winter scenes in my little studio with space heater blasting. They actually called it a "Hard Freeze" because the temperature dropped into the 20's at night and several days the afternoon high didn't even reach the 40's. The Mojave Desert does get below freezing during the winter but this cold snap was actually nothing compared to the week that our Northern Nevada neighbors experienced. Shortly after this drop in temperatures, I started noticing beautiful photos of ice crystals taken in the Reno area being posted on Facebook. The word "Pogonip" was popping up everywhere and so I had to do a little research on this word because I had never seen it before.
Turns out the word pogonip originates from a Shoshone word and occurs only when the humidity in the air is nearly 100% and the temperature is below freezing. This causes ice crystals to form in the air, creating an ice fog as it were. The crystals then cling to everything creating a beautiful encasement around leaves, twigs, branches, grasses and anything else that happens to be around. The world just sparkles because it appears to be dusted in diamonds and crystals. I was so impressed by the photo taken by Spring Creek, Nevada photographer, Dini Torrence Esplin that I had to get her permission to attempt a rendition in acrylic paint on a canvas and this is the results:
Taking private painting lessons would be a complete waste of money if I
didn't apply the things I learn in each following painting. In seven
lessons, I have really only accomplished one painting to completion, but I have
taken several pieces that I have completed independently to have them
evaluated. As I have blogged on previous occasions, my instructor,
Lily Adamzcyk gives a brutally honest critique of each work. Techniques
have been analyzed such as how to paint specific elements like grass, water and
never use white to brighten. Probably the most important lesson I have
tried to implement is that of light and contrast. For a painting to have
depth and interest you must have both.
Keeping that in mind I began working on this large piece that was inspired
by a fall hike that I took with my son and daughter-in-law near Reno.
The colors were just beginning to change and the birch trees nearly glowed in
contrast to all of the darker pines. The bright morning sunlight filtered
across the trail whenever the foliage gave opportunity.
Because of their prominence in the composition, you would first think that
my main focus here is the grouping of the three birch trees near the trail but
in actuality, it is the sunlight that is really the star here. I have attempted
to show the trail and grass highlighted by the sunlight in a number of
locations. It is almost as if you have walked out of the darkness and
into the light as the trail absorbs the energy and warmth of the morning rays.
This energy continues as the trail briefly disappears only to return brighter
as you are prompted to continue up the mountain.
At my next lesson, I am sure that there are refining details that Lily will
use to help me improve this piece but I think that she will immediately know
that I have been listening.
Because of the recent long weekend that we had in celebration of Memorial Day, Brad and I decided that we would pack up the truck and take a trip up towards Goldfield, Nevada to check out some of that area and I hoped to get some good inspiration. I have for years seen the road sign that points off to a distant mountain as you travel from Las Vegas to Reno and have yearned to take that road. The sign clearly reads "Silver Peak". That name evokes images in my mind of forest clad mountains, ghost town ruins and the possibility of a real adventure. Accompanying us was our friend Wally and our little red-head, Laura.
The drive to Goldfield is about three hours so it was a long day of driving. Goldfield is an amazing little town that everyone drives through on the way to Reno but never stops. On this day, we did stop and were entertained by Bill Vanderford, the owner of the Gold Strike Jewelry Store and according to his business card, consulting geologist. Believe me when I say, "You can't miss it in Goldfield." He was the kind of guy that I would classify a "REAL CHARACTER" with the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Transplanted from California, he and his wife were content to etch out a living by selling jewelry and rocks to the few travelers that are brave enough to stop.
Goldfield has amazing standing buildings in every degree of decay scattered throughout the small town, standing as monuments to the sturdy stock of miners and pioneers that they served. Hotels, saloons, banks and even the old high school is amazing to look at. It is about as close as you can get to being transported back in time to the REAL wild west. If you are ever driving Nevada State Highway 95 from Las Vegas to Reno, take the time to stop and really consider this little bend in the road that requires you to slow down. Bill would love the chance to pull your leg for a while and try to sell you a treasure.
Silver Peak turned out to be rather disappointing. There is an active Lithium and salt mine so the area was surrounded by pools of what appeared to be acidic water. We decided to turn around and not travel up that road any further on this day. Just a few miles back on the highway, we did turn down the road to Gem Field and we were able to pick up some beautiful Agate and Opalite rocks. While we were there, we were treated to a spectacular show by the native wildlife. As we were photography the herd, the stallion came trotting over the hill in protector fashion. Here are just a few of the amazing animals that we managed to capture with our camera from our trip. I can see painting burros and wild horses in my near future.
