Easter in the Studio

Easter was quiet at our house. We shared a nice breakfast and the newspaper, and spent time putting together our gear for an upcoming trip.  Then later in the afternoon I decided to play around with adapting a photo I took and altered from our 2016 trip to Yellowstone.  I had a couple goals: to play around with the colors and composition, and to use up a 12x24 inch piece of watercolor paper that had been prepped a couple years ago, but never used. 

So, I did this all in one go, with acrylic paint and fairly large brushes.  It's certainly more dramatic than the original photograph was.

I think I've worked out enough in my mind to try the same subject in oil on canvas later.

Homage

This afternoon I spent time copying a painting by my friend, Jack.  His style could not be more different from mine. He often works very large, mostly in acrylic, and always from imagination.  He strives to spontaneously capture the effects of light upon the landscape. 

I almost always work from my own photos, or from life. I tend to paint people or objects, rarely landscapes.  I rarely invent any subject, and seldom use such a light palette.  But I like his work, admire his willingness to invent as he goes along, and appreciate his generosity with criticism and advice.  He was leading a class this week in which he encouraged students to use large brushes, and bold strokes, so I decided to see if I could come close to his style.  Except I worked in my quiet studio, using my recycled mat board and water mixable oils and cold wax medium.  Not so bad, even though the idea was his, not mine.  Sometimes it helps to try out other subjects and styles, and it stirs up the "little gray cells."

At least I hope so.

Winter Bridge

21x21 inches, oil on canvas

Winter Bridge

I finished this painting yesterday.  It had been close to done for more than two weeks, but I just ignored it until I realized that it was quietly driving me a little crazy sitting there unfinished.  The subject matter is the Japanese bridge at out local botanical garden.  I took the winter photo several years ago, but then experimented with altering the original photo with a filter program, and cropping the image to a square format.  I painted from the altered photo, and was pleased with the results.  This painting is larger than I usually work, and a departure from figurative work. I'll take it to the gallery tomorrow.