Friday, July 3, 2009

Morning Shadows by BJ Wright

7"x5" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on June 25th (completed at 8:15am)...$30 including shipping...The early morning sunlight cast a wonderful yellow/orange glow...but it was gone in a flash. Just enough time for a small one.
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8 comments:

chuck larivey said...

Do I see tree squiggles? :=)))...cadmium yellow deep is good for glow...I agree it's very fleeting. What kind of brush do you use?

chuck larivey said...

It just occurred to me, cadmium yellow deep might make a great under painting colour..especially for an early morning painting....I'm going to try it!

bj said...

Brushes are usually Robert Simmons Signet, some are Winsor/Newton - all are bristle. I like filberts, but also use some rounds. Sizes are from 2 up to 8 or 10, sometimes bigger. I do tend to squiggle my trees in underpainting, then they usually end up squiggled in the final, too. Shouldn't do that...need to work on it.

I love cad yellows...but they're expensive. I usually use cad medium, but deep is great, too. Experimenting with different underpainting colors sounds exciting...

chuck larivey said...

Bj..this is a very strong piece of work! Clean colour, good composition including colour balance, your brush work is very confident...not over worked or muddy!

It would have been a little more interesting if a few people had been added...say at the barn door ...only the impression very subtle and if the tree line was more irregular and not running parallel to your mountain....say dragged down the mountain colour into trees a little more at left side of the barn...all of this is minor and something to think about on the next one.

The tree squiggles I'm referring to...is your use of the end of your brush to suggest tree trunks...this is one of your real strengths and comes from your ability to draw...you seem to do just enough! I think a creative spark takes over when you do this. Your June 26th post is a perfect BJ....your a good artist..you just need to have someone tell you why!

These little Plein Air studies are a means to an end, not the end its self. It's what you do with it that counts. You might think of it as a tool in your paint box...to be used as needed!

As an artist, I found Plein Air by itself very limiting. I just think it's part of a much broader picture...for instance why would you not like to see a finished painting posted developed from a posted Plein Air study or the progression of it...it's the missing part! Think about it....you go out and learn all this stuff and then your not able to show the fruits of your labor.....in the end.....art doesn't care how it was created, just that it was!

bj said...

Wow! Thanks for all that! About the tree line paralleling the mountain...yep, I did it again. In this case I didn't 'move the mountain' or replant trees - which I need to do sometimes to correct nature.
Ah, tree squiggles. Seems, at least for me, it's the best way to do the limbs, some grasses, etc. Quick and easy.
Since the temps are going up for the Summer, I've been thinking about using some of the plein air work and doing larger paintings...just as you suggested...(you must be a mind reader!)

chuck larivey said...

Yoyr welcome!...Mother nature has no problem moving things around...no reason we can't...besides she opened the door first!

chuck larivey said...

What kind of work is produced in the studio?

bj said...

Here are a few studio paintings::::

This was in January of '07
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/01/early-snow-at-red-clay.html

and this one
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/01/crystal-fire_4683.html

This is a larger studio painting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/01/casa-de-bandini.html

This is a whimsical painting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/01/fairie-fire.html

A figurative painting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/02/grass-dancer_09.html

And a water/sky painting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/02/blasket-islands-in-ireland.html

And another Ireland inspired painting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/02/glen-delough-county-wicklow-ireland.html

A seascape http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/03/afterstorm.html

Another Irish countryside
http://beejw.blogspot.com/2007/04/sneem-county-kerry-near-and-far.html

For awhile I worked just in acrylics in the studio, but I went back to oils - but I switch back and forth.

Arthritis in my hand keeps me from painting more than about an hour at a time. I guess that's why I love plein air work.