36 X 24" oil on canvas
This is the largest canvas I've ever done. It felt big while I was painting it, but it seemed to shrink a bit when I hung it on the wall. I plan to do more in this size range until I'm more comfortable with the process. I'm realizing that a large canvas has the ability to change the feel of a whole room. Perhaps if I paint a few more of these my living room will have the peaceful feel of a forest.
This grove of eucalyptus is located in Junipero Serra Park, a short walk from my house.
Wow- beautiful brushwork and light in this. I feel like I can walk right into it. I look forward to seeing more of your larger paintings!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful! I look forward to seeing more in this size...too bad not on my wall. :(
ReplyDeleteOK. So? How did you do that? Bigger brushes? Grid? What about the surface?
ReplyDeleteDo tell! I LOVE IT! dardedu nhope
Thank you all for the comments!
ReplyDeleteI was going to write more about the process Nancy but things have been kinda crazy this last week. I will certainly write more in an upcoming post, maybe do a demo.
Here are the quick details though. I lightly toned the canvas (Blick Studio Series 3/4" stretched) with a wash of burnt sienna and then began sketching out the scene. I didn't use a grid but I did walk back about twenty feet every few minutes to make sure my drawing was on track. I sketched using burnt sienna.
I then scrubbed in approximate colors using number 8 and 10 utrecht flats. I switched to a single number 10 Princeton 6300B for laying on the thicker paint, working from dark to light.
I've tried painting with larger brushes but in this case I stuck with a 10 because I've found if you want to use really large brushes you need a large palette, a large brush cleaner and an area in which you can really splatter the paint. I still need to set myself up for that kind of work.
I thought I was done with this painting several times but ended up making changes later in the day after walking away and then coming back. I lightened the trees in the background and made the large tree in the foreground stand out more by hardening and darkening its edges.
I think it took me about 5 or 6 hours including the adjustments I made.
I enjoy doing the small paintings but this is a whole different thing. This is the direction I want to move in.
If I've missed anything feel free to ask for additional info!
Just found your blog by chance - I love your brushwork and the simplicity of your style. Looking forward to your future posts.
ReplyDeleteLove this painting!
ReplyDeleteLove this painting! I love all those vertical lines and the lovely grayed colors you used. I enjoyed reading about your process, also. Well done!
ReplyDelete