Pomegranate Afternoon

Painting at CSUF Arboretum is a huge convenience. There are a lot of subjects and it is close to home.  It is free and the parking situation is easy.

I had to deliver my art to the Brea Gallery www.breagallery.com later that day and I wanted to paint.  The heat was high so I found some shade.  I think the shade was more important than the subject.  I love it when I can find a bench or something to put my pastels on; it makes it so much easier.

I like painting on orange boards because they really build the complimentary color relationships that I prefer quickly.

I got the idea of the composition down and established some of the key color relationships in the painting that I would develop further.

The unpainted area in the bottom of the painting would turn into the shadow of the tree I was under.  The value contrast between the ground I had already put down seemed right compared to the unpainted part of the board so I left it until I decided what color it was going to be.

Seeing the color in the shade or in changing light conditions can be tricky.  I react to those changes when I start to think about whether a color is right for the painting or not.  I paint quickly so I make decisions quickly.  When color decisions become just that a decision rather than a reaction, it is a signal that I need to make a lighting adjustment.

I have added the shadows in the foreground, but the nature of the whole painting is about to change because I start to "chase the light".

The inconsistent lighting on the board is difficult to work with.  I like to work in total shade or total light.  This makes comparing all of the colors to each other a lot simpler and makes for better choices.

Here I am working to bring the painting back on track.  Usually I will go where the painting takes me.  Changing the painting because the lighting conditions change is something I am usually good at.  It is something I do more than most plein air painters because I am usually working longer than they are.  I usually anticipate what the light will be like when I am I will finish and build to that finale.

You can really see the difference in the surface of the painting and the quality of the colors here.

At some point you have to decide when enough is enough even when the result is not as satisfying as you anticipated.  Some of the freshness is lost because of the areas that I had to rework and I am not happy with the shapes of the pomegranate tree trunks.

 I do like the aerial perspective in the painting and the impressionistic feel to the mark making within the painting.  The overall color scheme is good but I had hoped for more.  The painting measures 24"X32" and is painted on sanded plywood with acrylic paint and pumice gel.

The value shot confirms my suspicions about the painting good or bad.  I would like to have seen more separation between the pomegranate trees in the foreground from the ones behind it and I would have liked cleaner shapes of the branches within the trees. 

The detail shot reveals the muted nature of much of the mark making within the painting.  I am not a big believer of blending in the traditional sense, but in this painting I used a neutral gray to soften the shadows and the background by making long strokes over the entire surface of those areas.  Kind of a deconstructive blending if you will.