The Coming Storm

The Coming Storm mixed media watercolor under painting with pastel on sanded paper.  47 x 30  Placed within a room on a app to help envision what it would look like hanging.

The finished painting.

Here I am softening the edges of the shapes and blending the colors to more accurately represent the shapes and values of the clouds.

Adjusting shapes and values to more closely represent my subject.

The first application of pastel intended to push the composition further along by fleshing out the shapes and values.  The application of color at this point was intended to further the development of the under painting.

The underpainting completed and ready for pastel.

I softened the shapes of the clouds with a wash of water to give the clouds a more flowing feel.

Working my way up from the bottom of the painting pulling all of the shapes together by softening and blending the shapes within the painting with washes.

The shapes of the trees at the bottom of the painting anchor the composition and finishes the outline of the spatial relationships. 

Abstract shapes become realistic as the context of the composition develops.

I used a 2 inch brush for the entire under painting.  I like using a larger brush to establish shapes within the under painting.  Using a single brush makes you change the way you apply paint.

Focusing on the quality of the individual shapes while fitting them into the context of the composition.

Here the overall map to the composition has been established.  My thought process was to get the shapes and values right the first time.  I envisioned a calligraphic approach to the application of watercolor. 

Starting with watercolor.  Establishing shapes and values as a guide to follow later with the application of pastels.
 

Summer Clouds Over Chino Hills

 

Before The Fire

 

Over the Field

Fast Flying Clouds

Second Effort

Inspiration

On the way to work, I watched the slow everchanging growth in the field by my house.  The artichokes grew and grew but were never harvested.  As they passed their prime and their leaves dried and wilted away, the artichokes becamevisible.

aThe artichokes kept drying out.  Soon there were just the artichokes aatop their very long stems.  Everyday I worked I would check in with a quick glance.  Depending on my schedule, I would look at them as the sun was just rising, setting, or somewhere in between.

Then the blue purple began to show itself.  The color, the size, and the shape of the artichoke flowers were amazing.  I had no idea.  What an interesting and great subject they were.  I had to get closer to observe and photograph them.  I had missed the first opportunity a year before.  I had waited too long.  I almost missed my chance this year.

As I took one photograph after another in rapid succession, I was absorbed completely.  I was completley emersed in the moment.  Everything faded away except the artichokes and my thoughts about them,  I had a half an hour to learn everything I could about them.  I let my subconscious take over.  There was no pondering only the act of capturing this information.  Whether this moment becomes one painting or more does not matter.  The inspiration of the possibilities is a deeply gratifying feeling in and of itself.

Lilly Pads

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