Mike Major's blog/daily paintings: 12 Feet-North and South at Woods Cove

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

12 Feet-North and South at Woods Cove

I knew I was heading to the beach, so I looked towards the sky in the direction of the beach and came up with the color for the boards. I intended to paint at least two boards so I picked a color that would run throughout the painting. This speeds up the painting. Sometimes I will pick a color for the underpainting and it will be all but covered up.

The gear seemed more compact today when I loaded up. Sometimes it seems like there is no room. (with the same stuff)

The following shots are from the most amazing little park. It is squeezed between two homes. I want to do a painting from here but I did not have the time today. Looking South

Looking North

I liked the shadows within the rocks, so I painted this view first. I knew what I would get latter in the day.

I considered what my second painting would be. It takes a while to move my stuff when I have it all out so I wanted to conserve as much time as possible. The last time I painted two 24"X 36" paintings, I had to rush the second one because I ran out of time.

This would be the second painting of the day. I liked the color of the light on the rocks.

I had left my sketch pad at home and as a result I had to work on correcting the drawing several times before I was ready to move further into the painting.

I basically have everything in place. Because the sun is starting to change everything, I have to decide what I want the painting to look like.

I have the backlit rocks the way I want them in terms of light and shadow; so now it is a matter of keeping to the plan and not chasing the changing pattern.

The crazy detail of the bluffs are what I find interesting about this view of woods cove. As a result, I spent a lot of time in getting the subdivisions of the bluffs to resemble what I saw.

I think this painting could have turned out better if I had spent more time on it; but there is a point when I feel full of the painting and I need to stop.

This was not one of those times. I do not think I got the full expression that I was looking for when I started. I also think the underpainting worked against me in this instance. I think the painting would have been more interesting if I had perhaps picked a orange color to underpaint the board.

The finished painting. South at Woods Cove 24"X 36" soft pastel on sanded plywood with a underpainting of acrylic.

The value shot.

The detail shot.

It was already really hot and I was thirsty and needed to use a restroom. So I did what I would normally do; I started another painting.

Again I had to work the composition out on the board as I went. I would have preferred to sketch it out first. It really saves me a lot of time and frustration. I had trouble getting the composition I wanted. I had issues with the size and relationship between the rocks. I did not let that stop me. I merged some of the shapes of the rocks together and then cut the water in and around them to establish a better facsimile of the scene.

Some of the ratios between the rocks were still wrong but it wasn't going to get much better so I moved on.

I really simplified some of the content. I especially simplified the water. The tide was starting to come in and although my stuff was on some rocks out of the way; I did not want to deal with wet shoes. Normally, I will watch the water and paint small sections at a time. I will try to see it at the same point in the surge so that I am accurate. This time I tried to see the whole thing at once. I waited for the right combination of things going on and took a mental picture. I put it in really quickly and left it alone. The shape of the water helped describe the shape and distance between the rocks and was added at the very end.