Small to Big

I'll get back to the sketch from the last post in a day or so.

Meanwhile, I am finishing off a large painting of Lake O'Hara.  Here is the oil done on site.

Exploring O'Hara, 10x12 Oil on Board

In addition to this I have a pencil thumbnail, my memory, and this photo.

O'Hara jpeg, June 2010

There is always a problem with going big from a small.  Immediacy seems to disappear.  I have made a number of decisions for this painting and have installed most of them.  But more work to do.

You will see that I have not tried to copy the photo or the small.  The idea is to create a painting employing design and painting tools.  I could do a whole series here.

Entering O'Hara, 42x50, Oil on Canvas

The image reads dark on my screen.  Hopefully you get the idea.  Here I am trying to keep everything in the shadows in shadow, and everything in the light in light.  The lights in shadow on a plane have to be darker than the darks in the light.  Here I am using warm light and cool shadow.  Remember that warm and cool are relative.  For example you can have a cold red.

By using the tools and design you can free yourself from the doldrums of copying.  This approach is beyond painting what you see.  You try to answer the question "What could I make of this?"