Ken's Corner

Well, should have known better.  Sun they said.  Not.  A heavy grey day in the Hockley.  Farmer Ken welcomed us to his corner and invited us to paint on his property next time in the area.  "The only thing here that you have to fear is my wife" he said.  No watch dog.

The Scene

It is only a photo, but you can at least tell it is a grey day.  That means close values, low chroma (lots of greys), cool light, warm shadows and not evident ones.  The sky was warmer than the snow, and darker.

Squeeze out - same place every time.  Formulate your concept.  Get the shapes right (drawing, perspective etc), simplify, get the values right, keep the colours muted and consistent.  Here is Monica's start.  Looked promising from the car.  The painting after some studio work.

Ken's Corner, by Monica

Lets check off the elements.  Simplified shapes.  Sky warmer than the snow.  Sky darker than the snow.  Values  - sky, background trees, mid ground trees, foreground.  Chroma - colours muted and a variety of greys.  Cool light, warm shadows.  Edges, hard, soft, lost.  Paint quality (difficult to assess here).  How would you rate these elements?

A few comments. 

Nature displays the non human trait of randomness.  She does not make anything the same once.  Trees different heights, branches all different, shapes different and non symmetrical, etc.

If you look at the mid ground trees (green) and compare to the values of the background trees you will find the interface near the same value.  But, the colour is warmer on the mid ground trees.  This is a way of saving values by changing colour.  It flattens the painting, makes it more like a short picture box still life.  Good to know and be able to do.

Looking at the interior of the mid ground tree mass you will see a dark shadow area.  Indeed the shadow is depicted as warm.  Look at the tree in the foreground.  What temperature is its shadow side?  It is imperative to have consistency in consistent light.