A Journey Worth Taking

An Idea
A painting begins with and idea or a fleeting image.  As we traveled through Pennsylvania, I came across a home nestled in the hills.  I was attracted to the neatly planted rows that followed the lines of hilly land.  It was so graceful.  I watched the clouds cast shadows across the distant hills and watched the sunlight dance through leaves and spill onto the roadway.  I soaked it all in.  This was home for me.  These hills in Pennsylvania.  I always enjoy the passing landscape.  I just had to paint it. 

So, snap some pics, plot it out and lay down some paint...The Painting Process





The Initial Critique
At this point in the painting, I need to iron out the composition.  Color and details will take care of themselves as we move on.  Movement in an image gives the eyes a path to follow through the painting but I need to make sure there is enough visual interest to make one WANT to move through the painting.  The paved road became a dirt road, a fence appeared and some elements were added to the hills in the back.  I know I need something at the bottom of the painting.  I am planning some interesting shadows.  I know that will work itself out as I go on.


Texture
Once I am pretty satisfied with the composition, I add some texture.  Adding random texture at this point gives me some new opportunities.  Sometimes it gets in my way and I fight with it. Other times it provides some happy accidents.  The texture sometimes determines where my branches will be, or where the bits of color in a field will become flowers.  Working with texture provides some magic!


Push and Pull
Here I alternate between plain gel medium (Heavy body) and gel medium mixed with paint and glazing medium.  I bounce between using a brush or palette knife.  Using a palette knife allows me to rake color across the raised areas leaving original color in the valleys.  Sometimes an area seems off in color or value and I apply glazes with a brush.  As the glazing medium gets caught next to ridges in the texture, it puddles and offers some cool effects!  Working this way allows me to keep changing the color and value until it feels right.  Sometimes I will deliberately throw in an unexpected color, just to get my brain unfrozen.  It is a way to get unstuck when I can't figure out what to do.


The Value of a critique
For this painting, I asked for a bit of input from artists and students.  Trained eyes and untrained eyes both offer meaningful direction.  I knew the painting was too "green" and earthy yellow.  It was a group of high school art students that suggested a color change on the house.  They even went so far as to pinpoint the EXACT red that was needed.  Another student suggested splashes of purple flowers.  An artist friend changed my ideas about my shadow colors in the row of trees surrounding the house.  All of it was worthwhile.  Collaboration makes things better.

I love it when art just happens.  I seldom have a rigid plan in mind when I start a painting.  I always get to a place where I think "this isn't going to work".  But it usually does end up working.  Sometimes I get a painting that has some good stuff, but not enough to be "sale worthy".    If I can get a few good moments in a painting, it is worth the journey in doing it.