Paintings – Page 8 – eibhlin, artist

Oil Sketch – Blustery Sunset

As sunset approached, the winds picked up and the weather turned blustery. The clouds were heavy shades of blue over the golden-to-magenta sky.

Of course, I dashed to my easel.

My paints were still on my palette after the morning’s oil sketch, so — just adding more zinc white — I was ready to paint again.

Once again, my Ott light made this work possible. Otherwise, my options would have been (a) paint in the dark, or (b) use normal artificial light with its unnatural colors.

Mostly, I wanted to capture the sweep of the clouds and the vivid colors in contrast.

This time, for amusement, I timed myself. This sketch took 12 minutes. However, I spent about 30 seconds softening one area of it this morning, when I saw the sketch in the daylight.

One of my biggest difficulties is knowing when to stop working on a painting or a sketch. I’d rather keep the fresh, raw energy in it, than turn out a more perfect (but relatively sterile) canvas.

This is an 8″ x 16″ sketch on canvas board. I used water-soluble oil paints and boar bristle brushes, usually flats.

In real life, the sky colors (pinks, yellows and oranges) glow more than you can see in the photo.

All in all, I’m very pleased with this sketch.

Approaching Snow – 4 Dec 10

When I looked out the window this morning, the sky was a mix of pinks, blues, whites and yellows. Snow is on the way.

The colors were vivid for a very brief time… maybe four minutes. They faded within seconds. I dashed to my easel and quickly scrubbed in the colors while they were fresh in my memory.

I’m pleased with the colors. They convey the soft drama of the rural NH landscape, from the fading grasses to the blue-grey hills and mountains to the blustery skies.

It’s been awhile since I made time for these early morning oil sketches. I need to get back in the habit of capturing colors as I see them. I have some more formal paintings in mind, and — after I finish the White Mountains painting I’m working on — these color references will be important.

This sketch is on 8″ x 16″ canvasboard with my usual underpainting of cadmium red.

I’m painting with an Ott light for accurate color; the light has a flexible neck so I can angle it “just so” for my work.

Then, I photograph the completed sketches in natural light by our patio door.

Blues Turn Brilliant

Last February (2010), I began this oil painting of a landscape in the White Mountains.

Because I had other work to complete first, this painting progressed slowly.

For about four months, this painting was on my living room wall. I knew that it needed something… I just couldn’t figure out what.

Last week, I read a book by artist Thomas Kinkade, Masterworks of Light. It’s a lovely book, of course. He’s brilliant at capturing a sense of light within his landscapes.

In one interview, Kinkade mentioned the importance of providing a path, or some way the viewer feels that he or she can access the scene… a way to “walk into it” or otherwise connect with the landscape.

That’s what was missing from earlier versions of my painting of the hotel.

When I reviewed the evolution of this work, I realized that the original design (shown in my earlier article, When stuck, add energy!) actually presented the hills as obstacles between the viewer and the hotel.

Once I added the path, shown in the top photo on this page, the entire imagery changed. Suddenly, I saw ways to simplify the design and add a better sense of light & shadow. The painting is as much about the journey as it is about the destination.

At this point, I think the general landscape is completed. The hotel needs small details such as windows (one of them lit) and a light at the front door.

For now, this painting has acquired a sense of whimsy. I like it. That’s the important part.

I’m letting the painting dry now, so I can paint over the front of the hotel (adding details) without disturbing the latest layers of paint.

This painting has been an adventure, and a very satisfying one. I’ve learned a lot from it.

It’s not my usual style. It’s simplistic, and reminds me a little of the work of Tomie dePaola. (Interestingly, he taught at the college I first attended, but he arrived a couple of years after I’d left.)

Note: See the finished canvas at Spalding Inn Painting – Final version.

Additional thoughts

One of the things I’m realizing as I thrill to the energy in this painting is: I really am – first and foremost – an artist. It’s where I’m happiest.

Everything else… well, it’s easy for me to get caught up in what I do well, things that I seem to be gifted at, and things that people want from me, and ignore what feeds my soul.

I’m reminded of the warning given to bright girls in the 1960s: Don’t learn to type. (Once people knew we could type, we were quickly assigned the role of secretary/receptionist in almost any business or club environment.)

Seeing how art energizes me, from a recent visits to the Vermont Visitors’ Center on Rte. 91 and to the MIT Museum, and how juicy the imagery is in that Tomie dePaola link I shared above… well, the conclusion is simple: I need to focus on my art, and let everything else be a spare-time interest.

I’m also reading the notes about the TOMIE & HIS STUFF exhibit, and realizing that I don’t display my stuff enough. In fact, most of it is in storage, and – if we’re moving to England, as we (maybe/probably) plan to – I need to remember what inspires me, and what needs to travel with me.

So, there’s a lot going on in my life and in my thoughts right now.

It’s all very, very good!

2020 update: Looking at this painting now, in its incomplete state, I rather like it. The anonymity of the building, and how stark the landscape seems… It’s a different statement than the finished work (White Mountains Painting…), but perhaps more interesting in an enigmatic way.

Autumn Means Painting

The best view from our home is through the sliding glass doors in our living room.

Unfortunately, that’s also the hottest room in the summer, so – without a/c (typical in this part of NH) – it’s no fun to paint there.

However, once the cooler weather returns, I’m ready to pick up my paintbrush again. That was the case this week.

I kept looking at last night’s sunset, wondering if I had time to set up my palette and easel, and still have time to capture the colors.

Well… I almost did. During the last half of the painting, I was working with very low lighting.

(Artificial light affects color perception, and I can misjudge which colors to use. However, working in the dark isn’t much better.)

This morning, when the sun was bright enough to see what I’d painted, I wasn’t sure if I’d need to make some major changes in the work.

I’m very pleased with this oil sketch. The paint is very thick in some areas, so this will take about three weeks to dry.

The painting is 12″ x 12″ and it’s oil paint on canvas board. It’s in a private collection.

Early Spring Sunset – 19 Mar 10

This sunset was nearly as spectacular as Thursday night’s, with the added bonus of showing vivid colors earlier. So, I was able to capture most of the color before the light turned too dark for painting.

I may tweak the foreground before I say that this sketch is completed… or I may leave it as-is, since that retains the integrity of it as a plein air sketch.

My highest priority was to paint the colors in the sky, and then the vivid blues and greens that appeared on the hillside.

Every morning, I’m excited to wake up and see how my sunset paintings look, if the scene was worth painting.

When I complete an oil sketch like this and the natural light is low, I can’t see the colors… not really. Artificial light mutes the yellows and greens, so it’s difficult to tell how vivid they are.

This morning, this sketch was better than I’d hoped, given how quickly I worked. This painting probably took about 15 minutes. It’s 9″ x 12″ on stretched canvas.

The view is looking southwest, in the general direction of Concord, New Hampshire. The hills are probably in Northfield, or maybe Salisbury (NH).

The medium is, as (nearly) always, water-soluble oil paints. I didn’t underpaint this canvas, so the colors are a little different than some of my other work.

Right now, a few things are difficult to cope with. A lot of my day is more-or-less on autopilot, and anything that isn’t a daily routine is falling through the cracks. I look at my naked canvases and realize that I’d forgotten to underpaint them.

However, as we cross our fingers and hope that my mother will recover and resume a relatively active life, there has been a silver lining: I’m still reminded, almost daily, of the importance of the art.

Yes, I write articles & books. I do quirky research in unorthodox fields. People often misestimate how seriously I take that, so I keep it very separate from my artwork.

However, the legacy that an artist leaves behind is the art. While I’m never sure if people clearly “hear” my voice in my writing, the art is truly me, heart and soul.

Sunset Colors – 18 Mar 10

Generally, sunsets aren’t colorful right now. Last night was an exception. The longer I painted (and the darker the skies became), the more brilliant the colors and contrasts in the sky.

In fact, I tried to paint a second sketch after this one, but it was so dark outside, I couldn’t see what I was doing, and quickly gave up.

I wasn’t even sure that the first oil sketch (shown here) caught the colors accurately. (Artificial light – even “full spectrum” lighting – rarely shows how the colors will look in daylight.)

This morning, I could hardly wait for daylight, to see how this painting turned out.

I’m pleased. This captured the early colors of the sunset, and how vivid the grass looked in contrast with the peachy-magenta colors as the slipped below the horizon.

We’re expecting record-breaking high temperatures this afternoon, and I’m hoping they’ll bring another spectacular sunset. This time, my palette and easel are all ready, so I can work quickly while the daylight lasts.