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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Revisiting - a new path. A work in progress.


Landscape study - 5x5" Oil on canvas

Revisiting - a new path? I've been hinting for awhile that I'm feeling the nudge to start exploring in some new directions... and here is my first installment! Landscapes are not new to me, but I haven't worked with this kind of subject matter in a little while. So, even though it isn't exactly a new path - I'm learning to work in some new ways for what I want to do. This little study is not finished. It is the first glazing layer of color, and since taking this photo - it already looks a little more color-filled with more defined values.

Here's what I'm hoping to do: create an ethereal sense of place by use of value, color, edges, and yet .... explore the boundaries of what is believable and even poetic about color and color combinations. Working with color relationships makes unusual colors feel more believable. So, I'm learning to push color to new, subtle places and I'm learning to use my media a little differently - to create that atmospheric sense of surroundings.

I have long believed that value is essential. I think a good painting has to start with a good skeletal structure of value. It will most likely be an abstract value structure, but even in its abstraction - it needs to be interesting in shape, interesting in nuance of contrast, interesting in composition.

So - I'm playing with ideas.... and trying things out in a small format. And, I am looking forward to working out some of these ideas in a larger format. I'll post the next stage of this one in a few days. Let me know what you think!

3 comments:

janice skivington said...

Helen, I want to see how you follow through with these ideas. Sounds good and looks even better.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

nice. I look forward to the finish.

ArtPrintsEtc.com said...

Too much canvas, too little paint, but I like the start. I think I can relate to the landscape paintings Landscape Paintings. I wish you post the final result, I’m eager to see it. Something that I think will be a very extraordinary painting in the end.

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