Once again.....

I'm working on this large painting that I had to put aside for awhile.   Here are the latest brushstrokes!!  Some good things are happening!

This one is large - 2' x 3' -  and has been quite challenging in all that is required as I work on it.  But, progress is being made.   In the top image you can see where I had left of a month or a little more ago.  Not much of the trees have been done, other than the very far ones.  In the middle picture, I've begun adding more to the trees in the nearer ground, with a few more details being included.   And the bottom picture shows that even more worked out.  Also in the nearest tree on the left, a little additional shading to show some of its contours. 

My process so far has been to work on the sky and its reflection in the water first.  These are the lightest values in the painting.  I then worked on the upright (near and far) elements (darkest values)  and am now beginning to work on the ground - both middle ground and foreground.  These will be the mid values.   Of course, there are many details to be added as well, but dividing up the painting by values is an extremely helpful strategy.

I'm continuing to work, although at pointss drying time is needed.  Because of its size, there is a lot of canvas to cover!   I am enjoying the process and seeing it come together.  

More will be posted soon!  

Tall Oaks - Lincoln Marsh

Tall Oaks ~ Lincoln Marsh,  20x16" Oil on canvas panel

© Helen Read  

 

There's something about tall trees that is majestic and awe-inspiring.  These trees are depicted in the earliest days of spring, a very typical scene for the Illinois prairie.  There are no leaves on them yet, although the scrubby undergrowth is turning green early.  I started this painting on a  bright sunny day - the shadows are very dark because of the intensity of the sun.  I was captivated by the tall sculptural quality I saw in these beautiful trees, as well as the contrast between sun and shadow, so they became the focus of the painting.   Because of their tall majestic size, it required a larger canvas to contain them!   So this is 20" tall and 16" wide.    It is ready to frame and hang

Up next! Tall Oaks

Still in progress 

 Here you see the beginning progression of this newest landscape... the top image is an underpainting.  (Before the underpainting, there were thumbnails, value calculations, and sketches in preparation of the painting).  In the lower image, you can see that I've made some value adjustments and started painting the sky.  This is a larger painting - 16x20"  And it will continue progressing in the next few days showing its very early spring colors. 

This pathway

Lincoln Marsh Pathway,  12x9" Oil on linen panel

©2016 Helen Read

SOLD

Not too far from where I live is a natural wetlands that is quite lovely, particularly in the springtime as the leaves and grasses just start to return from their long winter slumber.   This painting captures one of those first warm days as green is beginning to dress the bare branches.  The shadows that are cast are thinner, less full than they will soon be.  There's a sense of anticipation about the environment - you can hear it in the birds' songs, in the occasional rustle of the grasses as a small animal scurries through.  The air is warm, but the ground is still rather cool... spring is just beginning with the promise of so much more! 

Spring Awakens!

 

Spring Awakens, 12 x 9" oil on linen panel

©2016 Helen Read

ready to frame 

SOLD

Oh Springtime!  So long awaited during the cold winter months. Those first few days are a wonderful lush growth of green, as the birds sing and the earth warms.
This was painted of a location at Lincoln Marsh, a local area that fosters beautiful growth of plants and is the home of much wildlife.  On this sunny day, in early spring, its beauty was cast in lovely tones of green and blue.

 

Working on 2 new paintings

It's a cold, overcast, windy day - so a good day to bring these 2 paintings along.  Both are 12x9" .  The underpainting was done a few days ago -  the values have been categorized, and now layers of color are going down.  

More coming soon! 

2 New landscapes - underpaintings

Both of these are underpaintings - a monochromatic "rough draft" you could say - which just lays out the general idea in lights and darks.  Both of these measure 12x9" So, now that the underpaintings are done, I'll begin to devise and lay in color while keeping the values (lights and darks) about where they are.   I hope to begin this next step in the next couple days!  

Its been a week! Student Art Show

Every year around the first week in May, our high school puts on the student art exhibit.  As an art teacher, it is a lot of work!   Its a wonderful thing to do, and many of our students participate - but it is a demanding and exhausting week!   So, this was the week...   I tried to start counting the pieces we hung and/or displayed - and it just wasn't possible.  The small section I counted was 300 - and I estimate that was possibly 1/5 of the total - but that may be quite conservative...  I think its safe to say, over 1500 pieces were hung.  Monday morning, it all comes down again - till next May.    There won't really be much rest until graduation and finals are finished... in a few more weeks, but hopefully it won't be as exhausting as this week has been!  

Field Work

One of the pleasures of landscape painting is being IN the landscape!  One of the disciplines is drawing it...these are a series of thumbnail sketches with my notes - my favorites out of the lot of 12 or so.  Even though this is a very busy time of year with spring semester finishing up - giving exams, entering grades, closing up classrooms soon - I've enjoyed getting out into the beauty of spring to observe and draw its arrival!   New paintings - coming SOON! 

And - more trees and branches

Ugh -- work is keeping me busy !  I hope to work more on this in the next few days , but I am progressing - a little! 

3 Feet of Tree Line

I'm back from break and working again on this large landscape.  I think I'm done with the 3 feet of tree line in the background.  It may look rather straightforward but, the right side has light showing through and the colors are somewhat different than the left side, which shows a deeper woods. So, though it's incremental, I have made progress amid my starts and stops! 

More ... brushstroke by brushstroke

A little more added to the sky and the water. 
Still finding my way through this - finding it a bit overwhelming in size... 
But reminding myself that this is how a painting often unfolds - inch by inch, brushstroke by brushstroke with a lot of uncertainty! 

Developing the idea - working out the composition - starting the process

Painting a landscape - or any work of art - is truly a process.  

There are many preliminary steps in the creation of a painting - and there are many steps of just plain work to get it made.  All of it totals many hours of thinking, of applying one's knowledge, of working with pencil, of adjusting, and then - finally - working with brush and paint.

For several months now, this painting has been moving from concept to beginning stages.  I'd like to say its moved beyond beginning stages, but really ... it hasn't!  

Its large --  2'x3'.  And, it has taken a lot of thought, sketching, planning, and waiting for things to dry before I can move on.  I hope to have more finished soon, though I know this is one that will take time to complete.  

That's what I've been up to here - that, and some drawing.  All related to this painting!  

Water's Edge - Graphite Tree Study

Water's Edge  9x12" graphite on paper

©2016  Helen Read 

matted in white to fit 14x18" frame

SOLD

One of the things I'm doing as I prepare to paint the larger landscape I've recently started is to draw trees...and by doing so, learning about the individual characteristics of different trees.  What has impressed me is that each one is uniquely itself and it seems as if each has its own individual story to tell.   This one inhabits the edge of a stream.  It has lower branches hanging just over the water's surface with curling, rolling roots that plunge beneath the water's surface and a variety of branches that have sprung up rather low on its trunk.  Such an interesting profile!