Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.437

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be continuing with the painting of the turreted Cape May, New Jersey house. The photo that I will be using is seen directly below. I will be using my usual acrylics on a 8x10 gallery-wrapped canvas.

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo seen directly below.

Since that time, I have continued to work on the painting.

I mixed some very watery paint and began to apply color. What I was doing at this phase was setting a road map for things to come. I applied wattery blue paint to areas that will be in shadow and ochre to other areas. The ochre just happened to be handy and will change in future installments. You can see that it already has a 3 dimensional quality.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.436

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be starting an entirely painting. The photo that I will be using is seen directly below. I will be using my usual acrylics on a 8x10 gallery-wrapped canvas.

This is a house in Cape May, New Jersey that I have actually painted once before many years ago, but not very well. This time around I intend to do much better. Currently, this house does not look as it does in the photo. It has since been painted in a bizarre combination of red and ochre. Pretty it is not. Thankfully, I have my old photo for reference.

I started with a grid and then drew in the outline of the house. I have painted in some color to better highlight the outline of the home. I'm pleased so far.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.435

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be continuing with the painting of the Grand Canyon. The photo that I will be using is seen directly below. I will be using my usual acrylics on a 12x12 gallery-wrapped canvas.

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo seen directly below.

Since that time, I have continued to work on the painting.

I wasn't totally happy with the 2 layers of buttes to the rear and revised them. To the far rear, the prior version had only horizontal lines of color. I've now changed them to appear as vertically oriented blocks of color that don't quite line up. It's a bit more realistic. The next closest layer of buttes has received a better balance of light to dark. There is now less shadow. It seems to work better, at least to my eye. Finally, The sky is complete with clouds both high and at the horizon. The painting is now finally completed.

The current and final state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.434

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be continuing with the painting of the Grand Canyon. The photo that I will be using is seen directly below. I will be using my usual acrylics on a 12x12 gallery-wrapped canvas.

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo seen directly below.

Since that time, I have continued to work on the painting.

I took a good look at the painting after last week's installment. I wasn't really happy with the way things were going, and the scene was not being portrayed in a way that conveyed the sense of distance. The Grand Canyon is truly immense. My painting was not successfully accomplishing the aerial perspective that I had hoped it would. I then began a revision that would involve every element except for the dark shadows of the main butte.

Starting on the extreme right, the closest butte has a revised surface now featuring a concave section like that of the photo. Moving to the main butte, the entire medium brown area has been revised but, in all fairness, does not look dramatically different than before. Most notable is the reshaped top with a highlight at the tip. It was one of those things that happened during the revision that was not completely intended. I liked it and kept it. Further back are the heavily revised buttes to the left. They now appear in bright colors that some may find jarring. I feel that they better convey the distance even if the image begins to take on a bit of the look of a 1930s Park Service travel poster. To the far rear, the distant buttes make their first appearance in an even paler shade. I hope that the color progression is appropriate. I am much happier with this image now.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.