Seeing the image

I spent most of last evening wasting a lot of photo paper. Print. Review. Print. Review. I had a idea in my mind and I needed to get as close to that Idea as I could. And I was having trouble finding the proper balance of elements - light and dark, a piece here and a piece there. But I can see the new painting in my mind, now, and I have gotten as close to my mental image as I can with a photo. It took me longer than I thought it would - but then, what doesn't? So I didn't actually get to the point where I had a paintbrush in my hand. Oh well. Tonight, if all goes well, I will TIVO 'Bones' and 'House' (the only shows on TV I really, faithfully, watch each week) so my TV habit doesn't get in the way and I will actually start painting. I will work on the underpainting.

An underpainting is a neutral toned image of the final painting. Sort of like a black and white image of what will be, in its final form, a colorful painting. It will be done in shades of Burnt Umber - the same color I have used to tone the ground. The toned ground establishes the 'middle' tone of the underpainting - the rest of the underpaint will be working in the lightest and darkest values in the piece.

My goal in this piece is to establish the impact of the late November sun on the overall image. In November, in Ireland, the sun never rises too high in the sky. Even at Noon there are long shadows - the whole country is like a giant studio - everything is side-lit. But the sun is pale and weak and it doesn't provide much warmth. And that's what I hope to convey in the new piece.

I can see the image in my mind. My hope is to get it on canvas.