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2/12/2008

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.

8 comments:

Momisodes said...

Wow! That sounds incredible. You just painted a mental image in my mind. I never knew that about Ireland...

"Burnt Umber?" See, this is why I'm not an artist. I cannot even try to imagine what that looks like.

Elizabeth said...

Beautifully described! I don't know if I would have the patience one would need to pull off something like that. I have become part of the "I want it NOW!" generation (but to be honest I find myself rebelling against that notion). Seeing this finished painting will be a treat. :)

Bones?! I LOVE that show. Did you know that you can find recently aired episodes at fox.com? I stumbled upon the show by way of a free episode from the second season on iTunes and I was hooked. I'm caught up now... but am desperate for new shows!

Unknown said...

Maddy: (Who left her comment on "framed and ready to hang") Photoshop is a Godsend. I LOVE Photoshop. I use CS2 - only because I can't afford the upgrade to CS3.

Sandy: I am going to leave the notion of 'painting images in your mind' alone. Burnt Umber is a Dark Brown. I'll mix it with varying amounts of white to create shades of color for the underpainting.

Elizabeth: I hope the finished piece will be good enough to be a 'treat'. And yes, Bones is so good. Bones and House make Tuesday nites fun.

Rocas said...

I love the image you have conjured up. Painting or drawing is a gift that I desperately wish I possessed.

Unknown said...

Rocas: My art teacher said: "If you can write, you can draw, and if you can draw, you can paint." When you learned how to write, you learned by imitation - you learned how to DRAW the letters by looking at them and putting to paper what you saw. You can draw. But like any skill, it needs exercise.

Anonymous said...

Lou, like you, I am a big fan of House. Hard to believe he's British. He has the callous American persona down cold.

Unknown said...

thegrandview: Having seen Hugh Laurie first as 'The Prince Regent' in the 'Black Adder' series and then as 'Bertie Wooster' in 'Jeeves and Wooster', I, too, find it hard to believe he's not one of us. But then, look at Jake Weber on 'Medium'.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see you start it and then the progress of it!