Enjoying the View

Mosaic In Progress #2

This is the preliminary painting

for a second mosaic.

This current piece entitled, 

"Crabapple Trees In Bloom",

is much smaller than the previous mosaic;

160 sq. in. versus 256 sq. in.

"Wintry Shadows On The Old Barn"

is at the frame shop, getting ready

for a show in Canton, Connecticut.

I have produced a number of small paintings 

since my previous mosaic.

It is very easy to tell when it's time

to proceed with another mosaic.

It becomes difficult to focus on painting,

when mosaic is calling.

I miss the clipping, nipping and snipping

of that beautiful smalti glass.

Fortunately, the glass comes in the colors

of these crabapple trees.

Different shades of this coral red color

is found on the specialty palette

of Orsoni Smalti.

The red glass will be complimented 

by lots of greens, and hopefully this

piece will be very bright and lively.

Perhaps a lovely lively project.

Eight A.M.

Eight A.M. is the time of day

this artwork was painted, plein air.

The structure is the back of

the office building where I live.

Originally 7" x 9", just could not get

the right half of the painting to work.

It cut the composition in half, visually.

Very easy to cut the part that doesn't work,

when it's painted on hardwood board,

covered with a couple coats of gesso.

Table saw works great.

Not so easy to change the dimensions

if you paint on stretched canvas.

I prefer to work on board, as it does not

bounce when your brush hits it.

Not So Crabby Apple

My last plein air attempt

was about a year ago.

It took two,

two hour sessions to finish

"Tall and Small Garden Dwellers".

This, second attempt, took one sitting

of one hour, forty-five minutes,

and this painting is a bit larger as well.

The difference was,

with this crabapple tree,

I made sure the values and colors were quickly 

applied to the painting surface.

Details were not introduced until

the entire hardwood board

was covered with pigment.

Forget the small brushes,

when painting initial values.

The larger brushes also allow

for softer edges.

I like the softer edges, and always

wondered why my number 2 brushes

would not give me a soft edge.

Was tempted to take a photo

of this tree, and proceed to

nit-pick the looseness into

an overworked mess.

Decided to refrain from that.

Side View with Pine

Without sky holes

a tree would look like 

a huge green mass on a trunk;

a leafy lollipop.

Sky holes are the negative spaces

painted into the leaf sections of a tree. 

Actually the sky is behind the tree,

and pops through the leaves, where

there is a negative space in the leaves.

In the spring, sky holes

would be more prevalent.

In the summer, when leaves

are full and thick, there would be 

fewer sky holes.

I like to paint the trunk and

branches first, then paint the sky holes

at the same time as the leaf masses.

This way the negative and positive 

spaces with have a more cohesive look.

Sunny Side Of The Street

In The Sunny Side of the Street,

the shadows were a bit too blue,

and a bit too dark.

If a part of a painting is too light,

it is possible to darken that area 

using a darker, transparent painting technique

called glazing.

If a part of a painting is too dark,

it is possible to lighten that area

using a technique called scumbling.

I apply paint to my brush, then remove most of it.

With a light, skimming on the paint surface,

an opaque paint pigment creates a mesh

effect over the underlying artwork.

If you try to do this while the underlying paint

is wet, the two colors will merge.

The paint under the scumbling should be dry.

A Mix of Clouds and Sun

A big sky with clouds.

Now there's a daunting thought.

My first attempt at a big, cloudy sky.

Not so bad once you get your feet wet.

There is one rule in painting that is

embedded in my brain –

keep the horizon line off the center

of the canvas.

The tree on the left of the group of trees

appeared to be sitting on the horizontal center line.

As a result, whenever I'd look at the painting,

my eye would automatically 

focus on that tree.

That explains why not placing items on the 

center lines is a rule in painting.

To remedy the problem,

I increased the sky behind the tree on the 

extreme left.

Now we have a larger sky, and

the horizon line on the left dips

below center.

The Shady Patio

The Shady Patio just happens to be located

around the corner from my apartment.

This hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)

is a flowering, deciduous shrub, which grows

to seven feet tall by eight feet wide.

In my neck of the woods, this

particular hydrangea is referred to as

a mophead, because of the large, round blossoms.

Hydrangea loves the shade, as you can see

in this painting of the shady patio.

This is the second of a Rivers Bend painting series. 

White Bungalow

The White Bungalow

is a structure located on the property of

East Granby, Connecticut's Historical Society.

I chose this particular subject

because I liked the shady side of the building,

and how there was only a glimpse of

bright color on the shrubs.

Is white really a color in painting?

I own two tubes of white paint.

It must be a color, as I have purchased it.

This is what I learned about white

in art school 150 years ago.

White absorbs all the colors surrounding it.

So if there is a green shrub

in front of the white cottage,

that green from the shrub

will be reflected in the white cottage.

This, of course, is true of all colors,

however, with other colors,

you can actually see their color pigment.

The only pure white would be the highlight,

and even the highlight will contain a bit of

whatever color the light source is.

So is white a color?

Well, my Oriental lilies say it is.

Sunrise

Sunrise on the apartment complex,

at which I live,

is actually quite dramatic.

They just don't build condo/apartments

like this anymore.

They would take up too much space.

Built in the 1970's, River's Bend

looks very much like a village.

Each group of buildings

is either built upon a hill,

or situated lower, as in a valley.

Lots of grassy areas between complexes.

Located on the Farmington River.

Many architectural painting opportunities.

Everyday my dog and I go for our walks and,

we see new composition possibilities.

Lots of arborvitaes (white cedar).

Lots of crab apple trees.

Looks like it's back to painting for awhile.

Wintry Shadows On The Old Barn

April 8, 2013

Two and a half months later . . .

Approximately 6,500 pieces of

clipped, nipped Orsoni Smalti,

completed mosaic artwork.

It never gets boring, and still remains

a very therapeutic procedure.

What took so long?

Clipping glass to fit in between 

those branches was challenging,

to say the least.

However, it never got old,

and never lost my patience with

any part of the procedure.

Glass does not photograph well.

There are too many shiny spots.

Had to photograph on a cloudy morning,

which makes it difficult to see

the depth of the artwork.