Cobble Hill, Revised

45+  F   more sun than yesterday.

 I went back to the same spot to work some more on yesterday's painting.   It was nicer out, but lots of the snow was gone!

I think I need another hour and I'm glad I did it. I worked mostly on the middle and foreground, and I actually added some snow where I lost it from yesterday.

Still (some) snow, Cobble Hill Rd.

+\-  45 F  Mostly cloudy & windy, with breaks of sun & calm.


The north-facing slopes still have snow from the last storm.  Introduce some very subtle greens in the foreground.










 I liked the way the light reflected off of the rolling middle-ground, and the trees and bushes contrasted to it.

I've done a couple of paintings from this site (or pretty close).  My view is south-west.

The sun came in and out today, (mostly in). I always orient the panel so it's shaded from the sun, which is a major factor in finding just the right place to paint. I guess I could get an umbrella to shade  my panel. The sun also passed over different parts of my view changing things dramatically for a few minutes until the clouds returned.

 Soon I must make a paint box and alter my easel so I can move away from the truck, but until then the path of least resistance is "truck painting".

At  11" x 17"  this is the largest Painting I've done since before the winter began.  It definitely takes more time to move the paint.

(Maybe not last) snow paint McMillan Rd. Cambridge, NY.

35  F  Sunny, with a few clouds.

Nice contrasts today!, keep thinking this is tht last snow painting, but I won't say that now.

I forgot the camera so it's the cell phone camera, too bad.

I'm liking road views, and yeah, I'm on the road, again.

Waits Hill Rd. White Creek, NY.

=/-30 F  cold and windy.

I don't know why I chose this spot, at first I thought I was in a calm place, then the wind kicked up so I guess I could have been anywhere in the neighborhood, with the same cold gusty conditions. By mid March I think we all think it should be warmer, so it feels colder.

My new pallet, a piece of luan plywood soaked with linseed oil, quick, easy, we'll see how it goes. I also tried laying the colors out on warm/cold lines, trying to integrate things I've been reading about color theory.  It seems much harder to paint and think at the same time.

The light is a bright, cool white-yellow light, that bounces off the frozen dead brush & dirt. I like this bright light, but there's a limit of how much frozen dead stuff a person can stare at, and I met that weeks ago.

I tried to mix the foreground with the warm colors, and the middle ground with the cold , It looked horrible, so I just kept putting more paint on, it didn't hurt, but the foreground just did not want to cooperate. A bit of black helped.

A nice spot, but I'm definitely looking forward to warm weather. 

Day 2 48 Hour @ Salem Art Works Salem, NY.

Warm & Sunny, A.M.  clouds slow to move in P.M. (15 F @ 7:00, +/- 45 F 3:00)

I knew I wanted a creek view this morning, I was tired, and it was spring ahead, so it was 10:30, old time before I got going on this, but a lovely day that was already very pleasant and still clear by start time.

I keep saying I'm going to alter my easel into a Gloucester-type and make a paint box with new pallet Three trips, luckily it was only 30' from the truck.

The colors aren't as far off as this photo would indicate, and although the sun did change the amount and intensity of the shadows, I had a decent amount of time to get it.

I found a 25 yr. old tube of black paint along with lots of other colors from I'm not sure how long ago... So this is the first time in memory that I used black.  As predicted, it wasn't that crazy different, but I did use it sparingly.





Afternoon:  warm, still bright with few high clouds moving in.

SAW has lots of nooks and crannies to explore.  I was going to go back up on the hill, but had a last minute change of heart, and found this place.

With the minimum of things, it still took 3 trips up. but worth the effort!

Buildings are tough to paint, but I liked this place with the roof top view and the far distant mountain.

I think being in a shady place,  accounted for the color range. It ended up looking a bit washed out.

I tried practicing some advice from Stapleton Kearn's blog, about using opposite colors of the same value in the surfaces of the barn, I think it came out O.K.

Day 1 48 Hours @ Salem Art Works

A.M.  Chilly start,  fresh snow

First pic of me painting, Zac Ward, and his dog walked by while I was setting up this A.M.

I did this same view in June during Harry Orlyk's Workshop,  There was more snow when I started than when I finished (and took this pic).

As the sun came up,  I had to turn the panel to keep the light from raking across the surface.

   This photo makes the painting look real dark and saturated in comparison to the real thing, when I brought in home, it looked much more like the real thing.







P.M. Warm and sunny,  very bright sun!

This spot is by the round-up of trailers for summer interns,  I sat in one to rest and sip coffee, maybe someday, I'll rent one and camp for a while.  When I started the sun was brightly reflected off the slope in the center above and to the left of the garage. the trees were super-dark, by comparison.

    I moved the garage way off to the the right, I wanted more slope, That changed a number of the other relationships, but I don't think that was the lesson for this afternoon.

   I've been thinking about adding black, like any change, I ponder it to within an inch of it's life, and ultimately it doesn't usually make much difference. Using Ultra Marine and Alizerine crimson (and maybe a bit of cadmium orange)  had been my dark of choice.  I could still do a few things to this...

Nice.  Tomorrow Day two of 48 Hours @ SAW

Owlkill Creek@ Shunpike Rd. Cambridge, NY

Fresh snow!  38? F  sun just after snowfall

Ok so I'm getting some stuff ok, but I need to either go out longer or work them back at home....  The light has changed, I noticed it a few days ago, it's much brighter and bluer, the Winter's turned the corner, and with the fresh snow, at 3:00 the sun came out an I couldn't resist, but by the time I got the kids situated and packed the truck  I didn't get started painting until 4:15!



I only got this one pic, before the camera died, but you can really see the unique problems this place presented, and also what a great spot, I will return (very close to home)!

Dr. Browns Lane, Cambridge, NY., yesterday

35  F  cloudy, calm.

I've wanted to find a way to paint in the valley going west out of town, but not on State Rt. 372, (it moves way too fast!)  so I tried Dr. Brown ln. Nice

 Dead end, dirt, very little traffic!

I've been reading a blog by Stapleton Kearns, a great wealth of knowledge on painting, I'll link it if I can. here I tried to  practice a few ideas; gathering the lights and the darks separately,  using hot and cold colors adjacent to each other, and working on composition.

I was actually happy with the results, painting with the same pallet in similar surroundings day after day does in fact make it easier to get close to the color I'm looking for.

See my February Paintings on my web site, Thanks

/http://mattchinian.com/

Duel Hollow Rd. Cambridge, NY, yesterday

35 F  Cloudy, slight breeze

The clouds were thin and I thought I could get some light out of them,  This spot is in a hollow that's higher than the Cambridge valley.

I liked the color of this feild, and seeing the distant hills in the cut of the electric lines as they recede over the near hill. There was also a lot of textural changes, from the broken corn stalks to the smooth cut grass in the middle ground.

 It was nice to sit, but it got cold and I wished I hadn't, Then 2:30 rolled around, so time to meet the bus.

A beautiful spot, for sure, I liked the intimacy of the view I chose, also since I've been working so small, it's doable in a short time.  I can concentrate on trying to get the color notes right.  The ocher colors are so subtle this time of year, I've really learned to appreciate their variety, having said that, its good to work at it painting after painting I think they've gotten better.

I had trouble with the cluster of bushes on the left side of the middle -ground hill. I realize now that they are darker overall, but some things just squirm and squirm, argh.