Greene Rd. day 2 or what a difference a year makes

Warm and sunny 75 F

I'm continually surprised by how different things look in a photo than they do in real life. I swear I got the angle of the barn (the east gable side) correctly drawn, until I saw it in this picture, I still don't know what happened.

This is how it looked at about 12:30, when I finished (at least for the day)  I had trouble with veridian, I just couldn't control it at all, even with white and cadmium yellow  to temper it, I just might remove it from the pallet, we'll see. This photo is a bit washed out, but the color at home is almost electric.

Here is what it looked like when I started this A.M.  I was here yesterday about the same time, it was very cloudy, and the colors reflected that, there was also a lot less contrast, and no cast shadows.

I painted here last year too, wow!

This is the painting from last may,  it's #2 from when my great re-boot occurred, so I think I've made huge progress this last year, indeed what a year!

Brownell Corners Rd. Days 1&2

 Sunny and warm, day 1  sunny with clouds, cool, day2

I went down this road last friday (the day of my closing @ SAW) thinking I'd like the do the creek, looking north, like I had done this winter, but the sun was way south, and not even west at all.  I found this, clear and crisp, with the perfect tree.

 I started with a dark purpley ground, and think it was too cool but it worked out ok.  This was about 45 minutes into it, and I was getting different readings on the mid ground and back ground, there were a few clouds, so when one passed over the distant hill, while the sun stayed up the mid ground it was perfect. I changed the distant hills to a dark.

This was how it looked @ 2:30 friday

This is where it it got to @ 1:30 today.  It was much cooler, and there were way more clouds, (I forgot my camera, so I took this @ home)  I had been concerned about the tree,  I hadn't given it enough room and let it go over the edge. I don't know how these disconnects happen, I'm glad it wasn't a hand grenade.  This still needs work, especially the tree, but I think I'd like to go back with a larger canvas and re-composition it so the tree is really in the picture, that is another painting.

This is looking east, and is also another painting.

S.A..W. closing reception tomorrow night! & Old Camb. Rd. day 2

Tomorrow night is my closing reception from 5-7 PM, at the Cary House Gallery, Cary Ln. Salem, NY, If your reading this and can come, I'd love to see you tomorrow eve,  it should be a good time.

Yesterday @ Old Cambridge Rd. in Greenwich NY:

75 +/-F  cloudy and gusty winds

  I had some light yesterday AM, so I thought I'd go out before the rain came.  The biggest problem was the road, so I darkened it, generally the lightest area should be the sky, and the road, well, I used the same color as the sky maybe with a touch more of my "dark-o-the-day" paint, (saved from the previous day)  I made darker versions of the bluish and orangeish road colors and used them, I also noticed that the road curved a bit so I fixed that. Otherwise, I worked on the middle ground, putting some more detail in (that I hadn't gotten to on tuesday). I'm still trying to figure out how to do trunks and branches, argh...

The gusts of wind were ridiculous, I had to hang on the the easel, practically the whole time.  I also wish I had time to lighten the distant hills.

"Paint what you know".

84 F  sunny

This is a favorite spot, and area, but the view is different, still it contained road foreground, fields, middle ground and hills background, a favorite general arrangement.   I had in my head "paint what you know" when I set out so I did.

Need I say more?  I'm looking south-west,  It's noon, really bright, but I'm getting some darks out of the shadows, especially the pines. The cows weren't there when I started.

This is my start, I wanted to establish the mid-range hills to be the darkest, the mid-range fields, to be 2nd, the far hills, 3rd, the road, 4th and the sky the lightest.  I got this, basically, but the mid-range hills had some light areas, the far hills ended up too dark, and the road too light.

I hadn't put the large pine in yet, I did later, putting it to the right of where it was, I just thought it made a better picture, not blocking the smaller if the two far hills.

The painting is not done, but I was really happy with the way my pallet worked today, I got the initial dark-of-darks, mixed right, and that made all the difference!  I use this to mix MOST, not all colors down, so it gets into everything.  I also realized that the road needs some thought, I did mix two colors, both the same (or pretty close) in value, but one bluish, and the other orangeish.

  OK here is Eagleville, with the tree removed, I also changed the rocks in the foreground, and fine-tuned around the shore-line in the middle distance. I'm still not happy with the color but I think It came out better than I might have.  The softness of  the mid-ground woods is kinda what I wanted, but the water slipped through my fingers, (sorry I couldn't help myself)

Eagleville day 2, tree removal, easel construction details.

+/-  75  F  sunny no clouds

Day 2 for this picture, which I could not get a handle on, chromatically, with the green fighting the blue, the darks not knowing where to cling.  I,m looking at tree removal (lower left, what was I thinking? )

That tree has got to go. When something so glaring is wrong with a picture nothing else can be seen for it's own merits, so often I reduce/remove the most glaring problem and then look at what I have, chances are the remainder just might stand up.

My easel leg,construction detail

Don't look at the panel, it's totally weird.

It's a bit clunky but it works!

Content Farm finished, Eagleville, started, again teenagers

Yesterday,  79  F  sunny

A most awesome site!  Wow!  This this the third time here, I guess I'm trying to return to places on my list in this part of spring, when the greens are so tender and light, this part of spring is so short and sweet, it's the teenager of the year.

This spot too has great diagonals, maybe too much.  It also was tough to pin down the darks, the down stream bank needed emphasis, but it's too much. I started this at noon yesterday, and I'm hoping to go back tomorrow at noon. The sun was on the panel, that's why it looks screwy, as the sun moved I was able to move my panel so it's flatter to my view.

Colors are so fickle, in some places they look different, when I bring them home, they change. Here in these photos, they look better than in person. When I started this painting I knew I was going to come back, and wanted to start with the light layers in the woods behind the darker tree trunks right next to the bank, they still need development, I also wanted to get the sparkle off the water, but I'm waiting this until the end.

The place comes as close to composed as you'll ever get.

January, 2012

December 2012










Back to Content Farm Rd,  about 2:00
I put in the posts  that I think the painting needed, and a couple of other details in the foreground, I also worked the grass in front of the subject bush, and some of the bank of trees, It probably could go some more, we'll see.

Content Farm Rd. day 1

82 F  sunny clear slight breeze.

This is, I think, the 4th time I've painted this exact same place, although  I  may be over it.  I want to get the seasonal thing going but is it an overrated concept, like cats?


I'm hoping to work some more on this, it needs it, but we'll see if I can get back there soon.

I live on this same block, although, I'm in the village, ah the joy of small town living! I like this view because it's got strong diagonals, fore and mid ground, it's intimate, but has a bit of mystery.

Here is the painting from late December. 2012

November, 2012

October, 2012

My easel, altering into perfection.

I wanted to include the road and these two trees, but that's another painting.