"Pilgrimages" close up- Final Touches and the Value of Color
When I work on a piece, I sometimes have a phase where I think I’ve finished, but I come back later and do final “touchups”. Often, things are very daunting when I'm in front a beautiful location, or when I’ve just finished working on a painting for a few hours in the studio. That’s when I need some time away to come back with fresh critical eyes, to see relationships better and to look with the eyes of an art lover, an art viewer, and not just the eyes of a creator, who’s in the messy middle-of-things. To see it from the outside!
With the online “Pilgrimages” art sale open for this weekend only, I wanted to share some insights into a few paintings in the show. Here are three examples of what can lead a piece to feel “finished” to me, and the value of color changes that I made at the end.
Little River Sunrise-
90% done on the left; completed on the right
I got about 90% of this done on site before the light changed so much I had to wrap it up. I finished up later on at my campsite. Some changes are easy to see- little shadows and such, detail work. I stretched the water over to the far left, to let the river “escape” off the side of the composition. I also darkened the foreground and added splatters and texture.
Additionally, though, I added more pale blues to the water, to darken it just a tad. When the values of two opposing hues are the same, it can create compelling effects when they’re placed side by side. This is a technique that Monet uses a lot, and I like to use it too! :D
If I make the painting black and white…
The color-opposition of blue versus yellow highlights disappears because I’ve gotten the two colors to be very close in value. Instead, I only see dark forms (the land and shadows) versus light forms (water and highlights). But when we revert back to color, all that strong opposition of two pale colors is there, dancing on the water the way it was that morning at the beach.
A Space Outside of Time-
original on the left, and final painting on the right
This painting I wrapped up and had on my art wall for over a month, when I decided to take it back down and figure out if I could give it any extra magic. Finishing touches like this are always tricky. Fussing too much with a painting is a great way to deaden it. But if I’m not satisfied with it in the first place, then “ruining” it doesn’t mean much to me anyways. :P For this one, I was glad I dove back in.
My goal was multifold-
-to add the details to the foreground that were necessary to make it pop!
-to increase the contrasts in the foreground and midground
-and to really make the blues and oranges and purples sing even more than before... You can see them more now, by the little puddle of water, and also in the ocean.
When I went out, it was the cusp of dawn. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon behind me and was hitting only the tops of the clouds. It was cool and I was bundled up as I watched things lighten and color come to the world. The first version was still a little washed out if I wanted to capture this mood, but, for me, the final version captures that sense of light just arriving with the morning.
High Sierra Meadow-
I’ve spoken before about how I dove back into this painting at the end, adding smaller and smaller highlights, to capture that feeling a meadow has it recedes into the warm distance. Follow this link and scroll to the bottom to find out about that experience. What I wanted to share today was, again, a little peek into the use of color.
Here we have the painting in black and white, versus the final color image. What’s interesting to note in the black and white version is how the vibrant chartreuse leaves in the foreground practically dissolve into the oranges of the meadow.
When I was painting this, the leaves where fantastically vibrant- far more vibrant than a painting of mine could possibly capture. So pure and thin. Like living stained glass. My goal for the leaves was to get them to sing. To make you see the color and, if possible, have it vibrate and feel alive because your eyes would have to process to ways of seeing at once- one in black and white, where the paler leaves almost disappear, and one where they sing with color and so clearly separate themselves.
The “Pilgrimages” Art Sale is Live-
The “Pilgrimages” art sale is up, and if you’ve been excited to check out the full collection of 12 painting and maybe bring one home, now through Sunday 12/4 is the time to do so.
Sign up on the Art Buyers list if you’ve not done so, and you’ll get an email promptly after, with access to the store. Thanks for reading and buying. Happy Holidays!