Meander

Today's painting adventure was not without some challenges. At one of my usual painting locations, I found an old fishing boat that I haven't seen before. Feeling lucking to have spotted a great subject so quickly, I immediately began setting up my equipment but just as I squeezed out the last color of paint onto my palette, my subject pulled away. I search on.

Pictured below, is the scene I eventually discovered for today's plein air session. This beautiful sail boat, named "Meander," seems to be visiting from Maryland, or at least that's what the lettering on the stern indicates. I've featured the boat moored to the right of her in several paintings but this one is new to the area, and therefore, a new subject for me.



Now, a little about the process. Working on linen glued to a birch panel, I started this piece the way I start most of my work-- laying down a very thin wash of yellow ochre and then wiping off the excess color with a paper towel. This leaves a "tint" on the canvas which will peak through here and there, helping to create a nice warm harmony. Now, with some very thin transparent iron oxide red on a small brush I lightly and freely begin to sketch the scene I intend to render.

In the next stage, I block in the general color of the sky and water. From these midtone colors I will later build my darks and then lights.

Next, I begin to render the boats and the background. I am mindful to keep the background, with all its clutter, very loose and abstract. In addition, I keep the colors of the background very muted, thus , pushing them back and giving the illusion of depth. Being able to manipulate a scene to better convey a "feeling" is part of what an artist does to create his interpretation of the scene as opposed to simply duplicating what would be in a lifeless photograph.

Also, at this phase, I start to put in the vertical lines of the masts and pilings which, in my opinion, is where the painting really starts to come to life.

A little cleaning up and better refining of shapes and details and I'm finished. I have to be careful at this point because it's easy to get carried away with overworking things and loosing the freshness of a plein air painting, which would defeat my purpose of being on location in the first place.

"Meander" 6" x 8" original oil on linen. Measures 12" x 14" with included frame. This painting is $500.00 and can be purchased from my website here.