Oil Painting:
Varnishing:
Working with Canvas:
'THE FIELD'S EDGE' by John O'Keefe
Composition & Materials
I'm a big fan of the "Hudson River School" painters, because of this I have been trying to develop similar skills in landscape painting. This painting was based on a cloud scene that my wife took and a picture from the www.wetcanvas.com reference library that was used for the field and trees. I felt this was a good composition for me to work with.
I'm a big fan of the "Hudson River School" painters, because of this I have been trying to develop similar skills in landscape painting. This painting was based on a cloud scene that my wife took and a picture from the www.wetcanvas.com reference library that was used for the field and trees. I felt this was a good composition for me to work with.
Reference Photograph
(Cloud Picture taken by my wife Jennifer)
I switched from Winsor & Newton 'Winton' to Winsor & Newton 'Artist Oil Color' ...Big difference in colors, mixing and the
way the paint goes onto the canvas. I found that I like the better oil paints vs the student grade paints.
I limited myself to a 6 color pallet (see below)
and I used NO mediums, the paint was straight out of the tubes. The green of choice was
"sap green" mixed with "titanium white" or "ivory black", added to this was a little
"Raw Umber" or "Raw sienna" to add some earthy tones. At times I added the sap green
straight onto the canvas in the grass running across the middle of the painting.
Of course it had blended a little as I was painting wet on wet. I put about 25 hours into
this painting spread over 5 days - about 5 hours a day, including prep and cleanup each
day. Also worth mentioning is that I painted sitting under a 60 watt light bulb with
not much natural outside light shining on the canvas as I worked.
Also... there is a dab or two of Alizarin Crimson and Naples Yellow in the mix somewhere. I can't remember where or why I added them.
Also... there is a dab or two of Alizarin Crimson and Naples Yellow in the mix somewhere. I can't remember where or why I added them.
- Support:
Pre-Stretched & Mounted - Medium Textured Cotton Canvas - Acrylic Primed
- Size:
12 x 16 inch
- Medium:
Winsor & Newton 'Artist Oils'
Sky/Clouds:
Titanium White, Ivory Black, and Ultramarine Blue
Landscape:
Titanium White, Ivory Black, Sap Green, Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, and Napals Yellow
- Finish:
Winsor & Newton Damar varnish
STEP-BY-STEP...
Day 1
Day 1 notes...
I began this painting with the most distant objects... the sky & clouds. These were aggressive clouds that were very busy.
I began this painting with the most distant objects... the sky & clouds. These were aggressive clouds that were very busy.
Day 2
Day 2 notes...
More refinements made to the the clouds. I kept working the clouds with a blending brush until they flowed more smoothly and had improved in contrast between light and dark areas. However, at this point things looked a little stormy.
More refinements made to the the clouds. I kept working the clouds with a blending brush until they flowed more smoothly and had improved in contrast between light and dark areas. However, at this point things looked a little stormy.
Day 3
Day 3 notes...
Notice the final white highlights added to the clouds which take away the stormy feel from day 2. It now looks like a bright sunny day. I also added the ground and the beginning of the tree line. My intent was to have a very strong contrast between light and dark. Notice the effect it has when you compare the ground objects against the sky.
Notice the final white highlights added to the clouds which take away the stormy feel from day 2. It now looks like a bright sunny day. I also added the ground and the beginning of the tree line. My intent was to have a very strong contrast between light and dark. Notice the effect it has when you compare the ground objects against the sky.
Day 4
Day 4 notes...
The big tree is complete and now its time to work on the tree line to the right. To make the multiple trees stand apart from each other I modified the colors of each tree slightly. Some are more green while others have added browns and red tones. The overall effect is to give a sense of many trees growing together. Adding the right amount of dark to areas proved to be more difficult than I had first thought - I continued to make adjustments by increasing darker areas such as under the trees.
The big tree is complete and now its time to work on the tree line to the right. To make the multiple trees stand apart from each other I modified the colors of each tree slightly. Some are more green while others have added browns and red tones. The overall effect is to give a sense of many trees growing together. Adding the right amount of dark to areas proved to be more difficult than I had first thought - I continued to make adjustments by increasing darker areas such as under the trees.
Day 5
Day 5 notes...
It was a perfect sunny day. The clouds where very puffy and the darker patches are nothing more than deep shadows - There was not a drop of rain in the sky that day. I have been working on achieving the right/accurate balance between light and dark areas in my landscape paintings and its amazing how much of both are present even on a very sunny day. When I would sit at the end of the day and review my painting against the ref photo, I was always brought back to how much lighter my painting seemed - I had not put enough contrast between light and dark objects. As I continued to retouch those lighter areas by adding more shadows, the painting became more realistic. I have seen many paintings that do not have enough contrast between objects and these paintings always seem to be missing something to me... they seem to loose depth and appear flat. For example: Instead of using darker green for shadows under the trees I saw a more realistic painting emerge when I painted straight black into those areas. I'm learning not to be so afraid of using darks.
It was a perfect sunny day. The clouds where very puffy and the darker patches are nothing more than deep shadows - There was not a drop of rain in the sky that day. I have been working on achieving the right/accurate balance between light and dark areas in my landscape paintings and its amazing how much of both are present even on a very sunny day. When I would sit at the end of the day and review my painting against the ref photo, I was always brought back to how much lighter my painting seemed - I had not put enough contrast between light and dark objects. As I continued to retouch those lighter areas by adding more shadows, the painting became more realistic. I have seen many paintings that do not have enough contrast between objects and these paintings always seem to be missing something to me... they seem to loose depth and appear flat. For example: Instead of using darker green for shadows under the trees I saw a more realistic painting emerge when I painted straight black into those areas. I'm learning not to be so afraid of using darks.
FINISHED PAINTING
"The Field's Edge"
12 x 16 inch (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Oil on Canvas
John O'Keefe
Summer 2007
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