I haven't been posting much lately but not because of
not painting. I've finished off about 3 or 4 paintings but they were versions based on a particular painting and I don't want to post 5 similar paintings on here. Also...the normal things that life brings, family and winter storm damage has kept me busy too. Winter storms bring not only bring rain but high winds which knock branches, and at times, trees down. We also have our usual bout of water getting into the barn and workshop so it can get really busy around here with back to back storms.
Bandon WIP...working titleSo anyway....this is a painting I'm working on right now. Figured I needed to post something. This scene is from the coastal town of Bandon, Oregon. I passed through it on my way back from Coos Bay last year. Beautiful small town with great fish and chips, crab, quaint little shops and nice marina and waterfront. I haven't painted hardly any sailboats so I thought this one being worked on would do. Hard to not love the lines of a sailboat even if you are a powerboat person. I should have this one finished in another day or two. This image isn't the greatest since it was taken with a diiferent camera...my normal camera had a dead battery and it's charging now. I'm trying to keep my edges soft but my marine work always has a totally different look than my landscape work. I'll go back in the end and try and soften up some more on it.
A Detail of the painting....
Well...back to the easel...I want to get everything painted in so I can get to the part of dialing it all in. This one is taking forever to do...usually the marine pieces always take days to do. It's all of that detail and line work. I'd like to paint them looser but that never happens with me. I think I'm just going to have to live with my work like that, at least for now.
8 comments:
Ron... Your boat paintings are always absolutely amazing!!! Well everything you paint looks so real...
I hope you didn't have TOO much damage from our storm.
Hi Marian,
Thanks. I'm trying to push some sort of development into my marine work but I keep getting the same results. I'd like a looser, less-detailed look but my hand says "no!". I think it is because of my drawing background. I'll try it again on a much simpler scene and see what happens.
In the recent storms we thankfully lost no trees but lots of branches. We also had light flooding in the barn, workshop, in another older barn and my studio storage area. We had a storm drain clog up in the middle of the night causing all of the fun. All a pain in the butt but nothing serious.
Hi Ron! Nice to see what you're working on! I know exactly what you mean about working looser. That looks wrong. Loser? No, wrong word, haha. More loose! Anyway, that is one of my issues when it comes to drawing (and when I used to paint). Yours look very fresh and loose compared to anything I do!! I love the way you work just as it is, but one thing you can try if you want: paint a boat as if you are going to have it printed in a children's book. That'll loosen it right up! Or paint it with no intention of posting it here, haha. Then you can feel free to do whatever you want. Though I hope you DO post it here! Always fun to watch you work. More rain coming, stay dry!
That looks wonderful, I'm really looking forward to seeing it progress!
The weather certainly has been, well there's been too much of it all up and down the coast!
You encourage me to try more nautical things.
This is coming along beautifully Ron! Cant wait to see more! :O)
Hi Christine - Those are good suggestions you've made. I usually end up going back after the paint sets up a bit and drag a dry brush over some of the harder edges to soften them some. It's the whole feel though. I was in a desogn class years ago and the teacher would knock our grade down 1 notch just for any lines that were'nt sharp and straight....guess it stuck with me when I paint marine works, haha. I guess some old habits are just really hard to let go of. Thanks for checking this out and the comments.
Hi Dianne - Christine was right, we had more rain again but thankfully it was mostly light rain. When it started it began with pounding hail which we don't usually get here too often. That was kind of neat. You're work is great so doing some nautical pieces would be awesome. Thanks!
Hi Teresa - I worked on it yesterday and into the wee hours to finish. Now I'm giving it the once over and will then take a photo with the good camera. Have to put on the rubber boots and go feed the horse first. Thanks too for the comments, I appreciate it.
It's remarkable how some subject matter demands a harder line and just refuses to submit to a looser approach. However your boats are always impressive and the accuracy of line contrasting with the water works so well. Looking forward to the finished piece.
Thanks Mick. I appreciate the nice comments. I love boats and I love the details in them. I find it so hard to just apply a loose brush stroke here and there and say it works. To me it never works that way and I'm sometimes frustrated to no end at what I paint and what I wish I had painted, haha.
I think a lot of it is loving the work of other painters using a looser approach...sort of like loving the work of Winslow Homer but finding it impossible to paint like him.
In my case I would like to see a more impressionistic look to it but like I said...it's hard to get that loose. I'm not sure if it's a case of just not forcing myself to paint that way or this way I'm painting now is my "voice" with marine work and I just don't see it. (insert image of artist banging head on wall of studio).
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