030917 S 24x36 Fall Forest Fantasy, Part 1

I am going to break this blog into two parts.  The first part will cover the seven, plein air, oil paintings that were created on location in the forest over a period of five years and used for inspiration for the finished studio painting.  The second part will focus on the step by step evolution of the studio painting.

In this plein air painting created this past fall on November 1, 2016, http://charlenemarsh.blogspot.com/2016/12/110116-12x16-warm-day-late-fall.html, I particularly love the background hills and trees and colors as well as the sky reflected on the creek and the fallen leaves on the water.  I frequently referred to this painting while working on the background elements and the creek.

In this plein air painting, dated October 22, 2016, http://charlenemarsh.blogspot.com/2016/11/102216-12x16-early-autumn.html, I really liked the creek in the left hand side of the painting.  That golden color, rusty reflections, and smattering of fallen leaves was really enchanting.

The turquoise creek, due to the shale rock, was absolutely gorgeous in this painting.  This plein air painting was done on October 24, 2016, http://charlenemarsh.blogspot.com/2016/11/102416-16x12-turquoise-water.html.

This is another plein air painting, dated November 1, 2013 with the turquoise water which is flowing this time.  Interestingly, this painting was done on the same date as the top one above only three years earlier.  I love to compare the unfolding of the seasons from year to year. 

In this painting dated November 3, 2013, I really like how the color of the leaves changes from green to yellow green to orange-green to oranges and rusts.  These last three paintings are done in one of my favorite spots to paint out in the forest.  I love the composition of the creek receding into the distance.  Last year, several trees fell across the creek in this location, obliterating the view.

This painting dated October 12, 2012 shows the beginnings of the fall colors but is still predominately green.

Just two days later on October 14, 2012, the colors have already changed dramatically.  Some years, fall comes early and some years, like in 2016, it comes quite late.  We did not even get a frost or freeze until mid-November.  I love how the paintings document the unfolding seasons year after year. 

So I print out photos of all these paintings and mount them on my "inspiration board" that I could refer to as I worked.  Here is my set up, ready to go.  

This is the end of Part 1.  Sometimes setting up the painting and deciding what to do is the biggest part of a project.  Part 2 is available HERE that shows how the painting is executed now that I have determined what I want to do.   

Thanks for following along!  

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 

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012717 S 30x24 Turquoise Creek

This painting is based mainly on a plein air painting I did this fall with a couple other paintings for inspiration.  I just love this turquoise creek.  The blue shale of the earth with the gold tinted water from the iron oxides turns the color a lovely shade of turquoise.

I start with a magenta tinted panel and sketch out the "lay of the land" with a brush dipped in cold pressed linseed oil and a mix of cerulean blue and magenta pigments.

 

In these photos, the ground tint may appear to have a different shade of red due to the lighting conditions which vary from daylight to nighttime.  Sometimes I have the overhead daylight halogen lights on and sometimes I work under natural light in the studio.  I figure working under a variety of lighting conditions guarantees the finished painting will look good in multiple settings.

I start by painting in the darkest values which in this painting are the edges of the creek and then the rocks, moving to the creek banks.

Green foliage on the banks is added.  While it may be hard to see, I have also started adding the red foliage in the treetops.  I like to work wet into wet so I like the fresh wet paint to work with even though the color may be similar to the ground tint.

You can see here where I have added even more red in deeper values to the treetop foliage as well as a background hill. 

I paint in the dominant trees and keep adding to the overall painting.

I mix small amounts of color at a time and when it runs out, I mix a new color so that there is a wide variety of mixes throughout the painting.

Here I start adding lighter values in the background spaces and darker values in the tree foliage.  

A lovely turquoise is mixed with cerulean blue and cadmium yellow light to block in the water.  Cadmium red medium is added to cerulean mix for the darker areas of the creek and white is added for the light areas.

 

And, finally, the sky, the lightest value, is added.  Mixed from titanium white and cerulean blue, the sky color picks up some of the red of the foliage when it is applied.  

I have also added distant hills and trees in a light, neutral, red mix.

At this point, the entire surface has been covered and I can step back and study what values, edges, lines, etc. need adjusting.  What is working or not working in the basic skeleton of the painting? 

Next is my favorite part of the painting.  I start to add the flickering leaves, foliage, trees, and branches.  I decide how I want the color of the leaves to gradate across the landscape from top to bottom and foreground to background.  

Details reflected in the water start to appear.

More leaves are added across the entire painting.  Branches are both painted in and scratched into the surface.

Leaves tumble onto the creek and more added over the branches, pushing some back and bringing some forward.

Vertical trees are added and really start to define the space.  Twisting tree branches are added throughout the painting.  Ferns and grasses are added to the creek banks.

The dominant trees are pulled back out from the leaves to bring them forward.  The trees I want to keep in the background I let become buried in the flickering leaves adding to the depth and intrigue of the finished painting. 

More colorful leaves are added to refine and define the finished painting.  The most forward trees are pulled back out at the end.

Highlights on the water are added.

And here is the finished painting.  
  
"Turquoise Creek", oil on panel, 30" x 24", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.   

Thanks for following along! 

Happy Trails!

Charlene

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102916 12x16 Zinnias, Marigolds, and Mums By the Goldfish Pool

Here we are the end of October and the zinnias, marigolds, and mums are still blooming like crazy!  High 79 degrees and windy.  Still no frost or freeze. 

I set up with the sun behind my panel so it didn't caste light on the painting while I worked. 
 
With the election just a week away, a neighbor stopped by to talk politics when he spotted me painting in the front yard.  I love talking politics with people who don't take it personal.  I love a spirited discussion!

You can see how the light changed from a warmer green to a cooler dusk light below.  This painting is just bursting with color and joy of the flowers.
 

"Zinnias, Marigold, and Mums by the Goldfish Pool", plein air oil painting on panel, 12" x 16", c. Charlene Marsh.

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Trails!

Charlene 

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