Finishing Ship 2

For lack of a better name. After my first painting en pleine aire in Maine, I took many photos of the scene, different angles, different compositions. So I did a 16 by 24 version on drawing paper in about an hour. The French Ultramarine was too bright and thick and the shadows in the water were not correct, but when I stood back across the room, the painting had a powerful impact. The water moved, the values were there, you could move into the space with your eye. I had turned the photo and the painting up side down to paint the water and the reflections in it....to discourage getting fussy about accuracy.

so that spurred me to get a piece of good paper, 300 pound Arches cold press. I lay in the water and the basic shape of the ship and its baby boats hitched to its side. Learning: the key to my loose style is using brushes that are bigger than you think you ought to be using. don't downshift to smaller brushes until you must. To release excess pigment, touch the sponge or the paper towel.

I did a lot more lifting and changing of colors than I wanted to, to the point of losing the sizing, which takes away the ability to get that nice crisp edge. But I will learn from practice how much value to lay in the first time so that I won't have to lift and repaint. Now to finish: move the black water shadow over to match the ship so that it doesn't shout DRAWING ERROR. Even if you lift it again, there is such darkness in this part of the page that I don't think it will make a difference.

Questions that come up while painting. What does he mean about keeping the colors balanced the whole time in the painting? How do you do that? How does he know WHERE to put that touch of color. And how do I place the colors on the plane so that they lead the eye intentionally around the picture. I know there are answers to this question.

Where to sign? Finish the shadow around the pontoon, and define the motor on it just a bit more. Frame it and bring it to the Gallery next week.