Tuesday, November 8, 2011

21. Frosty Morning

Frosty Morning 5x7 oil/wood panel

We had a frosty morning this morning  too... But now the sun is up, frost is melting, and the day is still ahead!!


I do these pretty quick, obviously, and that's part of the point, but after putting this one away and looking at it again I saw a couple of things I thought should happen. And I thought you might be interested in the thought process that goes on.
A. The head is the focal point.  We just sort of naturally are drawn to faces, animal or human..
B. That being said, if it's the focal point, then it needs to have the most contrast, sharper edges, etc.  So I beefed up the light around his face.  Just because something is a certain way in a photo reference, or even in painting from real life,.. doesn't mean we have to paint it that way!!!  Make your statement visually, and do what you have to do to make that happen.
C. I also warmed up the tops of the weeds... light shining through them would be halo'ed around each stem, creating a sort of warm glow in general, since they are thin little blades of grass and stems.... This better portrays the sense that sunlight is hitting them from behind. At least I think so.... What do you think?

2 comments:

Judy P. said...

I'm catching up with your posts- you're painting so quickly I can't keep up with them. This was helpful because I thought you caught the light nicely in the first version, but you made it more magical in the final result. Love the steam from his breath!

Sandy Sandy Art said...

You have made a good painting great!