This is a larger format painting (12"H x 16"W) from a photo I took while at a painting workshop in the Skagit Valley; a gorgeous farming community in Washington State, crisscrossed with sloughs and dotted with classic old barns.
I started with a sepia India ink underpainting with a colorful watercolor underpainting laid on top. Then I added pastel and hit a wall harder than a crash dummy!
I started with a sepia India ink underpainting with a colorful watercolor underpainting laid on top. Then I added pastel and hit a wall harder than a crash dummy!
What went wrong? Is this a trash bin candidate? Will I ever paint another landscape again? Oh the insecurities of the artist!
Several wise artist friends kindly said, "When a painting is not working, it is usually a composition problem." So I set it aside and took another look at it several months later. Being a wee bit stubborn and loving the feel of this scene, I scrubbed off the pastel and started again.
Several wise artist friends kindly said, "When a painting is not working, it is usually a composition problem." So I set it aside and took another look at it several months later. Being a wee bit stubborn and loving the feel of this scene, I scrubbed off the pastel and started again.
This was feeling better but the composition is still off. My eye would go to the water spot and "fall in a hole", staying there rather than moving around the painting. And if my eye did move off the water, the composition led me zipping off the page to the left. Poopers!
Luckily, adding the tall grass, flowers and a dramatic sky did the trick! Sometimes, stubbornness pays off!
Luckily, adding the tall grass, flowers and a dramatic sky did the trick! Sometimes, stubbornness pays off!
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