March Wilderness

This small group of trees was almost annihilated by recent drainage work at the far end of the woods. I have included a photo of the scene which really only documents the scene. The composition is created using elements from this photo, rearranged in a way which does not exist in reality. The viewing position is over the stream and much further back, isolating the group of trees. The interesting thing is, the scene is instantly recognised by those who are familiar with this area, that is, before they see the photo. Then they are not so sure its where they thought it was. Paintings seem to connect in a different way than photos do. Something more than just the picture glimpsed as we pass, as is a photo. I think its the essence of the scene which is in a painting, having been consumed, digested and regurgitated as paint by the artist.

I didn’t think much about the sky when I started the painting. A few clouds with the light coming from the right hand side. Nice big fluffy clouds – standard issue. It was only when I was painting-in the under colours in the foreground that the ‘big fluffy clouds’ idea didn’t seem to fit. The foreground would have to be a mass of tangled colour to suggest the wildness of the scene and a smooth, flat, soft sky wouldn’t do. The bulk of the paint for the clouds was scraped off and un-blended white flecks of white placed instead.

March Wilderness Photo

As usual there was a limited palette of colours used. Burnt Sienna (red), Yellow Ochre (yellow) and Cobalt Blue (blue). Sap Green, black and white were also used. Although the painting is not particularly green, Sap Green was used in all areas especially in the sky for the same reason as the texture of the clouds was made to match the foreground. This unifies all areas of the painting in texture and colour.

Here is the video of the painting. The process took about 2 and a half hours to complete. The recorded video is actually less than 2 hours. Much of the rest of the time is spent mixing paint, adjusting camera etc. There is more on this painting in the previous post.