Summer Storm

The weather is depressing at the moment. The winter grain crops are nearly ready to be harvested but the rain has made the ground soft, too soft for machinery. In this painting the storm clouds are dark purple and the ground is gold. There is a reversal of tonal values. Normally the sky is the lightest area of a painting.

The colour range is larger than normal for me. There were 6 colours used. Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and French Ultramarine & Cerulean Blue. Viridian Green and Raw Umber are also in there. The painting is 17″ x 14″ and was painted in about 2 and a half hours. Most of that time was in weaving a pattern of suggested detail, especially in the foreground. The corn swaying in the breeze can’t really be expressed visually. Photography has influenced the way we view realist paintings. A slow exposure photograph would result in a blurred image which we have been conditioned to associate with movement. Its an abstract image as the real world does not have ‘blurred’ objects, regardless of how fast the movement is.

So the pattern of jagged brush strokes in a multitude of colours and tones is an attempt at producing a ‘feeling’ of chaotic movement. The sky also has diagonal patterns to induce a feeling of energy. So this ‘peaceful’ scene (on the surface) is the aftermath of a thunderous rain and hail storm. The ground is waterlogged and the crops are battered down, and there is more to come.

As usual I’ve recorded the painting and will post next time. See you then.