Leonardo da Vinci

Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.

--Leonardo da Vinci


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Thoughtful Experience

Sun Harvest
6x8
Right after work tonight i bolted for Jonsrud Viewpoint in Sandy,OR to paint the evening light on Mt. Hood. Shortly after i started, two curious ladies came over to see what i was doing and we had a nice chat. They were genuinly interested to see what i was going to come up with when done. So the pressure was on to come up with a painting that i was happy with enough to blog about.
Much to my frustration, not even half way into the piece, i lost my light. The sun retired and i was left with two options, scrape it down and turn it into a nocturnal or keep working and put my memory to the test. I hope you can tell that i chose to continue with my initial plan and paint the warm sunlight.
After some thought about this evenings events, i really wanted to blog about it. Not because this is my best work, but for the truth and the experience. There are some issues with this painting; first is the mountain, which happens to be the main subject, but it's the wrong value, it needs to be cooler. And some of the shapes are not quite what i wanted. But, what i really like is the overall feeling of the piece, it is pleasantly warm with colors for the harvest season. And the emotion of a painting is still more important to me than having all the i's dotted and t's crossed.
The truth is that this was a challenge to paint. If you ever painted in the dark, and from memory, you know it's bizarre... I didn't even get a good look at it until i arrived home. But, i loved the challenge and learned and grew as an artist from this experience.
I also wanted to thank all the people that have ever come up to an artist with inquisitive eyes. Its inspiring to me that people would take an interest in what a painter does and in doing so, they become part of the moment. A little bit of them become part of the work, part of the experience, part of the truth.

2 comments:

  1. Very lovely painting. Autumn is such a beautiful time, it makes me wonder why all landscapes are not painted in the fall. But then in spring, with all the flowers, and summer with the bright sun and hundreds of shades of green, oh and winter with a silent blanket of snow...okay. I guess I know why. But right this minute, I love your autumn best.

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  2. Great post...I completely agree that the most important thing is the feeling or sense of the place..and you've captured a beautiful light ...It is refreshing to see the mountain depicted with warmth instead of the "usual" (blues). What REALLY impresses me so much about your work is the brushwork--such great variety!

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