"Pick-Up-Sticks" 11" x 14" (Click here to bid on eBay)
This is a scene of part of the forest in Yellowstone. I took a trip to Seattle in '06, and on the way I stopped and spent the better part of a day stopping at five or six locations in the park as I drove on to Washington state. The forests in Yellowstone at the time were in a recovery stage from fires that ravaged the park only years before. Click on the image for a larger view.
Labels: Forest, oil painting., Yellowstone Park
posted by mick mcginty at 10:53 AM
4 Comments:
It seems like from your comments that you work from photos on some of these. How do you address the overly dark shadows and overly bright highlights inherent in photos? Are you changing what you see in the photo based off of outdoor painting experiences?
Hi Jeremy,
Thank you for all the nice compliments and encouraging words. Yes I try to make all of my shadows a definite color. Either warm or cool, sometimes more punchy for effect, or more neutralized to keep them from standing out too much. My main concern is trying to capture the value changes and color feel to what I think looks right, but one of my main hang-ups is trying to match the color too exact. There are times when it's necessary and times when it doesn't effect the outcome. I just need to be better at what those times are. All those decisions make a piece look like what it's going to look like in it's subtle little ways.
As far as the burnt out highlights, I try to shoot underexposed as much as possible, and the have two images adjusted to paint from. One that shows lit area detail and color, and the other where the shadows are lightened It isn't the best way of painting by far, but better than the old way of painting from hard copies taped to my easel. Those felt really dead to me, but now, with the illumination of my flat screen, I think I get closer to what a plein air view would be like. Not anything near the real thing, but good enough to let me be the decider on color, contrast and value.
Thanks for the interst.
Mick
These trees tell a story...they look natural, and they look beautiful even in their felled state.A painting should make the viewer feel good, and yours certainly does!....I leave the technicalities to the experts!:)
Thanks for the insightful comments Mick.
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