seascapes update, work in progress 16th January


seascapes, work in progress, mixed media on canvas 30 in square. Vivien Blackburn
This is at a stage where it looks a bit rough and ready! and the colours aren't showing well. I'm not happy with it at the moment. It's coming on slowly though and when it's finished I'll photograph it outside in better light. Below is a detail:



detail of distant cliff, work in progress

I'm still working on the clouds in particular, to try to get that effect of the rays of light and the light peachy sky against the dark clouds. Again it needs to dry before I can glaze and scumble more colour.


work in progress, 30 inch square canvas. Vivien Blackburn
This one has moved on just a little but I don't plan to do very much more. The colour is a bit too warm here, it's not quite so warm IRL, there are cools there as well.

work in progress 40 inch square canvas. Vivien Blackburn

Sorry it is on the slant but the paint was wet and caught the light otherwise. This is one that I started some time ago and got to a point where I hated it! I made some changes and it's going much better now. The trouble is it would need a very light room to take a painting this dark. I enjoy trying to catch the light as night falls and the moon is bright, the sea and cliffs inky dark and colours strange. It still has problems to resolve. Sometimes seeing paintings onscreen distances me and makes me see them afresh and really helps resolve 'where next?'.

http://vivienb.blogspot.com/2007/02/seascape-and-trees.html this was the first stage of it but it had moved on from that in the meantime - the marram glass was there and the sand/water had moved position - and moved again with today's work :) I also moved the moon, made is smaller and added the cliffs.


,

Comments

Shirley Anne Sherris said…
Hi
On the first painting - the sea rolling in looks fine and the cliffs - it must be close to finished.
Looked back at the last one in its early stages and it is very different. and I should imagine it is very difficult to catch the light and mood at that time of the day - almost but not quite dark.
Quite surreal thinking about you 'moving the moon' - artistic license!!
Cheers
5:28 pm
vivien said…
:D surreal indeed!

the first one is close but it's a bit crude and clunky in the sky/cloud area and needs sorting out. I'm not happy with it
6:50 pm
Lindsay said…
These are both really vivid. Give a strong sense of place and time. I'm love how you have changed the last one from where it was. That strong diagonal in the fore ground really works well.
9:56 am
vivien said…
thanks Lindsay :) - I thought it worked too :) I feel fairly happy about the way it is going now whereas it had been neglected for ages cos I hated it! Yet I looked at it again after the break and knew exactly what I wanted to do and it was done so fast!
3:00 pm
Helen said…
Karen is right Vivien. You do wonderful painting of the sea. Very atmospheric.
5:37 pm
vivien said…
Thanks Helen :D
7:11 pm
William F. Renzulli said…
The detailed area-the cliffs and sunlight-makes a great composition itself and may not "need" the rest of the piece.
3:26 pm
vivien said…
Hi William - I agree, I thought the same when I cropped it :)

I may do a version where I close in like that.

Today I sanded it down, moved the skyline lower and redid the sky and it's looking a lot better :)

Too wet to photograph as yet.
3:33 pm
Becky Mairi Farrell said…
I love what you've done with the sky in the first one. Really adds to the atmosphere.
1:36 am
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hedges silhouetted agains the snow, winter light: watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal pencils in Stillmand and Birn Beta Hardback sketchbook

Image
 Detail  I have always liked the calligraphic tangle of the hedges when they are sihouetted against the sky.   Recent snowfall meant even more opportunities with amazing light and the landscape simplified and hidden by the snow, throwing hedges into relief. Above is a detail of a double page sketch in the lovely Stillman and Birn Beta A4 hardback sketchbook.  This paper is so forgiving and the watercolour works beautifully with it.  It allowed me to work through wet washes with charcoal pencil - something that tears many papers, leaving holes.  Some of the hedge is paint, some tinted charcoal. First snow, more on the way, winter light: silhouetted hedges in watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal in a Stillman and Birn A4 beta hardback sketchbook The earlier warm golden glow of the low sun is covered by clouds, threatening more snow to come.   The spiky calligraphic marks of the hedge and the underlying form of the bank, w...
Read more

The Eye, Urban/Rural exhibition

Image
Vivien Blackburn's work in the Urban/Rural show We've just hung a group show at the The Eye Project, Urban/Rural show.  If you want to come and see it it's on for a month - well worth seeing, 11 lovely artists and some fabulous work. Those large canvasses are 40 inches square. There are rural landscapes, flowerscapes, intriguing textile work including a large knitted building, abstracts .... something for everyone. It's in the gallery below the cafe in the Adult Education Centre at the top of Wellington street, Leicester, opposite Fenwicks.  Meet the Arttists day is Saturday 1st April 10-2.  Come and have a chat with us?
Read more

looking at non traditional composition and quiet vs busy areas in paintings

Image
Paul Klee I thought I'd look at non-traditional composition - where the rule of thirds isn't the key but the painting relies on different compositional methods. in response to an excellent series of posts on the various ways of looking at composition by Katherine (link at end). These alternative considerations or breaking of rules - but making it work - appeal to me more than too heavy a reliance on the rule of thirds. The painting above, by Paul Klee is a 'field' painting' - the composition is overall, the eye travels around enjoying the glowing colour that he creates by juxtaposing complementary colours, subtle greyed greens enhancing the oranges/reds/pinks. Most of the image is composed of the various greens, greeny browns and khakis, with accents of the warm colours. When working this way it's important that the balance is unequal and that the accent colours are placed carefully to keep the eye moving in the way the artist wants. A couple of the brighter...
Read more