I have been working on an oil painting that I was commissioned to make of a beloved beach spot in North Carolina. Whenever I paint landscapes I feel like I am constantly in a process of learning of what I am drawn to. I think because in comparison to the number of mixed media work that I have created in the last 25 years, the amount of landscapes I have created is so much smaller. Or maybe that’s just the way it is- each painting has a lesson of some sort. Yeah, that is true, no matter the medium or subject. But it is something I am more conscious of when I am painting landscapes.
What I am learning in this particular painting is that my obsession with painting shadows is still running strong. The first time I noticed that was when I painted this painting, Winter Shadow Play. And then when I painted the Red Barn On A Sunny Day and my favorite part of that painting was the shadow of the tree. Those little pink parts! They made me happy.
Noting this shadow obsession here to keep in mind. I often feel like in the constant doing of life in and out of the studio, I forget the little details that I want to follow more in the future. There was actually a painting that I recently made based on a photo of an in process painting. I loved what was happening, but I was going to paint over it because the painting was going in a different direction, but I didn’t want to forget what was happening at that moment on that panel. I remember taking that photo so that I could remember to revisit that composition again at some point. I took the photo possibly 10 years ago. I also printed the photo back then and put it in a pile that I rummage through for inspiration. Recently I did just that and it resulted in The Teenage Years. If I hadn’t take that photo note to myself, that thought would have been gone. It only took 10 years to get back to it…..but I would always see that photo in my pile and it would remind me.
I also am constantly taking photos of color combos that I see out and about. But I don’t print them out, so I don’t see them. And then I end up deleting them from my phone because I’m always running our of storage. I think that’s showing my age and that I still need to have things in my hands physically, rather than digitally. It’s weird to think of younger generations not needing the physical, tangible thing in their hands. Or maybe they do and they just don’t know it! hmmm.
Note to self:
-paint more shadows
-print out photos of color combos