Do you remember when advertisers used to try to get our attention with that little descriptive phrase? Did it work? It created some cynicism in me, even as a kid who wasn’t paying much attention.
HOWEVER, I think I have improved the walnut orchard painting.
Never mind. You probably can’t even see what I did.
Let’s look at the blooming peach orchard.
The Oak Grove Bridge is still my favorite bridge, although it has moved into second place in the Favorite Subjects to Paint category. I worked on it flat on the table, turning it upside down as needed to position my brush where I could watch the tip. Architectural subjects are not very forgiving, and when painted at this tiny scale (6×12″), there is even less room for wobble.
Much of the water and cliffs has to be invented and interpreted through the lens of experience. When it comes to those precise shapes and details, I have to remind myself No One Actually Cares. (It is with restraint that I didn’t fully capitalize that phrase.)
The bridge painting has to dry before I get into the microscopic details on the bridge and begin to polish the water.
Yeppers, I think these three paintings are New & Improved!
2 Comments
I noticed what you did with the orchard painting–it’s lighter nd the leaves in the foreground dip lower on the branches. Do I win??
I also like the small detail you added in the peach orchard–a small pot in the lower right corner. Nice touch!
Do tell–what is now your first Favorite Subject to Paint? I’m guessing the Crowley/Farewell scene? Or Sawtooth? Orchards on the valley floor? White Chief Canyon? So many choices!
Sharon, you are right. The upper left branch was too bare, so I grew a few more leaves. The “small pot” is an irrigation gizmo. And right now, today, painting sequoia trees is my favorite because they go the fastest!