Approaching Weather 5x7
Hello and welcome to Tonalist paintings by M Francis McCarthy.
Today's study is 'Approaching Weather' 5x7.
As promised, this is a very recent set of paintings that I am presenting this week. I completed the larger 8x10 version of 'Approaching Weather' about two months ago and the study that we are doing today was done back in June. I'm talking about this painting on todays video and also reflecting somewhat on the changes in my painting approach this year, so please check it out.
I've discussed dry brushing on this blog in the past and I also talked about it on today's video. The main thing I was reflecting on the video narration, was the level of finish that I bring to a painting. There is a sometimes a not too fine line that you can cross while painting. On the one side of that line is work that is overdone, over detailed and overworked. On the good side of the line however, there is a luminescent beautiful finish. My goal as an artist is to have that luminescent finish without overdoing the painting.
Back in 2012/2013, in a lot of the work I was doing, I was striving to have an immediate quality and yet still achieve a good finish (in other words, have my cake and eat it too). Many of those paintings were successful, but for the most part I've been moving into doing a third color pass on most of my larger pieces these days. And, in the second color pass I am relying more heavily on glazing, scumbling and dry brushing rather than excessive amounts of brushwork.
One of the big changes in my work that came out of the hundred days of Tonalism series was that I started texturing my larger panels. In the past I've only textured my 5x7s. The reason for now texturing my larger panels is to more readily accommodate dry brushing. With a textured board, I can get a nice stipple effect by lightly dragging the side of my brush across the painting. I've been doing this on and off for many years but it was while doing the hundred days of Tonalism that a lot of the real potential of this technique became clearer to me.
One of the reasons why I am sharing 'Approaching Weather' today is to show a bit of that technique. It will be more evident in the larger work (coming up in a few days) than today's 5x7, but I do some dry brushing here as well.
Sometimes when we look at the work of the Masters, we imagine that the paintings that they did came to them easily and naturally as the by product of years of being a Master. I think the reality is that they had to struggle just as we do now. I've read in the biography of George Inness, written by his son, that he would utilize any technique he could to get the results he was after and that it wasn't always easy for him. George Inness is by far the greatest landscape painter that ever lived, if he struggled, I don't feel so bad.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
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| Approaching Weather by M Francis McCarthy, 5x7, Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
As promised, this is a very recent set of paintings that I am presenting this week. I completed the larger 8x10 version of 'Approaching Weather' about two months ago and the study that we are doing today was done back in June. I'm talking about this painting on todays video and also reflecting somewhat on the changes in my painting approach this year, so please check it out.
I've discussed dry brushing on this blog in the past and I also talked about it on today's video. The main thing I was reflecting on the video narration, was the level of finish that I bring to a painting. There is a sometimes a not too fine line that you can cross while painting. On the one side of that line is work that is overdone, over detailed and overworked. On the good side of the line however, there is a luminescent beautiful finish. My goal as an artist is to have that luminescent finish without overdoing the painting.
Back in 2012/2013, in a lot of the work I was doing, I was striving to have an immediate quality and yet still achieve a good finish (in other words, have my cake and eat it too). Many of those paintings were successful, but for the most part I've been moving into doing a third color pass on most of my larger pieces these days. And, in the second color pass I am relying more heavily on glazing, scumbling and dry brushing rather than excessive amounts of brushwork.
One of the big changes in my work that came out of the hundred days of Tonalism series was that I started texturing my larger panels. In the past I've only textured my 5x7s. The reason for now texturing my larger panels is to more readily accommodate dry brushing. With a textured board, I can get a nice stipple effect by lightly dragging the side of my brush across the painting. I've been doing this on and off for many years but it was while doing the hundred days of Tonalism that a lot of the real potential of this technique became clearer to me.
One of the reasons why I am sharing 'Approaching Weather' today is to show a bit of that technique. It will be more evident in the larger work (coming up in a few days) than today's 5x7, but I do some dry brushing here as well.
Sometimes when we look at the work of the Masters, we imagine that the paintings that they did came to them easily and naturally as the by product of years of being a Master. I think the reality is that they had to struggle just as we do now. I've read in the biography of George Inness, written by his son, that he would utilize any technique he could to get the results he was after and that it wasn't always easy for him. George Inness is by far the greatest landscape painter that ever lived, if he struggled, I don't feel so bad.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
 |
| Approaching Weather 5x7 (Detail) |