Hillside Path 5x7
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| 'Hillside Path' by M Francis McCarthy, 5x7 Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
Our video features the progression of this painting from its early underpainting stages on up through the final finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check it out.
This is a bonus post today. As I mentioned in the video there were several 5x7 studies that did not become more fully realized as larger paintings. I thought it might be cool to insert a few of these studies into some midweek blog post/video.
Today, I like to talk about momentum. As is the case with so many topics that I address on this blog, I am reasonably sure that I have touched on this subject before. You'll forgive me if I'm not going in to the blog and searching it out myself, but you are more than welcome to do so, if you like.
If you are interested in getting something done in this reality, momentum is going to be one of the major forces that you can harness to accomplish your goal. I am not a physicist, but as I understand it, the hardest part of getting a rocket off the earth is taking off. This is true of any enterprise that you engage in as well.
I've seen quite a few artists become stymied in their progress due to their misunderstanding of the phenomenon of momentum. Often times they will achieve a high watermark with their work only to put down the brush and become interested or occupied in other tasks. What they're not doing is harnessing momentum to drive their work forward.
The best thing that you can do after accomplishing a successful painting is to begin another one. This is not just true of painting of course, it is true of anything that you are trying to become better at.
In my work practice, I acknowledge this fact, by making sure that I paint every day. Some days I paint more and some days I paint less but I paint every day of the week except Sundays. I used to work Sundays too but it is good to take a day off and do necessary chores around the house, not to mention hang out with my lovely wife.
Because I am engaged with my practice of painting every day, painting for me is a continuous flow of work. I have peaks and I have valleys. While my peaks are consistently high, my valleys are far less low because I work this way. I'm putting the principle of momentum to work for me. If I do a bad painting I have also not so long ago, done a painting that is successful. I can be pretty sure that I will be doing another painting the next day which is also likely to be successful.
When you take big breaks from working you have to use a lot of energy and intention to (metaphorically) get off the ground. Just like a rocket uses the bulk of its energy to leave the gravity of the Earth, you will have to use a lot of energy just to get back to the point you were the last time you were painting.
As I'm writing this, it seems like the idea that I'm expressing today should be common sense to most people, yet you would be surprised how many artists make this mistake while engaged in trying to get things done.
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Hillside Path' 5x7; as I stated previously, this is a study I did very recently that I am not going to be doing as a larger painting of, at least at this time. I am happy with this study though and I feel that it's definitely worth sharing with you.
This painting is based on a photograph I took nearly 15 years ago of a hillside in California where I used to live. I have always enjoyed walking around in the foothills of San Jose, I think that is reflected in this painting.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
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| 'Hillside Path' 5x7 (Detail) |
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| 'Hillside Path' 5x7 (Detail 2) |