Day Twenty Two: Potomack by Karl Termohlen
Hello and welcome to day 22 of 100 days of tonalism
Today's study is 'Potomack' by Karl Termohlen. Karl was a Dutch/American tonalism painter. I don't know that much more about him. I have had this reference image of his painting for many years and I have always thought it would be cool to do a study from it.
I will find some more biographical information about him which will no doubt find its way onto the narration of the video.
Over the last few days we been discussing the different aspects of painting that define it as Tonalist. Today I would like to discuss working in the studio versus painting en plein air outdoors. I have done some plein air painting and I found it relatively enjoyable, however I feel that for me as an artist it functions best as a learning aid.
In my experience most plein air paintings take on a sort of samey quality. This is not to denigrate any artists that produce work outdoors, but in the effort to capture the various passing colors and light effects of nature in passing, one is generally driven to paint very quickly and this is often at the expense of imagination and compositional originality.
Working in the studio enables the artist to be more expansive in his vision. Countless painters did all of their work in the studio, though various artists like George Inness were known for doing drawings and studies in plein air and then later, using these to complete paintings indoors. In the studio it is far easier to inject imagination in the form of enhancing composition, shadows or colors in the landscape. Working in the studio also enables the artist to create work that is more individualistic.
There are many painters from the late 19th century that embraced both Impressionism and Tonalism, Alden Weir being one that immediately comes to mind. You can almost define the difference between Tonalist and Impressionist paintings by whether they were painted outdoors or indoors. Impressionism is very much about capturing light effects that one sees in nature whereas Tonalism is more about creating tone, atmosphere and mood, inspired by nature. There can certainly be some overlap but most paintings would firmly be in one camp or the other.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Potomack' by Karl Termohlen: As I stated above, this is a painting that I've admired for a long time. I like the way that the group of trees on the right is offset by the brightness of the white clouds, there is also a very nice sense of distance that is created by having the foreground in shadow with the distance in light. This is a trope that I use quite often in my own work. Perhaps it was unconsciously assimilated from looking at this painting.
One of the things in this study that I do not usually do in my own work is paint a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. I have done this occasionally but for the most part I prefer to inject color and mood into my skies.
I completed this study in two passes. I was pretty happy with it after one pass but in the second pass, (as you'll see on the video) the study was improved by darkening the shadow areas and lightning the light areas. This is something I do my work quite a lot since 2013.
In late 2013 I visited the Louvre in Paris and there, I noticed that many paintings while being dark had areas of brightness as well. In my experience this creates more dynamics and therefore more interest in the landscape painting.
To see more of my work, visit my site here.
 |
| Painted after - Potomack by Karl Termohlen, Study by M Francis McCarthy - Size 5x7, Oil on wood panel |
I will find some more biographical information about him which will no doubt find its way onto the narration of the video.
Over the last few days we been discussing the different aspects of painting that define it as Tonalist. Today I would like to discuss working in the studio versus painting en plein air outdoors. I have done some plein air painting and I found it relatively enjoyable, however I feel that for me as an artist it functions best as a learning aid.
In my experience most plein air paintings take on a sort of samey quality. This is not to denigrate any artists that produce work outdoors, but in the effort to capture the various passing colors and light effects of nature in passing, one is generally driven to paint very quickly and this is often at the expense of imagination and compositional originality.
Working in the studio enables the artist to be more expansive in his vision. Countless painters did all of their work in the studio, though various artists like George Inness were known for doing drawings and studies in plein air and then later, using these to complete paintings indoors. In the studio it is far easier to inject imagination in the form of enhancing composition, shadows or colors in the landscape. Working in the studio also enables the artist to create work that is more individualistic.
There are many painters from the late 19th century that embraced both Impressionism and Tonalism, Alden Weir being one that immediately comes to mind. You can almost define the difference between Tonalist and Impressionist paintings by whether they were painted outdoors or indoors. Impressionism is very much about capturing light effects that one sees in nature whereas Tonalism is more about creating tone, atmosphere and mood, inspired by nature. There can certainly be some overlap but most paintings would firmly be in one camp or the other.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Potomack' by Karl Termohlen: As I stated above, this is a painting that I've admired for a long time. I like the way that the group of trees on the right is offset by the brightness of the white clouds, there is also a very nice sense of distance that is created by having the foreground in shadow with the distance in light. This is a trope that I use quite often in my own work. Perhaps it was unconsciously assimilated from looking at this painting.
One of the things in this study that I do not usually do in my own work is paint a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. I have done this occasionally but for the most part I prefer to inject color and mood into my skies.
I completed this study in two passes. I was pretty happy with it after one pass but in the second pass, (as you'll see on the video) the study was improved by darkening the shadow areas and lightning the light areas. This is something I do my work quite a lot since 2013.
In late 2013 I visited the Louvre in Paris and there, I noticed that many paintings while being dark had areas of brightness as well. In my experience this creates more dynamics and therefore more interest in the landscape painting.
To see more of my work, visit my site here.
 |
| Original painting, Potomack by Karl Termohlen |