At the recent Art In The Park I picked up some great tips by talking to other artists. One of the more thought-provoking was Sue Southorn . I admired her landscapes and asked her about a small picture of a stream. I was curious about whether it actually was of a place and how she was able to create a compelling image without clear identifying features. Her answer took me aback - it was of a real place but she uses no reference photos - she identifieds the image as paintable, memorises it, then paints from memory back in her studio. I loved the simplicity of the answer - the imperfection of memory and the artists eye for an image combine to create the 'idea' of the scene. As someone who would like to paint less detail sometimes and still capture the essence of the view I was inspired... and a little scared.
A few days later I took this photograph at Eats an Beat. I like the light throught the trees, the hint of Kenilworth Castle behind and the long evening shadows. Could I paint it from memory? the skethbook is a great place to play
The first wash is always fun and in my head I wanted to keep the top right white as the strong evening light bursts through. I wanted the tree shadows to be the things which gave the ground some form. I also wanted a really yellowy grass colour to contrast with the bluey shadows. It is interesting looking at this now that I put the shadows in almost first of all - before the trees - because they are so important to the memory and therefore what I am trying to convey. I also wanted a dreamy aspect to the Castle Keep.I know the Keep is there somewhere and I know roughly what shape it is. I also know there are some other buildings behind. Not knowing much about them I automatically can't get in the detail.
The trees were always going to be dark silouhettes - I just had to link the shadows I'd already painted and decide the dedpth of tones to create the effect I was looking for. I really like the way I can play with the trees on the horizon to tell the story in the way I want to tell it. In the same way the amount of foliage can conceal as much of the castle as I want and control the amount of light shining through. the final bit was the piece I was dreading - adding figures enjoying the evening entertainment. The ones just over the horizon were easy enough and help to ad to the shape of the landscape. the ones that create foreground were more challenging bubus is only a sketch in a sketchbook
I really like the final image. I have only compared to the original photograph for the purposes of this blog and I am fasinated how different they are. I wish I had gone for the shadow on the left coming straight at the viewer - I think it would have really added to the perspective. I will definitely do more of this though. Thank you Sue Southorn.
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