...sketchbook to finished painting...

Looking back at my previous post I glanced at the sketchbook painting of the sailboat in Maine and then at the finished large scale painting “Typhoon at Eight Bell”  which is on the wall in my studio.  I previously blogged about sketches and finished painting have a very personal connection…well here are the convoluted links:

• The small sailboat is a Cape Dory “Typhoon” a traditional boat that is a great art subject and fun to sail.  Cape Dory built the Typhoons from 1967 to 1986.   Laurie and I have a Typhoon in Cape May…
• This particular Typhoon was in it’s cradle along the side of the road a few hundred yards from NC Wyeth’s home “Eight Bells” in Port Clyde Maine.  Laurie, my favorite cousins Grove and Kathy (fellow sailors and artists) and I were exploring Wyeth Country last summer and came upon this picture…
• NC Wyeth (number 3 on my list of favorite artists) named his home “Eight Bells” after a very famous Winslow Homer painting.  NC built a waterfront studio at “Eight Bells” looking out on the same harbor where this Typhoon sails…
• Winslow Homer is number 2 on my list.  We visited Homer’s studio home in Prouts Neck, Maine during the same trip. There are a few Typhoons moored on the waterfront near Homer's studio…Andrew Wyeth (my number 1) painted in the “Eight Bells” waterfront studio…wonder if he ever saw or sketched the little Typhoon?

Anyway, back to my sketch and finished work…looking at the quick sketch you’ll see the basic premise of the finished painting with what could be considered goofs but the intent of the sketch is to get the basics down quickly.   The boat doesn’t appear to sit in the cradle, the connection between the boat and the dock makes them both appear in the same space…there’s no perspective separation, the tires appear out of proportion, and the colors are flat.  But the sketch captures the basic shapes, the important shadows and relations to other things in the area.

Looking at the finished work, the boat comes forward just by hiding the end of the dock behind the hull.  Deeper shadows and better handling of the cradle place the boat securely in the supports,  the curve in the road, the trees and the aerial perspective of the far shore add depth to the picture…

The initial sketch painting captured the moment that became the finished work in the studio…

… some of my best work is in my sketchbook…

Every painting starts with an idea…and they’re all good.  Unfortunately, not every idea or every painting ends well.  I have a pile of trash art in my studio, paintings on the back of other paintings, paintings with big sections cropped out and those that remain unfinished.  Most paintings just don’t make it for whatever reason…overworked, wrong perspective, poor color or value choices… but most times its because I failed to develop the initial concept in enough detail to make it a success.  But on the other side of that argument (and I argue with myself a lot) some of “my” masterpieces are small quick sketches and paintings in my sketch book.  They’re alive…not because they’re my best execution of technique but because they have a special place in my time….when and where they were painted, who was there, the “feel” of the moment.  Sometimes that feel, that emotion hits the paper. 

Many times its’s not in the painting that makes it special for me…mostly the memory of one person close by quietly observing, never criticizing, never changing the course of the work but with a critical eye acknowledging every little success.  My sketchbooks are filled with doodles, notes, instructions and quotes from my mentors and random thoughts about the moment.  Many of the better efforts do eventually evolve into finished works on a grander scale but those first little paintings hold the emotion.

I used to think when I started a sketch for a painting that “this painting will be a masterpiece, someone’s gonna love it and buy it”…now I’m thinking of feelings…emotions and getting it on the paper.  Andrew Wyeth once said “Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing – then a work of art may happen.”  I think it happens more in my sketch books….here’s a few, enjoy.

Yesterday's easel..."The Light", (13 X 18) watercolor on cold pressed Arches 140# paper. After a quick pencil sketch decided to go totally B&W. Mixed greys and blacks using Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna and Cad Red. Started with very watery washes, dropping in darker passages as the paper dried. Left the water and the paper to their own magic., dropping in darker passages as the paper dried. Have also been experimenting using a very flexible palette knife with watercolor. Interesting effects.   Your thoughts?

On the Promenade

On the Promenade

watercolor on paper

Spent quite a bit of time on the Promenade in Cape May this weekend. Tried something new with On the Promenade. After making a very quick rough sketch, worked almost entirely wet on wet with a very limited pallet and large brushes to get the major shapes right. Then filled in loose details to give just the overall “feeling” of a morning walk “on the promenade.”

"Salt Marsh" - start to finish

I received a few questions from my first blog about the process of creating Salt Marsh. The final work was developed from multiple sketches and preliminary paintings. You can follow the process below in just a few pictures from my sketch book ...

rough drawing in my sketch book

 

sketch with transparent washes and dry brush details

 

first full sheet in progress

 

"boy is he fat!"

 

 Salt Marsh

Welcome to Page 1...

I thought I would jot down a few random thoughts about my art work and answer any questions you might have about where I get my painting ideas from, my techniques, and what's currently on the easel.

Fresh off the easel is Salt Marsh, a very transparent painting of a New Jersey Clam Digger. The first passages of this painting were done very wet and loose to give the atmospheric feeling of a late November day. Once the background washes had dried, I began laying in the details of the Clammer and his basket. The final touches were the bold shadows leading into the foreground which gave the painting a lot of depth and a sense of reflection from the receding tides.

At the recent Chadds Ford Art Show & Sale, I received some very positive comments from the folks in the heart of "Wyeth country".

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