Monday, December 29, 2008

Water Lilies WIP (part I)

After my last posting, where I showed 4 pictures I was considering for my next painting, I chose one that had richer colors (thanks to photo editing software!) and a more panoramic view of the pond, although not as wide as the original. I kept asking myself, "What is the story I'm trying to tell with this picture?" The answer I came up with was that the painting would be about the pond of lilies, not just the lilies. That cut out the close-ups (those can be other paintings!). Because of the size planned for this piece (24 x 36 inches - about 67 x 100cm), there will be room on the panel for details in the indiviual plants. The trick will be to then not have the details be too busy. I might even write myself a big post-it that says, "SIMPLIFY!" and post it on my easel.

In the black-and-white sketch pictured above, I wanted to work out the composition, but more importantly the values. Since the original photo had many many shades of green, combined with reflections in muddy water, it was hard to tell what had a light value and which were darker. You can see by my notes in the margin that I notated where the lightest and darkest spots were.

I'll be posting as this work progresses. It's the largest pastel I've done, and since I'm on break, I have more time to be on the computer....Keep in touch!

4 comments:

Morgan the Muse said...

I am sure it will be great!

magicmyst said...

This looks really promising. I love water and water lillies. I am sure you will do a wonderful job, kep us posted. It is so nice to be back on line. We have had no cvomputer for over a week due to a "router' problem". Whatever thqat is. My husband just fixed it. I am enjoying having him home to fix all the odd jobs around the place. He may need to go back to work for a holiday.

Adriana Meiss said...

Hi, Your sketch is way better than the photos. Now I cannot wait to see the beginning of this painting!

megha said...

i a sure it will be really great.


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