Field and Stream, Part Three

La vache à trois pattes...


When I was a youngster, I would go to Saturday matinees at the movies to see cowboy films. When the film got out, I couldn't wait to get home to play cowboys and outlaws.

I was always prepared for varmints around the next corner, particularly cattle rustlers. Eschewing modesty for just a moment, I think I can say that I was the quickest-draw in my family's house.

In later years, I've found that I feel the same way after a museum visit: I just can't wait to paint, feeding (hopefully) off the canvases I've just been viewing.

Today began with me painting outside my comfort zone again. I'd chosen to paint a cow drinking from the stream. I intend, too, to have a couple more bovine beauties farther off in the landscape. The presence of a cow would mean a lot of repainting on the canvas, establishing a new hierarchy in which the cows are dominant. Among other changes, I clothed the right-hand tree in leaves, closing off a lot of sky and thus making the scene a bit more intimate.

I visited my books to see if my Hague School heroes might have a cow in the right attitude for my primary girl. Alas, the bank is too steep for Holland, and Willem Roelofs (1822-1897), Willem Maris (1844-1910), Anton Mauve (1838-1888), and P. J. C.  Gabriel (1828-1903) were unable to help me.

Going back to quick-draw, I can tell you that rustling up this cow was anything but quick. I made a few marks with charcoal but, since I was drawing on that already-green bank, it wasn't very effective. So I just gritted my teeth and plunged in. She turned out to be a game girl. At the moment she's standing on one leg and a near-side, rear blur. I'll have to figure something out for that one. As for the offside, fore and aft, I'm hoping they can be concealed by her body and her neck/head. I'm a little chary of leaving the old girl with nothing on her other fore-quarter though. Don't want her to tip over. Bad for her dignity.

So there she be. The hardest thing, of course, is to avoid making her look like a cut-out that's been pasted on. In value, color, and focus she must be both of the place and of the moment. Her lighting must conform with the conditions in the landscape, and she must have enough reflected light to join her with the colors in her vicinity. On her left flank, and on her chest, you'll see I've put a bit of green in the gray, describing the shaded white portions as seen in a green world.

Because of the addition of Miss Bossie, and her two comrades-yet-to-come, parts of the landscape must be muted and other parts must have a change in color or value---or both. It's a painstaking process, but success means the painting will be full of truth. Because the cow was painted au premier coup, there is much to be corrected in her drawing. Still, insofar as this is NOT what I normally do, I'm pretty pleased.

Among the other things which remain to be done is the articulation of both the near and far banks, with some particular attention to the various bits of vegetation. I must also re-address the water in the stream and I must, too, determine how much of a reflection I want from the cow.

Integral to the way I paint is keeping all options open as long as possible. Three days ago I didn't know I'd have a cow, not to mention cows, in this painting. So who knows what may still happen. 

I'm pretty close to ruling out a giraffe.

N.B. Forgot!  I'd like your opinions about the cow's pinkish-tan nose. I'm sure we'd see some of it, but her nose is definitely pointed down to the water. More pink, nonetheless, or not?
 
   

Field and Stream, Part Two

Green, Green, Green!

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday's progress on this painting. First, I didn't get a good photo. Second, the day began and ended with snow shoveling. And third, there was a Red Sox spring training game on television. Mea culpa, mea culpa!

Here's the painting as of the end of today's session. If you remember the previous photos, you'll see that it's made up of many, many superimposed layers.

Much will be changed. The tree on the right is holding the place for a skinny tree that will be mostly a tracery of branches, acting as a counterpoint to the full tree in the center. 

The bottom right corner has much to be done. And all the stream's edge, and the stream itself, still need to be really painted. Most of the sky has no paint at this stage.

Painting a canvas that is almost entirely green is a bit of a challenge, and probably the hardest sort of painting for me to make. One must have a variety of greens, but they all must be within a reasonably narrow range, both in color and in values. (So please be kind.)

C.K. (she knows who she is) asked for a detail the other day, and so I've included one from this version, today.

Hope everyone's painting. 

St. Patrick's Day, March 17th (a week from tomorrow), I'm giving a talk and demonstration at the Newburyport Art Association. Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Donald  

An Evening with Donald Jurney: gallery talk, demo, and crit
Sunday, March 17, 6:30-9:30pm

The NAA is privileged to have noted landscape painter, experienced teacher, and speaker Donald Jurney in our galleries for a special evening open to members, non-members, artists, and non-artists alike. He will begin the evening with a talk, followed by an extended painting demonstration. During the demonstration, Mr. Jurney will answer questions and share techniques.
Although not a requirement to attend, participants who wish may bring one work in progress for Mr. Jurney to critique after the demonstration. Artists will not want to miss this special opportunity!
Door prize of an autographed copy of his new book, Donald Jurney, Selections from the French Sketchbook will be offered.

Members $20, Non-members $25

 




Newburyport Art Association
65 Water Street
Newburyport, MA 01950

Telephone: 978-465-8769

Email: naa@newburyportart.org

  

Field and Stream

A New Endeavor

Yesterday morning found me stretching a new 42" x 48" canvas (106 x 121cm). I HATE stretching canvases. But you probably love doing it.

Anyway, the new canvas got a grisaille (really, in this case, burnt umber and ultramarine) yesterday. I posted the result on Facebook last night, but I didn't have the energy to blog  about it. Today I received a request on Facebook to publish a larger photo of the grisaille. Here that is:

 

I apologize for the fact that it's not a very good photo. In fact, I also took a photo of the charcoal drawing, not too elaborate, that preceded the grisaille. But somehow it wasn't on my camera's chip when I got home. Go figure. If you look carefully at this you may be able to see some of the charcoal peeping through.

Today Todd came along to the studio to paint. He really came to get the SCAD hat I brought him from the Savannah Workshop last month, but he did a good job of pretending that wasn't the case.

I spent a long and tiring day starting to beef up the grisaille. I added some color, and began to get a mood taking shape. But those who know me know that nothing's certain 'til the painting is framed and leaves the studio. Here's the status after today's session.

 

And, for Christy, a detail of the edge of the water, with the reflection from the distant trees.

(This is a bit smaller than actual size.)

Gotta go, it's dinner time.
 

Recovery Room, Part 3

Day Three in the Recovery Room

Today was spent refining things, redesigning the big tree and considering the light and atmosphere. This was where we were after day one:

And here's where we left it yesterday:

Today was spent changing the cashew tree into a different shape, adding some air within it, and beginning to light it. Now the tree needs to be modeled by adding its interior spaces. Perhaps tomorrow, but it's very wet at the moment.

This morning began with re-stretching the canvas, always great fun at this size, with wet paint to boot. Still, I managed to get it done without incident and it now gives a credible impersonation of a big base drum. Even when it's possible to paint on a slack canvas, give yourself a break and re-stretch it-------your mark making will be more crisp and more accurate.

So here it be as of this afternoon:

I still haven't attempted to make the water correspond with sky. The main tree is painted in a very "bitty" way, and must be consolidated and simplified in the days to come (in French I think that "bitty" might be en miettes). That, and much else remains to be done. The careful observer will be able to see what I worked on today, and what changes I made.

Cheers,
Donald

Recovery Room Part 2

Finding the Big Masses

Yesterday's post was about an initial, hell-for-leather laying in of a new motif on a previously-enjoyed canvas. Lots of slashing brushstrokes. I wound up with this:

Today, it was time to establish some of the big masses, and to begin to get a sense of the light, time-of-day, etc. It's still painting from the shoulder---no wrist, no elbow---and it can be very tiring as you try to keep a five-footer all in constant flux. A stroke here, a correction there, then the need to balance a third or fourth thing, too.

Here's the way I left it this evening, day two.

As you can see, I kept my promise about thinking about George Inness. But it seems however that Georgie wasn't thinking of me. 

Among other things, I have to decide how big I want that cashew-shaped tree to be. It's the same size as the original, but seems bigger now. Of course it will be modeled, and have sky holes, but I must think about it. At the moment its value isn't correct, and it's barely begun. Lots of designing to do, no matter the height. 

Let me know what you think.
D

PS... for AH, a New York Yankees fan who particularly detests New England accents:

Heard at a convenience store while buying milk today. 
A young man, behind me in line, is carrying several dozen tootsie pops.

The cashier looks quizzically at the tootsie pops.

The young man speaks, with a classic Boston accent:

"Girlfriend's pregnant." 

Pause.

"You knowah. Ghetto Eddie's sistah Carolyn."


(Gotta be a Sox fan)
 
  

In the Recovery Room

Toujours de l'audace!

It seems I had a particular 36 x 60" (91 x 152 cm) in the studio that had continually failed to find a home. It did have some issues but I couldn't be quite sure what had doomed it to this ignominy.

Had I been able to finally put my finger on the problem, I might well have rectified it. But, not being confident about it, I got timid when I thought about re-working it.

So, yesterday, before I got to work on the final preparations for the young fellow's services today, I decided to take the painting by the horns.

With big brushes, and a lot of audacity, I laid in an entire three-foot by five-foot painting. It's very crude, and much must be thought out and corrected. I must decide what's what in the scene and, much more important, what sort of atmosphere I want. 

I expect I will try for something rather George Inness-like or, as it is in reality, I will try not to embarrass myself while thinking about George Inness.

Here's where it stands at the moment. The only parts original to the other painting are the dark line of trees on the horizon and a bit of the meadow. 

There's something very cathartic about not having the old painting around to reproach me. And it's much easier to charge at something that's already got paint, dancing between obliteration and a new concept.

It took about two hours to get this far. By tomorrow it will be dry enough to work on, and I can begin thinking about unifying it around a central idea.

Sure was great fun to do it at white heat, but I was crazy tuckered out when I stopped.

Paint on!
Donald  

  

Obsequies were held...

Requiescant in Pace

Services were held today, in my studio, for the young fella whose portrait I've been essaying. He certainly went through a lot of changes, occupying far-too many hours, while I slowly convinced myself that I didn't have the faintest idea what I was doing.

Some of you, out of charity, answered my pleas for help. As it turns out, you put your money on the wrong horse. But thank you!

About 4 o'clock today he was obliterated by a good coat of raw umber. Now he belongs to the ages, living in your memory, and in this photo.

What did I learn?

1. It's very salutary to get out of your daily routine from time to time, especially by trying something you know you can't do.

2. Trying to paint skin tones on a white canvas is crazy.

3. If I'd spent time on anatomy and on life classes, instead of gallivanting around, I'd be a third-rate portraitist nonetheless.

4. Next time I'll join some friends to paint from a model.

5. Without knowing how, one can easily slide from a contemporary subject into a head that looks, despite his garment, quite 18th century. Who knew?

Paint well.
Donald