Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Dudley Farm

Dudley Farm,16x20, oil/panel
$500, unframed
Wednesday is my day to paint with the plein air group from the Madison Art Society. Every year we paint at least once at Dudley Farm in Guilford. I was hoping to paint the sheep or goats but they were all huddled in the shade of their sheds and couldn't be coaxed out.

Today I though I'd share a little about my method of painting. Usually I begin with a sketchy drawing. I mix up a neutral color and get the composition and placement of the different elements settled. Next I do a block-in. I start with the darks and use a large brush to quickly fill in the areas. Next I lay in the basic mid-value color for each area then the lights. At this point the painting resembles a jigsaw puzzle with very large pieces. Now the time for refining comes. Adding more colors and values, creating foliage, adding architectural elements. Finally the little things, windows, flowers, grasses etc. This is much easier to understand when you watch me paint. I'll try to take pics to show the progression of a painting, and hopefully the process will become clearer.







3 comments:

Pilan said...

Jan, very nice painting. I look forward to seeing your next one.

Pilan

Ed Terpening said...

This is a powerful composition, the placement of the architecture works really well.

Jan Blencowe said...

Hi Pilan thanks for visiting!

Hey Ed....Glad you think this works, always a little awkward when the building is below the crest of the hill.

Jan