Thursday, May 21, 2015

Contemplating Spirit


Yesterday I joined a local group of artists and painted on the grounds of a local church, St. Catherine's. This church is one of my favorites as it was designed by a local architect with Spirit in mind. It is beautiful, inside and out. Nature plays a big roll in the design here.

The afternoon shadows were lovely and I was drawn to this quiet contemplative spot. I admit, I misjudged the direction of the path of the sun. I will need to pull out my compass when in unfamiliar spots! This was a bit of a change for me, which is always a good thing to do. I have come to the realization that I really don't like human-made artifacts in my paintings and I prefer the wild places to those that are deliberately shaped by people. It is a beautiful spot, just a different kind of beauty.

The wild places touch my soul more than cultivated spots. They call to me.

Here are two pictures of the final painting. The first was taken on the spot before packing up. The second was taken this morning with filtered overcast light. I love the light in the first one. The second one is nice too but gives a different mood. This gives me food for thought about photographing my work. Something I will have to work on.

© 2015 R.L. Delight, Contemplating Spirit, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel, plein air.

© 2015 R.L. Delight, Contemplating Spirit, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel, plein air

I am heading up to Cannon Beach this afternoon to paint. Back to the wild places...

-Renee

4 comments:

Nancy Van Blaricom said...

Both look lovely but my favorite is the first one. Funny how photos change when you attempt to photograph them in different light.

I see your sketch attached to your easel…. is this adapted for Joshua Been? I also have been using this method. Really seems to help me.

R. Delight said...

Hi Nancy! Yes, this is from Joshua Been. I bought his little book which is just crammed with information. I have been meaning to do a post on it. He doesn't really go into the Notan sketching in his book but I saw how he uses it in his videos. I have used it before but decided to try again and I must say, it really seems to help me too. Specially when the light changes!

Nancy Van Blaricom said...

Thanks for the info on Joshua Been's little book. I'll attempt to buy it.

There is a local guy Darryl Anderson (from Bainbridge) who wrote a book "Value Sketching With Markers: http://darrellanderson.blogspot.com/p/value-sketching-with-markers.html . I bought this a couple of years ago … he uses 30%, 70% and 90% value cool gray markers. I like the fact that he uses 3 markers … not sure I would use all of the ones Joshua Been recommends… maybe though. I do think Joshua does a great job of explaining his process.

Also … really like the "Lurking on the Horizon" painting. Good job!

R. Delight said...

Thanks Nancy! I will check out the Darrel Anderson site. I am still in the 'trying it out" stage with the four markers. So far I haven't had much trouble using them. I think I could get used to it. I think the biggest advantage to doing the value sketches is how they make me really think about the values I am seeing and pay attention. Joshua's book is worth the $12. I think it came to $15 including the shipping and he signed it too!

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