Recently, with the blessing of my supportive husband I had the good fortune of being able to focus on nothing but my canvas and brushes and what I could create with them. This excursion took me to Cedar Key with my good friend Laura Knight, (who is equally as passionate about art), where I spent two days doing what I love best…. painting. During our travels around this quiet hamlet we came across several other likeminded artists who have the luxury of living in this secluded environment bounded by endless opportunities in which to practice their craft. In addition to providing us information on artistic locations in the area, one such individual, Russ, a portrait artist, whose studio we visited later that day, provided constructive feedback as I painted. We started out surveying the various landscapes around us and settled on an area know as "Back Bayou". The bold repetitious horizontal shapes of water, marsh and sky bathed in the golden afternoon sun immediatley excited me and being so drawn to the wide visa before me I quickly set about to find the best spot in which to set up my easel and begin to paint.
Stage one of my process began by blocking in my shapes on a toned canvas; being mindful of movement, lights and darks.
Stage one of my process began by blocking in my shapes on a toned canvas; being mindful of movement, lights and darks.
Stage Two gravitated to refining the objects.....
Stage Three saw the application of local color.....
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...and finally after reassessing the scene and needing a little more balance added some trees and marsh on the left side of the painting; added clouds to the sky and highlights to the foreground water and marshes to achieve greater dynamic range of light and color.
Thus was born the final result.
