Workshop # 40 -41 Watching the River

As you can see I have started to number ALL my paintings whether they were done in my workshop sessions or smaller daily (I wish) at home.  Every painting deserves its place....  The ones done in my workshop usually take 2 or more sessions and I usually work on several at the same time.

These two are 2 views of a reference photo taken this past fall in Greece, both in different approaches.... My main objective was to simplify the  overwhelming amount of information and detail in the reference image.
The first was a close crop of the figures against the river.  Oils on 35 x 35 gessoed cardboard. Several layers with some sand papering between each. Worked with both brushes and palette knife.

Oils on cardboard 35 x 35

I am posting the second painting but I am not sure that it is DONE. After sanding the first layer I added the figures and some branches to the painting to continue working in my next session. To my surprise Heleni said not to add anymore details and that it was finished.  I am still not sure and feel the need to go back in....maybe defining the background, added branches and figures  If anyone out there would like to share their input it would be much appreciated. This was done on a dark earth red toned cardboard. 

35 x 50 cm.  Oils on cardboard

Small Work #39 Small Green Box on Red Book

I am back to numbering my small works... daily or not so daily...

This is another color study using the technique of "broken color" as described in a video by Richard Robertson  This time I took a small green box and placed it on a red book, appropriately  "The Arts" by Hendrik Willem Van Loon. A book that belonged to my mother. I am enjoying working on paper, oils dry faster, and learning this new technique. Checking the BW version I can see some spots that need to be tweaked.

Oils on brown paper 9 x 11 "

Here is the BW to check general tonality...

Color Exercize Broken Color

A while back I bought the video by Richard Robinson's on Broken Color... I don't recall  doing the exercise or if I did it probably didn't  come out very well.... so I decided today to give it a try.   Rearranged my computer/ painting table so that it would be easier to navigate for painting with my new table easel to the left , my computer screen in the middle  and in front of the monitor my palette and brushes/knives etc.

Fairly happy with the results... not perfect... but I did learn a lot... I scanned it and the colors are not exact.
I am definitively going to try some more and was pleased to see that the oils went on so well on the paper.
The trick is that the added colors on each plane or section are the same tonality.  See below the color and BW version... All in all I am happy... glad that I got a few hours of painting in....

 

Oils on 8 x 9.5 " heavy brown paper

Here is the BW... The right panel has some colors too bright and light.

Also in the left side some lights...