8 x 10 ins, oil on canvas board
This painting was developed from the notan on the top half of the sketch book page, 3c. I used the value pattern on the top right, although the tree/bush at the left side of the road really ended up being a dark shape. I thought it looked a better balance as I was painting.
This time I painted entirely with a palette knife. I enjoy the thick and expressive paint!
8 x 8 ins, Oil on Linen Panel
I painted this from my front porch this afternoon, an exhilarating experience. It was a crisp, clear, windy December day. My focus was the large maple tree in the middle of the front lawn, and the way the nearly-setting sun was lighting it, although by the time I finished (an hour later) the light had pretty much gone from the tree.
I took a lot of artistic license with the view and completely removed the houses across the street (their complexity and presence did not add to my ideas about the tree), so this is not actually the view from our porch, but my ideas about the tree and the light this afternoon. I loved doing it.
I took the photo behind this painting because I liked the striking light patterns on the side-walk in front of the shops. It’s easy to think it is light coming from within the shops, but in fact it is the late afternoon sunshine reflecting off the shop windows. It gives me a pleasantly warm feeling.
Oil on Canvas panel, 12 x 16
I loved painting this picture of my husband and grandson. Everything about it felt sunny and happy. I took the photo at the end of a very pleasant week that the grandchildren stayed with us, at the end of which we delivered them back to their parents on this beautiful beach on the shore of Lake Michigan.
My favorite part of the painting is my grandson’s fingers and their shadow. His pose is so characteristic of him, including the way he is concentrating on pushing his foot into the wet sand. I also enjoy the shadows and their part in the composition.
My husband’s Tilley hat features again!
marymayhewart 