Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Allotments in the snow

The painting on the easel a few minutes before I left

I am happy to tell you we still have snow and I'm finding time to get out amongst it and paint as often as I can. I've had eight painting trips in the last eight days so I have a few things to show you when I get around to taking photos of them! Everything else in my house and work is going a bit to pot but I just want to get as much out of it as I can while it's here :-)

This is today's! I had an unscheduled trip to Sleaford and not a lot of time to spare before an appointment (an hour and a half in all) so of course I headed to the allotments. What a heavenly scene! When I arrived, the sun was bright in the sky casting cool crisp shadows around. I didn't know where to look at first but then this scene really grabbed me. I loved the contrast between the sunlit snow on the shed roofs and the dark of the buildings behind. My secondary motivation was the cool blue shadows on the snow cast by the fence and sheds in contrast with the large clean bright area of snow. 
I couldn't wait to get started and knew I would have to be quick, and I would have to be bold...


No time for drawing with the brush, I started straight away to mass in the dark shapes of the sheds.




The sun was in my eyes when I was taking these photos and I wasn't sure if they would work or not but luckily they did!




The darks of the red brick terraced houses were the next to go in. I didn't have time to be careful about chimney pots or anything, just blocked it all in with a big brush, trying to leave shapes for windows. 





The next most important thing about my subject was the shadows on the snow so I started to block those in quickly, and the snow on the roofs behind. I knew I would have to get this snow dark enough or the whole idea would fall flat. This painting is all about the contrast.
Although it looks here as though my board was white to start with, it was actually undercoated with a light-mid warm grey.
I do confess though, at this stage I did panic a little - was that snow too blue? too dark? Were the houses too red? (Was it all a bit ghastly?!)
I knew all would be revealed as I continued to cover areas of the board with colour, and consoled myself that I could mute all these colours down later if need be.





Time to bring some more definition into the dark areas. I don't know what those black shapes are hidden in the snow but I thought they looked great with their snow blankets. 
By now the sun had gone behind thick cloud. Good job I had all those shadows in place.





The joy I felt at this stage! I started to apply the brightest snow and it was as if somebody had switched on a light! It was then that I knew all those dark tones had paid off, this was exactly the effect I was after.
I didn't use pure white, but enhanced it with a little lemon yellow for brightness, particularly on the surfaces nearer the sun. Much of the white in the foreground had a touch of magenta added.









I only spent an hour and a half here including setting up and packing away. I'm pleased that I managed to say what I wanted to say about my subject today. All this snow is getting me so excited!






18 comments:

  1. What a great series of painting. That final touch of white really brought the whole thing together; like the sun coming out. Wonderful stuff.

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    1. Thank you Bella! It really was as though someone had turned on a light when I started to add the lightest whites!

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  2. I love watching you create beautiful paintings out of subjects I would probably bypass, you really see their potential.
    Thank you for opening my eyes. Brilliant!
    Joy

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    1. Thanks ever so much Joy, I'll be taking a better photo of the painting today and posting it here soon!

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  3. Perfect example of the importance of getting the values right and everything else falling into place. Great picture.

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    1. Thanks Mick, the success completely rested on getting the tonal values right. I also like the sketchy (rushed) treatment!

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  4. Another beauty! Thanks for showing us the process, very instructive. Now you just need to go back two more times, and we can have the Four Seasons of the Allotments, wouldn't that be a great series? I can see them hanging together already.

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    1. Yes Bobbi I will, good idea! I do so love a series! :-)

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  5. Fabulous! Thank you for sharing your process. Your painting is much more beautiful than the scene.

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    1. Thank you Karen, that's kind! But the beauty in the scene was the light :-)

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  6. Excellent blog post and painting!

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  7. Reading about your process and seeing the photos is equally as good as seeing the finished painting. BRAVO Haidee!

    Hope you made the appointment in time!

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  8. Hi Haidee.
    You have surpassed yourself with this painting Haidee. It is absolutely brilliant. And it is great that you have once again shown us your process, great. All the best Haidee.
    Vic

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    1. Thank you very much Vic! Very glad you enjoyed seeing the process :-)

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  9. Like everyone else I love seeing the process, and all your thoughts! Just keeps inspiring me. Think we only have a few days of joy left!

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    1. Thank you Sheila! I'm glad a managed to get a day with some sunshine and shadows in my snow series! I think most people are ready for the big thaw now, but then floods will be a worry won't they?

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Thank you for your words!

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