A few loose washes and plenty of splattered masking fluid got this off to a good start. I wanted the smokey luminosity of low autumn sunlight and it seems to have worked at least for the top half. A very similar subject to an earlier painting I posted , but not surprising as they both were from images taken on the same day, but I like the air of mystery in this one.
Other woodland scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
Following on with my woodland series and again featuring the golden birches amid the conifers. I dont think the yellows and oranges work too well against the dull greens so some of the punch is lost. Perhaps I should have reserved more white. Anyway, you can but try.
Other woodland scenes and landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
I apologise for another version of sunlight through trees on consecutive blogs, but in mitigation they are in different media.
I mentioned in previous blogs about walking with a group of French visitors who had come to Southport. On the Saturday we had a sunny walk, taking lunch on the beach at Formby. I posted a painting I did of the scene on 24th October. This is another painting based on views I saw, that day, on our way to lunch, walking through the woods to Formby and then on to the beach. I have done another, very different version of these woods. I’ll post that in my next blog.
I tried to keep this painting very loose; spraying the paper with water and then throwing paint into the dampened area after which I then drew into and painted with a brush. As I was building up layers of paint I spayed in masking fluid both on dry and damp paper at differing times of painting, so the masking fluid covered different colours and tones.
Other scenes of Southport, Liverpool and Formby are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
Following my watercolour sketch – Walk in the Woods – I presented a week or so ago, I thought that I would develop it a little. I liked the bands of light and shade created by the beeches in this wood on The Southdowns Way, close to the Cuckmere Valley. I mentioned in the blog that I took some pictures of passing walkers and I put in a couple with their sticks. I also kept the colours muted and resisted my urge to bang in some scarlet amongst the greens. Not sure whether it has the impact of my Dog Walkers where I succumbed to the scarlet urge – but maybe I got some of the calm I experienced on the day. Hope it calms you, also.
Other landscapes and woodland scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com or grahammcquadefineart.co.uk
Another woodland painting and another repeat – I have put versions of this on the blog before. Certainly a little tighter than the previous blog of the woodland scene with no splattering; using brushes only, but I am pleased with the luminosity resulting. This is down to the layering of washes.
If I remember on my previous attempts I tried a loose approach which lost the constant tonal changes throughout the piece and resulted in taking out and scratching back. Slowly building up those changes this time seems to have paid off without it becoming overly fussy.
Other woodland and landscape paintings are available on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
I have noticed that there is less of an appetite for landscape these days. This has come about by observing other people’s superb work languishing in exhibitions. It seems that unless there is a connection with a particular view there is no interest. But I must say I love painting them. This is based on a view I saw looking over a fence in Berkshire the other week. I love the lush foliage and the shocks of light and shade – so I’ll go on painting them even if no one is too bothered.
Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com or get one commissioned – I have very reasonable rates.
I was watching TV and there was an artist Norman Ackroyd painting some watercolours of woods in winter. I loved the greyness of these images along with the bare trees and after the programme I made up an image, just using washes of greys blues and purples just to see where it went.
Norman Ackroyd is a printer and I think he coordinated this year’s Royal Academy summer show. Some time ago there was an infrequent series on the tele called “What do Artists do all Day” – a title which amused me. He was featured in it and it showed him working on an etching of seabirds encircling a far flung Scottish Island. Needless to say some of his day was spent in a hostelry whilst he was waiting for things to develop. It’s a hard life, but someone has to do it.
Other landscapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
