process
I paint to reveal landscape forms and places. Each sketch made in advance of the painting helps me understand the space. I try to document my progress at the end of each day. The selected images below are a snapshot of my five-month process on a 22” x 28” oil painting completed in March 2021.
The Beech Trees painting is based on a photograph I took in November 2020 at Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, NY. On this late fall day, the fading leaf color allowed the elephant gray tree bark to shine.
I began with a charcoal sketch at a size close to the final canvas and kept that at hand while I painted.
1.
Before starting on the final canvas, I also made a quick oil-on-paper sketch that allowed me to play with color and brushstroke.
2.
I used fallen beech leaves to help mix the leaf colors in my studio. I worked on the final canvas over a three-month period.
3.
January 18, 2021
4.
January 27, 2021
In 2022, the painting was selected to appear in a (non-member) exhibit at the Salmagundi Club in NYC entitled Landscapes 2022
5.
After the exhibit, I had it professionally framed in a handsome wood floater frame. As any artist reading this knows, framing is just about the most difficult decision to make!