Friday 19 October 2007

2nd phase...

Here’s a bit more work in progress on the first tree portrait…quite difficult to photograph as it’s a very dark painting…might add a few more leaves to the canopy, need to do a bit more with the ground and the main trunk highlights then need to go on. Once that’s done, hopefully all that’ll be left is a few splashes of colour here and there to balance the whole image…

5 comments:

SueC said...

I love the light effects.....but I can't help feeling the tree should be 'doing more' if you know what I mean. If these are intended as portraits...then for me they need to represent some kind of body or feeling??

Just my penny worth....xx

Unknown said...

I know what you mean Sue. The trees need to have a presence, a personality…they need to be something more than just a picture of a tree…This one isn’t there yet…the lighting needs to be starker and the brush strokes aren’t doing what I’d like them to…I want the tree to look isolated, but with slightly menacing trees in the background…more work needed…:)

However, currently I don’t want to go as far as building other shapes into the trees…giving them physical, human qualities. I want them to be very clearly, believable trees…

Ultimately, I’m not exactly sure where I want the final images to end up…I’m hoping that by working through a series exploring these tree “portraits” I’ll discover what I’m looking for en route :) they may end up being straight paintings of trees…or become abstracted shapes…

Have been to Westonbirt Arboretum today taking some photos…so starting to build up some useful reference material…lovely colours and some interesting shapes…but I need to do lots of work to get on top of the images I want to create…still, that’s all part of the fun…painting is like a big puzzle, I just need to fit the bits together correctly :)

MissT said...

Have to admit this is looking rather 'Middle Earthish' to me. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing...I'm always happy to see a hobbit...

SueC said...

C'mon Frodo, almost 3 weeks and nothing new to show??? :-) You should get your finger out your ass.....(New York is rubbing off on me ;-) )

Unknown said...

Have been “fiddling” with charcoal…nothing to show as yet, it’s not a material I’ve really worked with before…have just been making a mess :)... will get something down on paper over the weekend :)

And less of the Frodo…I’m not that short and I don’t have hairy feet ;)