"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." -Vincent van Gogh
I went on a little bit of a road trip in December and I saw an interesting view that I was inspired to paint -- a site that people drive by everyday and probably don't give a second glance. It was a section along the highway of dry reeds and dead spruce trees illuminated by the cold winter sunlight against dark forest. I was inspired by the way the pale dead trees looked so sharp and bony contrasting against the shadowy band of forest behind them. The trees were in a swampy area and appeared to have died from the ground being too wet -- possibly thanks to beavers. I was unable to get a picture, so I did my best to store what I saw and how it made me feel in my mind for later.
It is easier to see the beauty in lively and vibrant and youthful things, but that is why I wanted to paint these dead trees. I could see beauty in them, in their needle-less branches -- in the remains of their skeletal form. They tell stories.
I try to look for beauty in things or places that most may overlook or wouldn't understand the beauty of. I think once you begin to train yourself to "see" like an artist, you will automatically find more beauty in the world around you.
This painting actually started out as a sketch, but I liked it enough to consider it a complete painting. I decided to go with a loose/messy style of approach to this (somewhat) new subject matter. It didn't turn out perfect, but I think that can add to the emotional quality. I've painted plenty of trees before, but I've never intentionally painted dead trees. Personally, I think it is a fascinating subject to explore, with possibilities of great depth, meaning and metaphor -- or even just surface value of aesthetics.
The painting process:
First, I decided the composition that I wanted, then I drew some lines of the foreground trees. I knew I wanted/needed to use negative painting to separate them from the dark background, so to give me a little more guidance (because negative painting is my most underdeveloped art skill) I painted the foreground trees before I painted around them.
Although the trees were a very plain grey colour, I imagined all the different colours that could be mixed into that grey colour. I used a semi-opaque watercolour paint (Juane Brilliant from ShinHan) to create the neutrals that I wanted to be more pastel. I mixed it with Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet, and Quinacridone Gold to create a nice variation of neutral tones.
I've had my three semi-opaque watercolours (Jaune Brilliant, Lavender, Shell Pink) for about four years, but this was the first time that I had used any of them in a "real" painting. It's commonly discouraged to paint with opaque watercolours as it is not the purists way, so I hadn't tried to find ways to use them. What a shame! They are lovely! Sometimes you need pastel colours that you just can't achieve with transparent paints alone. So, I plan to use my semi-opaque watercolours more often. That was a bit of a tangent... I'll get back on track now :)
Once I had painted the foreground trees, it was time to paint the background. I wanted the background to be simple and to not cover up much of the paper nor take too much attention away from the foreground. For the background colours I just used the leftover neutral paint mix that was in my palette but I did add some phthalo green, ultramarine blue and brown madder to that. I also dropped some Quinacridone Sienna into the background when it was still wet, and then added some of it in the grasses as well. I have a tendency to make my watercolour washes a little too "perfect" and smooth looking, so I was really happy with the loose and informal background that I was able to achieve -- it turned out better than I had hoped.
Then I moved to the grass/reeds. Again, I wanted to keep the grasses simple and leave some white of the paper. The area where the grass meets the foreground trees got a little messy and I was unhappy with how it was starting to look. I went back and forth between adding some paint and lifting paint, trying to find a look that I was pleased with. I decided to use some white gouache to add some neater looking grass strands and to partially cover up that area that was irking me. I also used the gouache to add a few "ghost" trees in the background to add some more depth and interest. I like it much better since adding those gouache details!
I just darkened up some areas, signed it, and then it was done :)
~ So let us continue to look for the beauty around us! ~
If you have any questions, feel free to comment on this post, email me at artbycheyc@gmail.com or you can contact me on my website here.
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Til next time,
Cheyenne
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