Last August , I wrote about a painting I had found unfinished after reorganising my studio. I was struggling to re-engage with my former painting self, and , although doing a watercolour of the scene helped a bit, it still didn’t sort things out.
Finally, I have finished it – and am delighted with the result. (That’s two delights in a row, last week and this week, – I’m beginning to feel nervous). The crux of the matter was the shadow of the nearest building. Since this building is an addition from another picture with different lighting, I had to re-construct how far the shadow would stretch across the road – not a serious problem. However, I had quite forgotten what colours I had used to indicate the shadow on the sunny building. I found myself trying very hard to achieve the right tone and colour using Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Violet to no avail. I had used Burnt Sienna in the watercolour, of course. All was resolved when I remembered I had used Raw Sienna in the oil. The moral of the story is, “Don’t wait so long before you finish a painting”.
It’s a pleasing composition too, the active diagonal lines leading the eye to the old dilapidated building in the centre of the picture, while the trudging fellow anchors everything there too. People in pictures always draw themselves to our attention, self-centred beings that we are!
Yes, a lovely and evocative result. The respite of the shade from the heat of the sun is obvious. Your comments are familiar in two respects!! The subject itself which you had given to us last August as an exercise and wondering two days ago, when trying to “finish” the acrylic aerial perspective task from the end of last term, how on earth I had mixed a particular green that I had used!
This is the point at which the detail-oriented among us would suggest you make a note of what colours you put out for each painting, but that would get in the way of actually doing the painting!