Standing Tall, 24 x 12 inches, oil on linen
You've seen this one before when I talked about struggling with large, dark, passive areas in my composition. Well, it's been bugging me ever since, and I finally decided to go back into it and just paint what's there, instead of trying to force a contrived atmospheric shadow.
I think that the idea was good, but my execution sucked. I blamed it on getting too dark and flat, but the real problem was that it looked like I was avoiding painting something difficult. Cheating, in other words.
I can honestly say that that wasn't my intent - I wanted to simplify and abstract the lower part of the painting in order to focus on the church architecture. But ya know, it just wasn't looking convincing. And I detest the idea of looking like I was cheating. It bothers the hell out of me that I may be declaring that I can't paint something because it's too difficult so I'm just gonna throw it in the shadow. Especially when it's not that difficult.
So if only to satisfy my ego, I went back into the painting and pulled the buildings out of the dark shadow. Now it's a lot busier but it works much better, too. The solidity of objects in perspective really adds to the sense of environment and depth. I like the opaque, tonal application of the paint too. Sort of Bernie Fuchs-ish, except that it's opaque. Or maybe that's just the colors I chose, the linked shapes, and keyed up shadow values.
At one point it was getting too fussy and rendered, so I knocked back some detail and treated the foreground tree with aggressive brushwork. The juxtaposition of different treatments is kinda funky but I think it looks like a Miura, nonetheless.
8 comments:
I like it. The home in front is mimicked, the triangle and three windows, in the side of the church. Kind of like a metaphor, mans home is reflected in Gods home.
Ooh... that's a fascinating frame of reference because I think that the side of the church originally had more elaborate tall arched windows and even a rose window. (In the actual architecture, not in my painting thereof) At some point, for whatever reason, those were taken out and replaced with just three "man's windows".
It's like the da vinci code LOL the metaphor thickens...
The earlier version was very nice but I like the revision better too.
I think this is a marked improvement. Good thing you had the guts to go back and tamer with it - that's scary for me sometimes. The addition of the houses does add more depth and I don't think it takes away from the church as the focal point because it is such a predominate structure.
On my monitor, the light on the upper tower is now somewhat muted. I wonder if that, and the new emphasis on the house, now challenges your point of interest. Forgive me, but I have 6 years of Art History analysis under my belt and it's hard to let go of that! ;-)
Bueno! Great light and composition. You do have a way with cityscapes.
Thanks Craig, Jeremy, Holly, and David~
Jeremy, I know what you mean;I eventually convinced myself that if I went back into it and ruined the painting, I really haven't lost anything because the painting wasn't working anyway.
Holly, the change in the colors in the upper area are just a result of my poor photographic skills. I didn't really do anything to that area. The houses do challenge the point of interest, but ultimately the church wins. It's just that the match is no longer a blowout win for the church, but a more interesting give and take. I was thinking of some of Levitan's compositions where there are multiple points of interests, but with a definite, if subtle, hierarchy. Of course I'm no Levitan so my structure isn't as masterful.
Good work here Terry.
I'm with you on the first one, the intention was great but I felt like the painting just stopped short at the bottom and then a dark color appeared. The dark color didn't seem like part of the painting. (I remember giving you a hard time about it originally, but in your defense I like the original painting more now than I did then.)
But, you did well to improve upon it. I think your intention is still present, but like you said-- it's a subtler move now.
Good work is all about subtlety, in my opinion. Nicely done.
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