I have returned to a simple theme over the years of painting, and it is not complicated in either drawing or composition. It has a low horizon, lots of sky, and my attempt is to get a strong feeling of atmosphere and light. Although it is a simple construction, it does require staying focused on the theme and using good qualities of brushwork and application of paint. I am putting up a series of paintings from several years and they will all have a simple title of horizon. Pick a theme or two and return to them over the next few years and you will find that they become an important part of your work.
In this painting, my attempt was to make the early morning, just at sunrise, statement. I think it comes off quite well, I used a little Titanium white to create the lights, and I applied the white with stiff bristle brush and very little water with a very light and glancing stroke.
In this painting I was using a palette of green, orange, blue and yellow and I tried to get the accidental in the sky and at the horizon so I would have and interesting painting with very little subject matter.
This painting is really opaque but I was using transparent colors with very little water as the under painting and applied some titanium white over the yellow sky. Don’t be afraid to give this approach a try it will not ruin you painting but will give you a broader voice.
I wanted a very stark contrast giving the impression surf highlighted against dark beach and blue sky. Not complicated but expressive.
Absolutely a quick wet in wet painting using Cobalt Blue, Raw Sienna, Yellow, and Burnt Sienna.
Again an opaque painting using thick transparent colors under a light brushing of white over top to create the atmosphere.
In this painting I was just working on glare and gradation of color although I was using some white in the bottom of the painting, I used overlapping yellows for the top without and opaque colors.
Just a fun wet in wet painting dominated by a special contrast of viridian and alizirin crimson in the sky and the addition of cerulean blue, raw sienna and cadmium scarlet in the lower painting. I hope you have fun looking at these horizon pieces.
Hey, these are gorgeous–I especially love the blue ones.
Thank you, I think that they are somewhat reflective of your wonderful work so I might have been channeling you during some of those painting sessions. The first blue painting is one of the last pieces from my “Creation Series” some of them go back a long way but they are fun any way.