Monday, January 31, 2011

jump-start

I think the 35 thumbnails did the trick to jump-start my work for the new year. This is the oil-wash foundation for my first painting of the Hometown Marshland series. It is based upon the very first thumbnail in a previous post. I like this very much because of the spontaneity and am SO tempted to leave it as it is and call it an oil painting. But, the point of my bright idea was to take a reference photo, paint a watercolor thumbnail using the photo as a guide, and move on through the process to complete a pastel painting. My goal for the finished painting will be to keep the looseness but to add enough detail to draw the viewer into the story behind the scene.

My hometown is Auburn, Washington. I spent my first 21 years there with my family, in a little house built by my father near the railroad tracks. When I was shooting the photos for this series, I could hear train whistles in the distance...music to my ears and soul.

3 comments:

  1. I am curious to see you progressing with the painting although I agree you could leave it as it is. Either way, thank you for sharing.
    Regards,
    Oli

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  2. Looks interesting so far Barbara. I'm looking forward to see its completion. Your colors are always so beautiful.

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  3. Thank you Oli!

    Hi Debora,
    I was looking at your blog this morning and before I could comment, I got side-tracked. I'll get back to your blog today I hope. Thanks for your compliments on my colors...pretty wimpy compared to your dramatic hues.

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