Night Tide (progress)

 "Night Tide" (18x18) o/p

This painting began with a trip to Hug Point beach on the northern Oregon coast last month with a couple of painter friends. We were there  painting and sketching all day, and I came away with several plein air studies and some ideas in my sketchbook for something I would do back in the studio.

 From the sketch book...

What I had in mind was a nocturne; a moonlit blue-violet scene that had a sense of peaceful mystery about it (as this beach does at night, being part of what I call the "lonely Oregon coast")...

I did a few monochromatic studies in chalk on Canson paper before I felt comfortable moving to a full colour study with a composition I liked. Although this may appear to be a limited palette, I utilized a full range of oils to achieve a subtle depth of colour involving various blues, violets, greens, greys and browns made up of primary and secondary hues...

 More refinement...

Below is the colour study (the small 12x12 on the left) and the larger version about 3/4 done... I later changed the cloud shapes, omitted the shadow on the large tree trunk and added the shallow cave at the base of the cliff (which is there in real life, but I had originally thought it might be too distracting).

In progress...

I eventually did three versions all together, with the final one being a horizontal 12x16 in which I added more trees to the bluff on the right side. I may post that one later -- it's destined for a show in New York next month.

A tree grows in...Oregon?

 Thumb nails from Sketchbook

Of all the various trees there are to paint, my favorite are the Eucalyptus and the Sycamore; unfortunately they don't do well up here in the Northwest climate so they're very scarce. Oak trees on the other had are everywhere and have a wonderful shape, especially in winter when they're bare-leaved. Pine trees I don't care to paint at all (which may seem ironic in logging country) but they're even more abundant than all the other species put together, so I tolerate them as supporting cast members at times...

 Narrowing it down...

This past January there were a number of cold, but clear days and I was able to get out and do some studies. These quick pencils from my sketchbook were done before starting the composition near the bottom, titled "Behind Winter's Veil".

 This one...

I shifted a few elements around until I came up with a composition that focused the light on one large shape with a second, larger shape in the foreground...

Monochrome study variation in chalk on Canson (5x7)

This drawing is from another location using the same 'dominant light combined with a large shape' idea...

Start on a burnt Sienna canvas

Initial block-in

I originally had some light and shadow lines breaking up the foreground... 

"Behind Winter's Veil" (20x24) o/c

Here is the finished painting; I decided to put the entire foreground in shadow at the last minute to concentrate all of the light on the background tree -- this proved to be more dramatically effective.

It's about the shape and colour in nature and their integral relationships... The old saying, "paint shapes, not things" is good to keep in mind, divesting yourself of preconceived ideas of everyday objects. Trees are noble with individual character, and should be observed that way by the painter, carefully and thoughtfully arranged into pleasing, if not ideal compositions...