Interesting Aside ...

The satellite view from Google maps shows our boat as still being there, but the image is from 2003. The photograph the painting is based on was taken in November, 2000, but there was no reasonable expectation that she would still be there today. However, Google Earth seems to indicate that, in fact, not only is she still there, but she now has company. There are at least two more wrecks there, along the quay -one on the same side as our boat and a larger, metal wreck on the other side of the quay. Sadly, our girl is slowly collapsing. Her superstructure (which will probably not be clearly defined in the painting) has fallen in on itself. It seems we caught her, thankfully, at her most photogenic.

She is located in Ballynakill Harbour in Barbaderg Bay, Ireland.

Blocking in color

Tonight's class was productive, finally, as far as the 'big picture' is concerned. I have started blocking in the major areas of color, as you can see below.

It is very primitive, at this point. There is a lot of work to do on the road (which doesn't really look like a road, yet)and all of the other areas need a lot of detail work. The clouds have yet to come in and the sky needs some work on the color. And the mountain has yet to have any work done - the quay is unpainted and the top of the quay (pale green grass) needs to be added as well. And of course, the star of the show, the BOAT (Ishmael) has yet to take firm shape.

But it's a start.

This is so cool !!

I have discovered this feature of blogspot that allows me to update my blog via email. This is so cool!! Tonight is class - we are working on our 'big' paintings tonight, so there may well be an update picture posted here for all to see - whatever it looks like.

We'll see.

Meanwhile - I have so screwed up the still life - I've completely lost the 'feel' of what I was doing, plus I couldn't re-create the proper colors so as to be consistent with what I started with. I feel a
total do-over coming on. I going to have to go to the store and get some red and blue grapes, a pear, an apple and a golden delicious apple, find a stool and a reddish cloth to place over the stool and then a bowl in which to place all of the fruit.

I WILL get this right.

PLUS - when you post by email, you probably have to 'view' your blog to make sure it doesn't need an edit or two to make it pretty. This one did.

Maybe later .....

I did some work on the still life this evening ... long pause ... I think it may be a while before I post updates of that particular picture. It's changed a little. Actually, it's changed a LOT. I have no idea where this thing is going - but I'll post something later, when I'm a little surer of our ultimate destination.

Class this week will see a resumption of work on the original artwork undertaken when we started class. Now I'm scared. No, seriously, I think it's fortunate that I got no further than I did on that painting. If I had to duplicate colors mixed up in a previous session, in order to continue painting on that 'work in progress', I'd be in trouble. One of the many things I have to learn about - mixing colors. Now I know why artists are said to have a 'palette' of colors they work from - because that's the set of colors they can duplicate 'on demand'. Now YOU know why my still life is different than it started out to be. And now you know why there aren't going to be any still life updates right away. Maybe later ...