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Friday 22 April 2011

Local Trees

A few days ago I started, and thought I had completed, a small 'landscape' of a local park area next to a bus terminus, but when I got back to it this morning to make a couple of tweaks, I saw that it was far from being anything I could put up on this blog. I had used huge sweeping brushtrokes that couldn't describe the scene at all, so I went in and practically painted the whole thing again and it's much better but far from what I want.

I want to learn how to paint landscapes and local scenes, but find this genre very difficult. The composition of the photograph was undistinguished in itself and ended up being difficult to paint as there were no key landmarks or winding paths to make the picture easier to read. In addition, there was a huge wall of long grass and flowers in the foreground cutting the format in half. Why I started this work I don't know. I thought the red buses would add to it but my painting of them was so bad they looked pathetic so I wiped them out. I'm now going to try and finish a completely different work which has been defying me. Maybe I might post it later on today if I can overcome the obstacles.

"Trees on the Common" Oil on Gessoed Board - 6" x 6"

4 comments:

Chartan said...

I just adore this painting. I find landscapes exceeding difficult. Deciding what to edit out, and what to leave in always baffles me. You've done a fabulous job with this. I hope I get to look at on my blog for a long time :D

Autumn Leaves said...

Anne, I think this is just beautiful. I love the flowers in the foreground and they add interest and a unique point of view. The gnarled tree trunks are spot on and I WISH I could paint trees like this. I think the addition of red buses would have been rather glaring so I like that you left them out. To me landscapes are always beautiful and are my favorite genre of paintings. I love this one, despite all your naysaying!! LOL

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks sooo much Charlotte. The editing is a killer and so is getting the depth and distance. Again, I say it's all the fault of the colour green. :-)

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Sherry - yes, it's funny how a red bus looks good in real life or a photograph but in a painting next to beautiful trees it looks so foreign. Thanks for the support as I wasn't confident about this one. It just goes to show........! :-)