Painting Light and Colour

‘Autumn light’

Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 cm

Status: €225

Autumn light

‘Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.’ (Charles Dickens)

It’s moving well into the end of Autumn here in Amsterdam, and there are lovely colours about in the parks. I actually did this one a few weeks ago earlier in the season, and, believe it or not, there were even a few brave souls sunbathing in the park as I was painting it.

The Dutch light seems to get even clearer and softer in Autumn, and there are some nice interplays of colour to capture – provided the sun stays out!

Although I started this one Plein Air, I finished it in the studio, without bothering to look at the photo I took of the tree. This is because, although it is imperative to start the painting by looking at what’s in front of you, at some stage, the picture takes on a life or rationale of it’s own, which then needs to be carried through to the finish, in some ways discarding the original model you started with. One of the major pitfalls to be avoided with this methodology is not to overwork the piece and end up with a dull and boring picture. I think I’ve managed to avoid it this time.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Available to purchase, Landscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.