First Boldt Castle Painting

Okay, so here we are to learn and share some artistic tips to create beautiful paintings!  I am using the photos I took of Boldt Castle as my inspiration and reference for these experiments and adventures.

Here is the first:

Quite the beauty isn't it! Especially the little yellow bucket the masons were using, haha! (And yes, my hubby was one of those guys *proud smile*). But, I digress. Though the composition of this piece is somewhat visually appealing there are some obvious and some not so obvious flaws that need fixing before we paint it.
First off, the obvious flaws. Hello little bucket and the weird mesh-like fence! Though interesting discussion pieces, these don't fit and need to go! As artists, we get the joy of just eliminating those blemishes by not painting them in the first place.
Second, the not so obvious flaws. See those out of focus, red and green bushes directly in front of you in the picture? Seem sort of pretty and interesting right? Do you want your viewer to stop there though? Putting something like a big bush in the front of the painting will invariably stop many viewers from getting "into" your painting. So, again, just eliminate them!
After we get past the bushes, what demands your attention the most? How about that line created by the tree and water? How about that tree dividing the picture in half? Nice and symmetrical right? But how interesting is symmetry, really? Not very. Add that glaring line through the picture created by the water and tree and you have a distraction.
Now, if you can't see this easily from the photo here, try looking at it as just a value study.

Here it is in black and white (values only):

 

Now do you see the line? Though the light and dark is interesting, this is not where we want the viewer to go and invariably stay. I wanted the viewer to look at where we removed the bucket, for I found the stairway and the stones there interesting. So, I made a few thumbnail sketches to see what I could do.

If, we move the tree over to the 3/5 ratio line (Golden Section rule, we'll explore this another time) the composition becomes more visually appealing, and no longer does that solid line divide the picture in half.

Here is a larger sketch:



So, now that we have our shapes pleasing enough and the major players where we want them, it is time to put it on the canvas.

Okay, now I don't know about you, but all these lines are a bit confusing. I sort of wondered if I would get lost in the middle of painting. So, thought I'd try something else and do an acrylic underpainting of sorts.
Now, it was at this point that I thought of trying something else new and interesting (figured why not this is an experiment and learning experience). I had just been reading about color combinations and how some of the most pleasing paintings are often done using complimentary colors (colors that live across from each other on the color wheel). Interesting to know and I wanted to see if it was true! So, I decided to paint this using only two colors, purple and yellow. Now, mind you it is necessary to use white and black (though black was not used much at all) for tints and shades. So, along this thinking, I decided to do the underpainting in those two colors too!

Now, yes, obviously this is still quite the mess. I only used the yellows for the lighter points and the purples for the darkest points mainly to keep me knowledgeable about where the darkest and lightest spots are. Therefore, not a true underpainting, but more of a visual guide of sorts.

Okay and here is the progress of painting:

 

Okay, so I can see that some might try to call me on the complementary color scheme when it so obviously looks as though I used blues, greens and browns in here. Honestly, these colors are all combinations of purple and yellow! A bluer purple with a cool yellow will yield a greenish color. Just as a reddish purple with a warmer yellow will yield a rich brown.

Oh and how about those colors on the stones?! That was complete discovery! I never could have imagined that I'd find those colors within a complimentary color scheme.

 

 

So here is the final piece:

 

 

 

Looking at the finished piece, I realized how the colors I chose created a mystical and magical feel to the piece. Of course this is a castle, so quite fitting don't you agree?

So with all that information and exploration, you might be wondering what exactly did I learn.

 

I learned:

- color is awesome! It alone can create a mood, evoke emotion, and excite the imagination. complimentary color is quite rich and worthy of deep exploration.

- shapes and the initial value composition is important. Getting the bones of the painting 'right' is most important for the painting to be successful.

 

So what are your thoughts? Post them here and be on the look out for next week's exploration and adventure in art!