Summer Newsletter

My vision was to create a soft place to land...

Palm Trilogy III  ~  45 x 35"  oil painting on cradled wood panel

This was one of those paintings that felt like it took forever. I'm sure most of my artist friends know the feeling. When I feel like the painting is complete, I take a photo and discover I'm not happy with it. Photographs are an excellent tool for seeing the image in a new light. I also like to turn it upside down.
I've shared the journey below, hoping that it will either inspire or inform you. 

This painting started with a few simple shapes and a basic color selection of ultramarine blue, magnesium blue and transparent red oxide. 

The warm colors in the sky and along the horizon brought the background forward and took attention away from the palm trees. 

I defined the shapes and experimented with the composition.

The painting still wasn't what I wanted, so I put it away for a couple of weeks. When I returned, I realized that it felt disjointed and needed more harmony in both the colors and the values. 
​The results are in the final image at the beginning of this post.