Journey to the Sea - Part I

I've worked a bit more on the concept of water's origins and how it wends its way to the sea. This will be a series of six oil paintings, all 8 x 8 on canvas panels. They will then be grouped together to form a larger piece. I so dislike the close up views of a painting or drawing that are presented on a computer and prefer to see a painting from where it should be viewed, at least several feet away. So I've given you a slightly different view as well as the traditional close up.



I started out with some rough thumbnail sketches which are more like me thinking on paper to gel ideas in my head. Then a few plein air sketches of places that may be starting points along the journey.

The progress of water images will be

1. rain/snowmelt,
2. wetlands,
3. brooks,
4. ponds,
5. rivers/waterfalls,
6. rivers meeting the ocean.

This brings me to the first painting in the series. Rain.

A week of water

For the past week I've been creating a series of photographs that show the effect of light on water. I have chosen the same viewpoint and a similar time of day, around 7:45am and taken a photo of whatever light conditions are present.

This past week has been either frigid or warm and wet so the light wasn't brilliant, however the variances in the light, while subtle on some mornings are present even if at first glance there seems to be just grey. And some mornings on the drive to where I take the image, I see glimmers of sunrise through the clouds that I know will have disappeared by the time I reach my destination.

I don't know if I have the dedication to create a 365 day photo project of this viewpoint, but I think that a week a month may be interesting, more so if I choose the days that the lighting is at its most appealing artistically.
Having the record of light conditions on water will be very useful to add to my references.

The water around Newfoundland is, for the most part, very clean and clear. The clarity of the water inspired this piece which is shown on my blog Illustrated Life. The rocks lying just beneath the surface add another dimension to the play of light on the water. While photos don't give the whole picture, they can serve as a bridge between real life and the studio work and in this climate are almost essential as winter makes plein air painting difficult unless from the confines of a car.