Grateful Notices: Soft Sunset, oil on canvas, 24 X 48

Soft Sunset, oil on canvas, 24 X 48 private collection

Occasionally there is a canvas that never makes it to competition. Soft Sunset was one of those pieces, continually evolving, presenting more problems and demanding a good finish.

I have a few of these problem works currently stacked in the studio, patiently waiting for the last brushstrokes to pull it all together. 

This canvas was started at least three years ago and for whatever reason, I found the solution last week. The painting was too bright with a number of colors competing for attention, keeping it out of balance.

I made a big move by adding grays to almost every part of the canvas, allowing just a bit of the original, brighter colors to gleam through. After that, it was a matter of some color and contrast adjustments, a pleasant task.

Perhaps this same strategy will work on some of the other old canvases.....

My sincere thanks to the collectors that purchased this for her home.

Grateful Notices: View through the Orange and Red Woods, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

View through the Orange and Red Woods, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Private collection

This is a simple concept really, bands of trees with a small foreground and glowing background. At least that is what I thought when I began this work. The foreground was kept simple but a number of decisions had to be made as the painting progressed. The tree trunks are not smooth but the ones in the background are. The foreground and background glow but the middle trees do not.

A number of color combinations were tried. I was insisting on the orange / reds, but I couldn't get the primary trees to work to that idea. After many sessions in the studio, I allowed the greens and suddenly, it all began to come together. The dark blues went in, giving interest to the dark areas. That being done, I could finally tune up the yellows and add the rose reds for additional interest.

Finally, I was back working with the original idea of the light coming in behind the trees, adjusting the color and brightness until everything came together as one complex, appealing chord.

My many thanks to the couple that purchased the painting and to Mirada Gallery, CO for your kind help.