Twilight Time, Step 5

The color underpainting

I continue to paint working from top to bottom and from back to front, roughing in approximate colors as a foundation. I'm careful to preserve my drawing and the values of the burnt umber underpainting. These new colors should be a tad darker than were I ultimately one to end up.

At this point, it's all very general and I can make changes at any time. It brings me to the point where I can evaluate if this is where I want to be.    

Twilight Time, Step 4

The burnt umber underpainting

After the line drawing, I then proceeded to do a value painting in burnt umber to use as a basis for my painting.  This helps me a lot because at this point I can see the values and the composition of the painting without investing a whole lot of time. It tells me everything I need to know.  

Then I roughed in the sky following the previous sky photo. I avoided the reflections from the trees and buildings as I will painting them last...after everything else is in it's place and I know what needs reflections and where.  

Twilight Time, Step 3

Transferring the drawing onto the canvas

I am using one of the canvasses that I have prepared using Belgian linen on commercial stretcher bars. After the application of rabbit skin glue and several coats of gesso, I then tone the canvas with a neutral color in a middle value.  Shown here I the canvas gridded every inch with a light touch of soft vine charcoal.  I have numbered the squares 1-24 across top and 1-14 down the left side.

Then using the gridded and edited photograph, I carefully follow the lines to enlarge the drawing to the final size. I try to be as accurate as possible.

Then I carefully wipe off the gridded lines just leaving the lines for the painting.  There is no place for detail at this stage.

Twilight Time, Step 2

Creating the painting from combining photos

On regular bond paper I printed the jpg with the houses and pond. I mounted it on a scrap of foam core and then with my oils, I painted in the sunset from the other photo. I added a little out-building on the left to balance the large shape of the houses. It's the steelyard composition format where a small item toward the edge of a canvas can balance a much larger similar shape nearer to the center. Think see-saw.

     Somewhere along the way I decided to make it a 14 x 24, so I could use a custom-made frame that I had bought years ago and was just sitting around collecting dust.

I decided the scene needed more foliage and so I added trees behind the house and reshaped others to give it a feeling that it had been in that location nearly forever. Aesthetically, the softer shapes of the trees offset the harsh straight lines of the buildings.  Of course, all that meant that I had to change the reflections too.

I was happy with the way this was going, and so I taped Saran wrap to it and gridded it with a fine permanent marker. There are 24 columns and 14 rows to correspond to my canvas proportions. 

Twilight Time, Step 1

The Inspiration

Several years ago I visited friends in Germany and we went to a Marriott Resort outside of Paris for a week.  This resort was fashioned after Claude Monet's home in Giverny.  I took many photos and finally got around to painting from one, or actually from several.  Click here to see the final Twilight Time on my website.

Below are several photographs that inspired me...the sunset behind these wonderful buildings and the reflections in the pond. So I set out to combine the two. The second photo shows how I lightened the darks in Photoshop. Now you can see my friend in the garden photographing the flowers.