There is something about autumn by the sea with the gray melancholy wrapped in fall colours.
Do you remember my recent post called “Autumn Sliced with a Tear” and the photograph of the maple trees by the sea?
Do you remember me saying – “today is one of those slow-baked, melancholy west coast Sundays, so moist and tender you can slice it with a tear?”
For about a month I painted and repainted this scene in my mind – maybe a thousand times. I adjusted and readjusted my approach solving one painting problem and then another.
Finally, I pull out an extra-large 36 x 60 inch canvas (that is 3 x 5 feet or just plain BIG) and begin with the underpainting.
They never look like much at this stage but I find it an extremely useful step particularly when working on large paintings. I can now start working up the painting…
The canvas is shiny with wet paint but I can already feel the bruised coolness of fall in the sky and on the water. I keep working and building up the paint.
Days have now past with my dreams waking me up early to paint for many of my waking hours. I am consumed with the transitions between light and shadow and form.
The details show the looseness of easy strokes with two and one inch brushes.
There is the leaves against the sky on the far top right. Nothing but swathes of golden colour added to the sky with a hint of branches to hold them in place.
Then there is the clatter of colour near one of the main tree trunks a the top near the left side of the painting, colours that must roll over and under each other bringing the leaves forward in the painting towards the viewer.
Up close, we see nothing but wild and loose, meandering brushstrokes across the canvas. I like to paint wet-on-wet or ala prima and work a whole canvas up at once. This is no small task on a canvas of this size. But it can be done though it is often not the only painting approached used just because of the grand scale of the canvas. For example, even using this approach it took more than one sitting or painting session to complete this painting.
Finally, my brush and the painting comes to rest. Let’s stand back and have a good look at the whole canvas and see what we find.
I think it is complete, finished, done. Now it must rest and I reserve the right to make any changes that come begging to me during this time. So it is not for sale yet. However, I will let you know when it is. In the meantime feel free to browse through current work that is available at the links below.
UPDATE February 7, 2013
Well, I thought it was done but over the past but over the last couple of months I have made a few changes. Here is the now completed painting…
It is not going to be released anytime soon for sale as I am keeping it in my Artist’s collection for now.
Sprout: If you could be anywhere under a fall sky where would you want to be?
P.S. This is an early warning that Creative Potager will be making some changes in the New Year. They are not big changes but ones that I hope you will welcome as I re-purpose the intent of this blog to reflect the changes in my own focus of providing an online studio experience of work for readers. More on this soon.
ONLINE GALLERIES with Terrill Welch paintings and photography include-
Artsy Home for most original oil paintings currently available
Redbubble for photography prints, greeting cards and posters
Current Local Mayne Island VENUES –
Green House Restaurant – small original oil paintings and photography prints
Farm Gate Store – one large painting
And by appointment at Terrill Welch’s home studio
© 2012 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.
Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch
Creative Potager – Visit with painter and photographer Terrill Welch
From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
Terrill Welch Artist website at http://terrillwelchartist.com
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