Thursday, March 7, 2013

"Summer Song"

"Summer Song" 14x11 acrylic
As you can see, the great blue heron in the original composition (see previous post) has given way to a pair of smaller birds (rose-breasted grosbeaks). I really wanted this painting to be about the sun-drenched rocks in the middleground... in particular, the warm reflected light on the shaded side of the biggest boulder. The heron seemed to be competing with that idea.
I also kicked around the idea of leaving out the large driftwood stump on the rocks to the right side of the painting. I love the warm hues reflected on the underside of the stump, but worried it wouldn't read well when painted. In the end, I think it worked out nicely and I'm happy I didn't edit it out.
Finally, I may add a unifying wash to the background to help pull that area together a bit, but I haven't made up my mind on that yet.

1 comment:

Jeff said...

Jim,
Very nice, but took about an evolution.
This is a long work in the making, but so cool to see the transitions.
Hope to see you soon.

Best,

Jeff