Yesterday I posted about how this project started, from the first basic idea to the refinement of the process, to the finished set of 30 quick-studies of skies. Here's the 2nd study in the series ...
study # 2 – FEBRUARY LATE AFTERNOON
© Sharon L Hicks, 2013 CP 5 x 7
Most of my life I've been drawn to the sky (no pun intended). Perhaps it stems from my having grown up on the edge of the vast Tantramar Marsh near my hometown, where the sky is a huge endless dome overhead, ever-changing in the vagaries of Maritime weather. It's said that if you don't like the weather in my area, just wait 10 minutes. It'll change.
Many people think of the sky as a clear sheet of blue, but it's so much more than that. I've always marvelled at the amazing nuances of varied colour, even in a 'clear blue sky'. As a child I would study the sky intently, taking in all the various bits of colour I'd see there. I guess at the time I just assumed everyone else saw the same thing, but I've since learned that to many people it's not as obvious as it might appear. I think it's very true that artists do see the world slightly 'differently'.
For myself, I've always observed my surroundings in terms of form, and colour, and contrast ... instead of as 'things'. Gazing down a woodland path, for example, the play of light and the way it changes the appearance of the trees and grass and ground, the way the shadows define the forms, the way the colours sparkle in the light and fade into the shadows ... all these nuances are what I see, all at the same time, and it's sometimes enough to take my breath away. I call it my “aha” moment. I see the world in terms of 'paintings'.
This study is based on a photo I'd taken quite a few years ago, and here is the progression from photo to first step, to completed study. Again, this process took a little over an hour. I started with the cotton balls again, and added some pencil work to the initial draft. Then after I scanned that into a computer file, I finished it with more pencil work.
My photo after 30 minutes after 70 minutes
You can see where I cropped the original photo, to concentrate on the area of sky which first caught my attention. This gives more importance to that little dark cloud floating along surrounded by light and colour. I also just 'suggested' the treeline, and it is rendered basically in silhouette. This serves to call more attention to what's going on above.
The purpose of this set of studies, as I mentioned last week, was not to produce an 'exact replica' of the photos - if I wanted to do that I could just enlarge the photo and frame that! Rather, the goal is to depict a 'feeling' which that sky evoked when I first encountered it.
To accomplish this, I first study the photo intently for a bit, allowing my mind to go back to that point in time when I first witnessed this grand composition of nature. When I'm able to recapture that feeling of awe and grandeur in my mind, then I'm able to transfer that feeling to the painting. It puts 'life' and 'dimension' into an otherwise inanimate flat image on paper.
Stay tuned tomorrow to see the next study in this series, and to see how the process began to evolve as I worked. Till then, take a look upwards when you're outside today - you'll see what I mean.
Cheers
Sharon
