Sunday, May 06, 2007

Life/Memory Study

I was struck by the colour of this scene when I saw it, but I didn't have any paint with me, so I quickly sketched it out in pen while taking mental notes about colour so I could paint the scene at home from memory. I find doing that quickly reveals gaps in my knowledge.
I've been trying to fill a few of those gaps with "Carlson's Guide To Lanscape Painting". Solid information in there. Most helpful to me is his theory of the 4 value planes. Lightest usually being the sky, second being the ground plane, third being slanted planes, and fourth being upright planes.

17 Comments:

Blogger Shuku said...

I don't know which one of the two I like best - the unfilled in skeleton or the coloured piece. There's something very dynamic about the bare bones of something like that which makes me purr. At the same time, there's a lushness about the completed work which reminds me of when I was travelling by train to Ireland some 12 years ago - that sort of green, green, muted jewel shade that still lodges into your eyeballs and brain and won't let go.

They're beautiful! Thanks for the info about the colour keys too - I shall indeed try that sometime. And re: the hands - thanks! Hands are SO hard for me to sketch, I'm learning (as much as I hate them) to keep trying and sometimes I pull it off. :P

--Shuku
Whee, colour!

12:07 AM  
Blogger Mark Behm said...

Nice. Makes you see things differently doesn't it? If we could only see everything like we'd have to paint it later.
What's this book? Couldn't get a hit on Amazon.

3:50 PM  
Blogger Marco Bucci said...

Hey Mark. I wish I could see real life purely in terms of paint. I figure guys like Richard Schmid, Craig Mullins, etc must see like that by now. The Carlson book will at least help me take another baby step forward with studies like these.
A search for "John Carlson" on Amazon seems to do the trick:
http://www.amazon.com/Carlsons-Guide-Landscape-Painting-Carlson/dp/0486229270/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-4408888-4008763?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178573801&sr=8-2

He writes well

4:49 PM  
Blogger Shawn Escott said...

I've heard of Carlson's guide. Scott Christensen talks about it in one of his videos. He's a master painter as well. http://www.christensenstudio.com. That's great that you are studying classical painting to help your design and artwork. Inspiring!

5:17 PM  
Blogger bog_art said...

It is difficult for me to paint landscaping while I am seeing it.. and now you can do it without see it!!.. amazing as always..

6:50 PM  
Blogger Marco Bucci said...

Thanks guys - Shawn, I own one of Christen's videos as well! In fact, that's how I found out about John Carlson. I have the one where he does the 3 quick studies. Another one of my favourite painters... man, there are so many.

10:13 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

WOW!! Freakin slick post Marco!! Love the color job

10:30 PM  
Blogger Kt Shy said...

That's so lovely, Marco! Looks so soft and inviting... I wanna fall asleep on that tree! :D

2:29 PM  
Blogger Adrian Lubbers said...

Love the color key studies Marco. This one is great too.

3:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nice job, I love the colour in this one. You've got me curious about this Carlson's book too.

12:22 PM  
Blogger Dominic Bugatto said...

turned out great, nice 'feel' throughout.

8:04 AM  
Blogger Israel Yang said...

looks just like a plein air, nice job. i have painted a couple paintings with similar approach too, but they didn't turn out as nice :)

12:07 PM  
Blogger Shawn Escott said...

Nice! I saw the one where he paints a studio painting from a field study. Amazing! I'd like to see him paint a field study. The way he talks about "bending" color is a nice way to think about it. :)

10:44 AM  
Blogger Nelson Santos said...

Perfect strokes Marco!

11:04 AM  
Blogger Ken Chandler said...

Amazing colors. Really great study. Your color keys are fantastic too. Great work all around!

7:18 PM  
Blogger Andy C. said...

I like the painting. It is such a warm, gentle, and fuzzy-like feeling to it. What brushes did you use?

9:39 PM  
Blogger Tom Kidd said...

You really capture the light well here. The tree's shadow across the grass is perfect.

I'm not familiar with the 4 value planes theory. Interesting.

3:11 PM  

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