Step 1
The summer of 2005 I visited the Joseph Smith Family Farm in Palmyra New York. While there I did many sketchbook drawings, and also took some digital photos with my […]
Step 2
My painting begins with a visit to the Smith farm. I spend several hours walking around the farm, doing pencil studies in my sketch book.
Step 3
A black and white photo of the scene I intend to paint. Using your computer you can knock the color out of a photo to study the value relationships. I […]
Step 4
I start all my paintings with a small 3 x 5 value study. This helps me refine the composition as well as work out the value patterns which are so […]
Step 5
When my design is complete, I work out a light pencil drawing on 300 lb Arches watercolor paper using a hard 4H pencil.
Step 6
I begin with the lightest washes of color in the sky and foreground, preserving the lightest lights as necessary.
Step 7
As I paint the dark shapes behind the building you can see how they reveal the lighter shapes of the buildings in front of them. This is called “negative painting.”
Step 8
When darker washes are laid in, the shapes begin to form. Notice that we identify edges of objects due to contrast of light and dark values.
Step 9
The finished painting has a warm, autumn feel because of the colors I’ve chosen. It is not a replication of a photo, but a new image creation.
