Landscape Painting - Revisions

Hey all. I know I've been a bit lax re the blog but never fear I am still here.

My minds been full of painting lately, I've been on a revision kick sparked by some keen insights regarding my use of photo reference, composition and interest. 

I'll be writing quite a few posts about these revisions I've been doing in the near future. Today I'm going to talk about this painting "Twilight Ember".

"Twilight's Ember"  (12x16) by M Francis McCarthy

I'm quite pleased with this painting now. I completed it last week.

Below I'm showing the 5x7 sketch that is very similar to Twilight Ember's first color stage. After I painted the color layer on the 12x16 version, I was not as happy with my motif, the sky, the tightness of my tree drawing or the grassy field.

Many of these problem areas are only suggested by the 5x7 shown here. 

At the small size I wasn't aware that I had any issues really. 12x16 is much bigger though and after my first color layer it was apparent that I was going to have a blah painting on my hands unless I made some changes.

Summer Pastuire (12x16) by M Francis McCarthy

Here's what I did:

• The sky was a nice transition from grey to peachy, but it was what I call "tubey" meaning that the spaces between clouds were to regular and not varied enough. I repainted the sky with an interesting glowing sunset going all the way up into a deep dusky grey blue.
• I removed that tree in the middle so I could install a better focal point in the space created.
• I completely did a 180 on the view. previously the sun was on the trees, now it is behind.
• I painted in a little brook where before there were only grasses. I feel like the scene would benefit from a higher horizon but I kind of like the uniqueness of the viewpoint as is.
• I created dark foliage in front of the trees on the right. I did this to help direct the viewers eye and create more mystery.

All in all I'm happy. It's not perfect but I enjoy looking at it far more now and I feel that it's over all a satisfying painting.

I hope you are getting something from this breakdown and that it helps you to look at your own work with that important critical eye. 

Don't be afraid to tear a painting down and rebuild it if there are apparent issues in it. You may utterly mess it up but there's no real  limit to how many times you can rework it if you need to.

Cheers,

Illustration - Graphic Quality

For years in my art I pursued what I'll call a "Graphic Quality".

This quality is created by the placement of blacks and also very much by the type of hatching used to render the halftones.

I look at my work from a quarter century ago and I notice how carefully each stroke is placed. Back in the day I always worked in ink directly with a deep reverence for line.

I still have a respect for line and that graphic quality but after decades of doing art commercially and otherwise I'm not as precious with things now.

"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec" by M Francis McCarthy

Is that a bad thing?

Sometimes I think so, but looking at my old work I can see the "try" in it. I see the effort to stretch my limitations.

These days I'm more comfortable with my artistic limitation. Being older and more aware that they exist helps. But also, I enjoy communicating with art directly, confident that my unique approach as an individual will more than suffice.

Are you enamored with the graphic quality of your art and that of other artists whom you admire?

If so, no worries but be aware that the best graphic style is the one that comes naturally as by product of you as a unique artist. As I've stated before and no doubt will again. Your time is best spent doing so much art that it becomes second nature. Then style, graphic or otherwise, will manifest brilliantly.

Cheers,

A bit about Mr Lautrec: I did this back in 1988. I had found a photo in a book that inspired this illustration. I inked this on vellum with a rapidograph. 

Vellum sorta sucks as an inking substrate. For starters the ink dries slow so is easy to smear. Also the ink just kinda lays there and you have to will it about. Still in the pre computer age it was one way of preserving you're original pencil drawing and I did use it once in awhile.

Deadlines

I fist became acquainted with deadlines working as a manager for Jab Art Enterprises.

Every job we shipped had a tight deadline that could not be missed. Work crews would most often be at the destination site and scheduled to hang the art on a specific date. 

Year in and out I hit those dates though many times I might be the last one there, loading a truck at 11:00 at night.

Later as the art director at Jack Nightingale Artworks I was responsible for scheduling our workload and getting the art out on time and also making sure it was good art. 

The business JNA was in is competitive and there was always lots of good art for the buyers to choose from.

Glacier Point Illustration by M Francis McCarthy
Copyright Jack Nightingale Artworks

I never missed a deadline at JNA in the thirteen years I was there and we put out some great stuff on razor thin time margins. 

Deadlines can actually stimulate good work even though time is tight. I feel that this is because our subconscious mind becomes more fully engaged in an emergency situation and works double time to provide us with needed answers quickly. 

The ability to access that part of our minds when it would help most is one thing that separates the winners from the losers in commercial art. Personally, I found it annoying when the other artist there Rico would tell me that I could receive art from him fast or I could have it good. 

What utter bollocks and completely untrue. 

I saw the work that other artists were doing in our field and I knew damn well from chatting with some of them at trade shows like Magic in Las Vegas, that their schedules were just as full and the times just as tight as in our art department. 

I'll blog a bit about Magic some other time but for now I'll say that its the worlds largest apparel trade show and that I attended it every year from 2000 to 2009.

If your looking to produce more work and of an often higher quality, set yourself some deadlines and stick to them. 

You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. 

Also if you, like Rico thinks it can be fast or good, hopefully I've disabused you of that misguided attitude and you can now start getting the art out a bit quicker and stop farting around.

Cheers,

A bit about "Glacier Point": This is illustration number 1001 I did of Yosemite's Half dome .. Just kidding, but I did illustrate half-dome at least 100 times in different ways, shapes and colors. 

I was always fond of this design. I think the illustration is real nice and I also like what Jack did with the type here. Jack was and probably still is great with type. We could be a great team as he was strong with design and I was with illustration. 

Unfortunately, sometimes he would lay some real stinky designs that I'd be forced to send out. He was the "Creative Director" after all, not to mention being one of the owners of the business. 

I did my best to polish those turds...

Painting - Composition

The importance of composition in landscape painting cannot be underestimated. It is the main thing that I feel improves in my work as I paint the landscape over and over.

As artists, we are responsible for moving the viewer through the picture. Failure to do this well will always result in mediocre pictures. 

The brain filters out huge chunks of the data coming in through our visual sense  A critical job of the artist is to do this filtering action for his viewer, presenting them with a predetermined journey through the painting.

"Riverside Reflections"  (8x12) by M Francis McCarthy

That "journey" is what is primarily created when we correctly use composition in our pictures.

Much of what we do as artists in this regard is intuitive. We just know when it feels right. Much also can be learned by studying the paintings of artists you admire. Far less is graspable when you read about the subject in books.

There are some great books on composition one I love is by Edgar Payne Composition of Landscape Painting. Another I've been trying to read is Composing Pictures by Donald Graham, I just scanned a review of this on Amazon an that review wasn't feeling it either. 

From my experience the best way to learn about good composition is to do a lot of paintings. As you do these paintings try to remember that a path must be mapped by you through each work you create. 

I'm going to mention using photography as a major area of potential concern at it pertains to composition. 

Speaking from experience,  though you can utilize composition skills when shooting your reference material, you are still just flattening raw nature.

A painting must be composed. mimicry and rote copying of nature results in paintings, but many times they will be hit or miss unless the reference photo has been re invented. To do this the limitations of the photo must be overcome by direct intervention from the imagination of the artist.

Cheers,

A bit about "Riverside Reflections". This is a recent painting thats made it through my recent repainting cull without being reworked. There is much I love about "Riverside Reflections" and somethings I'd rethink when revisiting this motif. 

Over all, the painting has the quiet feeling of twilight that I was after and exhibits a nice luminescent quality. It's currently hanging at the Yvonne Rust Gallery located at the Quarry Arts Center in Whangarei California. 

Reworking

Lately I've been reworking a lot of paintings. Not my favorite way of working but as an artist I must follow my muse.

It's tempting to let something go that you can see flaws in. 

Tempting yes, but ultimately it works against us as artists as it dilutes the over all quality of our oeuvre. 

Why that matters is different to each of us. It does matter to me. I want my best stuff here representing myself and my work after I've exited this mortal coil. I don't want a bunch of also ran paintings sorted through the mix

Gorilla by M Francis McCarthy 

A while back I found that I could produce more good paintings by planning things out before painting. 

That did indeed work for quite a while. However, there are limits to what planning can achieve. Especially when working in the studio from photos and drawings.

I've written about some of the pitfalls inherent in working from photographs here. 

Even knowing what I do about all the pitfalls I've gotten zapped on about a dozen or so recent works.

As a consequence most need reworking to be brought up to the level I think they should be as landscape paintings. I've been reworking paintings for the last few weeks now and to a good effect in most cases.

Generally I've avoided reworking paintings in the past for a few reasons:

• Picking at paintings is a recipe for disaster and is too easy to do if you don't leave your work alone.
• Nothing is ever perfect. It's good realize this and let things be.
• Gotta keep moving. Better to produce many paintings, than spend too much time picking and scratching at a few.

I've recently hit a new plateau as a painter and because of that I'm "seeing" things I id not before. Since the paintings are recent and not in galleries or on display anywhere I'm free to try and bring them up to the level of my current vision. That's a good reason to repaint in my view.

I share this part of my painting journey in the hopes that it will help some of you that have also reached similar plateaus in your work.

Cheers,

A bit about "Gorilla" He is inked using pen and ink and also the computer. Many times I would print out photos and work directly on the image with pen or brush. Then scan in and finish the image. 

I was always short on time at Jack Nightingale Artworks and this was one of my many coping strategies. Gorilla came out pretty well but using photos like this can be a seductive potential trap even for experienced illustrators. You have been warned...

Intuition vs Intellect

Intellect battles intuition and always wins unless you keep on your toes.

It's too easy to drown out that quiet inner voice. Too easy to think we know what we're doing even if what we're doing is at cross purposes with our true intentions as artists.

I've written before about intuition here.

There is a reason that intuitive types are compelled by the arts. All art requires almost countless decisions to be made. The intellect alone finds this process tiring while our subconscious mind can do the same work automatically and effortlessly.

" Halfdome" by M Francis McCarthy

Both aspects of our mind are required to do art. The intuition must have a direction and intention to work it's magic upon. And it is magical as it can solve mountains of problems in a single bound and get us to the answers we need.

My Studio at The Quarry Arts Center in Whangarei, New Zealand
Also pictured is Denny the Poodle, My cohort at arms.

"I'm convinced already! What can I do to tap into this intuition more?" you're saying.

Great question, you'll excuse me while I break out the bullets.

To access our intuitions more fully we can:

• Do that thing we just thought of doing. Don't put it off, act now.
• Take a stab with the brush loaded, at a spot on the painting that's bothering you. Then, deal with it...
• Don't lie to yourself when you see something wrong in your work. Intuition is always trying to point out those bad areas. BTW my personal tendency is to drown this voice out with lots of justifications.
• Pick up that book, find that bit of reference or ask that person to pose that you've been thinking about.
• Look for coincidence. 
• Welcome the random into your work.
• Paint once, think twice.
• Use the biggest brush possible and turn that thing. Make it work.

You get the idea.

Cheers,

About today's illustration "Half-dome" this was done back in 2003 or so and was used as the basis for quite a few tee shirt designs. It was inked with a dip type pen and then scanned in and finished using a Wacom Tablet and Stylus. This Sucker is copyrighted by Jack Nightingale Artworks and reproduced here for portfolio, editorial and illustrative purposes only.

Art is for the Brave

To create art one must be brave. You can draw, paint or invest your time in art installations but to create Art with a capitol "A" you must be brave.

You must step out side of your comfort zone.

You need to do that thing you think might work instead of the thing that you know will serve but could be bettered.

"Look, who?" by M Francis McCarthy

Don't be afraid. Do that hard thing and don't look back.

"What if it sucks" You say.

Ok, then it will and you'll feel bad. But if you keep at it you know you've at least tried to make Art instead of being happy with craft and kidding yourself that you don't know the difference.

Be brave. Make Art. 

Really, the worlds got enough of everything, except real art that touches others at the core of who and what they are as people.

Cheers,

A bit about "Look, Who?" This guy was created over a span of 10 years. He originated as a doodle on my desktop calender pad at Jab-Art Enterprises in about 1992. I scanned him into my computer at some point and colored him in 1994. Years later I changed the background and tweaked him some. I've always liked the pan in the face look on this guy.