I am a master...at overworking paintings.
I am generally pleased with my paintings at about 75% in and am still not sure why I often go the extra 25%. I explore this topic often, and it continues to haunt me. I have read and re-read (and read again) an article by Charles Movalli called, “In Praise of Painterly Painters”, which explores the love of painting outdoors and the idea of when the painting is complete. His general conclusion is that, “there’s a value to spontaneity that ‘finish’ can never equal”. I like his use of the word, “value”. My translation of his statement is that we shouldn’t miss the information or excitement along the way just to get to an expected ending point. The concept is of course subjective, but I am in total agreement based on what kind of art moves me to my core, which is art that leaves something to the imagination.
The painting below is a good example of the “value” of simply gathering information outdoors. I was on location at 10:45 am on May 6, 2014. Although I was quite taken with the barn, trees, and wildflowers in the field, my motivation to paint the scene was based more on the light bathing these elements at this particular hour of the day. It was just glowing!
I blocked in simple shapes paying close attention to value. I added only enough information to convey the light conditions and to generally identify the scene. Then I stopped. I got what I was after.
I will enjoy using this 9x12 study to create a larger format painting in the studio. There I will take the time to put my stamp on it with brushwork and color.
finish line blog anne
"Spring Beauty" (9x12 oil on linen)
finish line blog anne 2