As a sort of journalistic experiment, I’m going to follow the development of my recently started Paysage planétaire painting through several blog posts. This should be interesting, and maybe disastrous, since I don’t know how the painting is going to turn out. For me, creating is perhaps like giving birth to something — that something has a unique and independent existence. (Or, to put a humorous spin on it, sometimes I feel like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein — “It’s alive!”) Yes, I have a lot do with how it turns out, but ultimately the work takes on a life of its own. If things go well, it’s almost as if the painting paints itself. So far, I think it’s going well.
So recall where I left it the other day:
Essentially this what is classically referred to as the “cartoon” – just the outline. I also added a little texture and shading in blacks, whites and grays. Today I started filling in the underpainting:
First blue sky. Then I started adding some greens:
Essentially I’m taking a layered approach, or a semi-layered approach. I could have done it all alla prima, wet-on-wet, in one big session. My plan is to finish the underpainting in this fashion, and then do a big alla prima overpainting to finish it off. That will either complete the piece — or ruin it.
Here’s where I’ve left it tonight:
The underpainting is not quite done. I’ll finish that up soon. And I’m going to find the reference to “paysage planétaire” and report back here.
Oh, in case you’re wondering the reference for this piece is a photograph I took in the Adirondacks (upstate New York) a few summers ago. I’m not going to show that photo here since it is only a point of reference, an inspiration for the work, and not the work itself. I don’t want to invite comparisons between this inspiration and the painting, which is definitely it’s own thing. I’m not a fan of the concept of “representation” in art (at least as I currently understand it). But I’ll save that topic for another day.
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