Learning and Growing--Cypress Swamp Work in Progress

I just got back to this cypress swamp piece today after working on a new, larger landscape painting for awhile. I had mentioned in my last post that I was using Linda Blondheim's e-critique service in the early stages of this 8" x 10" study. She was complimentary of the overall composition at the point I showed you last time, but asked, "What do you plan as the focal point?" Even though I was liking it in that form, with the simple pattern of cypress trunks against a soft background, it did need something more to draw the viewer's eye. The reference photos (seen in the previous post), as you may recall, came from our visit to Babcock Wilderness Adventures, a tour of extensive, varied preserve areas near Punta Gorda, on Florida's Gulf Coast.

I experimented, just lightly sketching one or more egrets or other wading birds in various spots in the scene, but they seemed "too much" somehow. I liked the simplicity and relative emptiness of the piece and wanted just a hint of something more. But what? Walking past the pond in our neighborhood just as a frog, turtle (or some critter) put a nose up gave me an interesting idea. Perhaps I could suggest the rich underwater life in this swamp without showing any particular creature by painting in some ripples to suggest that a frog, fish, or maybe even a gator had broken the surface of the otherwise still water. So, here is a start in that direction, which I hope will add a subtle hint of life.

I will continue to texture the nearest cypress trunk to the ripples (right foreground). Now that a subtle center of interest will be there, I will reinforce that with more contrast and texture and will tone down the trunk in the left foreground just a bit to avoid competing. There is also more work to do (as you can see) in developing and filling in the background and in completing the water and reflections. This one is developing slowly, given its relatively small size, but I am completely enjoying the process and am in no hurry. Given that I may paint the scene in a larger format later, I believe that taking care with composition and values now will be well worth it. Even if this is the only version ever, it is providing a pleasant creative journey.

Question of the day: Do you suppose that the tranquility of the cypress swamp I am representing has influenced my mood and pace in this work? The process has not caused any frustration--unlike some other slow-to-fruition works. Thank you, Florida Wilderness.

Learning and Growing--Painting Process for a Study of a Cypress Swamp

This work-in-progress is an 8" x 10" study using reference photos (I have posted two of them) from our visit to Babcock Wilderness Adventures, near Punta Gorda, Florida, on the Gulf Coast. I am considering what to paint on a 30" x 40" canvas waiting in the closet, which is larger than anything I have attempted so far. So, I am planning a few studies to try out some possibilities.

I first made full-page black and white copies of a couple of my photos to help me see the layout clearly. I love color so much that I have trouble seeing the "values" in a potential composition. "Value" refers to the relative lightness or darkness of objects, as if on a grey scale, and interesting value variation is a crucial element in good composition. Failing to consider value relationships can lead to a bland result, even if colors are varied and pleasing. I decided to make the sky and some of the background just a half-tone darker than they look in the photo so that the sunlight on the cypress trunks would draw the eye as the lightest areas in the piece. The reflections in the water also needed to be darker for the contrast and sense of mystery I hoped to achieve.

The actual scene has a cluttered appearance that is fascinating in nature, but not necessarily good in a painting. So, I decided to concentrate on the powerful cypress trunks themselves, to have some semi-abstracted vegetation on the far bank, and to leave most of the rest out. That one diagonal line in the photo is appealing, but just stole the whole show in my preliminary sketches (even though it was not intended to be a focal point), so I regretfully left that out, too.

I'll say more about the palette colors and later composition decisions when I post the final version--it is nearly done. Today, I wanted to show you the way I revised the scene before painting. Given that I was leaving out so much, the piece needed (in my opinion) a few more cypress trees. So, I played "cut and paste" with the photocopies until I had a pleasing arrangement of five trees, receding to the far bank. A rough line drawing helped in assessing placement.

Linda Blondheim provided very useful advice, as I was using her e-critique services during the early stages of this study. After getting the piece to the stage in the photo above, I had put it away while I completed a larger work and now am ready to finish it. Linda's question, "What do you intend as the focal point?" had me experimenting with a few possible finishing details. Soon, I will show you the result.

Question of the day: I love to hear about other people's thinking processes--in any context, whether is has to do with art or not. Do you find that interesting, too?

Exploring--Babcock Wilderness Adventures in Punta Gorda, Florida

Last week, Mark and I visited Punta Gorda, Florida, on Charlotte Harbor, a large bay off the Gulf of Mexico. Although it was much chillier than normal there (but a good 8 - 12 degrees warmer than we would have been at home in Jacksonville), we had a pleasant, relaxing visit to this beautiful area. We have explored other Gulf Coast cities and towns, but Punta Gorda was new to us. By far our favorite vacation outing was to Babcock Wilderness Adventures, a 90,000 acre working ranch and farm with an extensive nature preserve.

The history and present operation of the ranch fascinated us, but I won't report all that in this post. Interested readers can visit the Babcock Wilderness web site for more information.

The guided "swamp buggy" tour, lasting over 90 minutes, traveled through a variety of habitats, from sweeping Florida prairie, to deep woods, to silent cypress swamp. According to our guide, we were particularly fortunate in the number and variety of animals and birds we saw that day--many quite close. Several deer, one with a very young fawn, quietly watched us watching them, alert but showing no fear. Alligators who had found sunny spots on that cool day moved only a wary eyeball as we stopped to view and photograph them. Wild hogs and the unique Florida Cracker cattle breed are both protected here and gleefully ran to the bus (the hogs) or sauntered over (some of the cattle) to take corn feed from our guide. The photo ops were numerous, and I'll show you some of the animals and scenery in a future post.

Today's photos show a few of the magnificent birds we saw. The Great White Egret is taller than those we see in North Florida, but is otherwise very similar to ours. The Sandhill Crane blends so perfectly into the dry winter brush that we could spot it only by its characteristic facial markings. The male wild turkeys, apparently entering mating season, proudly displayed their tail feathers and strutted their stuff. Our visit seemed perfectly timed for sightings of these and many other birds, including ibis, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, and bald eagles.

Question of the day: What area within a four or five hour drive of your home would you like to explore, and what would you do and see there?