Work in Progress--Dune, Ocean, and Sea Oats Painting

This North Florida dune painting has been difficult for me to assess and complete. The reference photos were taken in dim conditions, so I am trying to recreate the brighter glow of some late afternoons at the beach just from my memory and from more recent walks on our Atlantic Ocean beaches. However, none of the days I have gone recently have had the atmospheric and light conditions I remember from a certain summer day. Late day photos I have taken in other locations along the shore have been some help, but haven't solved all the problems.

As many of us who make any sort of thing (art work, cake, cabinet, poem, garden, scrapbook, tin whistle, song, quilt, . . . ) know, some creations are more satisfying than others. I always struggle with each painting, but some really please me when they are finished. Others, less so. I have learned from experience that a piece I do not like as well as others may still appeal to someone else. In a previous post, I described how a painting delighted a client of the Trends Home Decor shop (although I did not mention that I had never liked that piece much and once considered painting something else over it!). She ignored all the other pieces I had in the shop and bought my least favorite. Viva la difference, n'est pas?

So, here's the thing. I have this particular work in progress (a 12" x 16" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas) hanging on the wall and feel strongly that it needs further revision. I also know that it will probably never be a favorite among my creations, so have to resist overworking it and ruining any good qualities it might have. Interestingly, when I photographed it, looking at the photo gave me a bit of distance, and the piece didn't seem quite so bad.

The more distant beach line still needs work. It has been very hard to get the right perspective, to show how the dune slopes down onto the beach in the near right corner compared to the glimpse of the shoreline farther away, past the edge of the dune. I also may have made the sky too blue and bright for a late afternoon, although it sometimes looks this way, and I really don't want to grey it down much. Finally, this stretch of dune had a much thicker stand of sea oats, which would be an unattractive visual mess if exactly duplicated on canvas. I'd like to add a few more stalks, smaller and less prominent than those featured here, but don't want to overdo it.

Any suggestions you might have would be very welcome. Please don't just flatter the piece (you readers are all so sweet and kind); it does need some revision. What do you think?

Question of the day: How critical are you of your own creations and production? To what extent does your self-criticism work in your favor, and when does it hinder you?

Learning--New Painting of North Florida Beach, "Spring Breezes"

Adapted (fairly freely) from a photo I took at Jacksonville Beach, this painting shows a dune crossing at a relatively quiet spot along our amazing off-shore island. Wildflowers were loving the early spring warmth (hint, the photo was not taken this past, unusually chilly, winter) on a March day. "Spring Breezes" developed slowly, even though I had made sketches and careful plans. Something about the look of it seemed lifeless to me along the way in spite of the bright blossoms. Fortunately, I was scheduled for another month of e-critique with my painting mentor, Linda Blondheim, and she helped me realize my original vision--plus.

Today, I won't go through the whole story of the evolution of this piece. Perhaps I will post more details about the painting process soon, but for now, have decided to let it speak for itself. After all, if visual art needs words, we are not fully doing our job :>). Of course, some visual art is meant to be paired with words or other media, and that can be wonderful. That was not the plan in this case, and I hope it stands alone. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see more detail, but I also have some detail photos to accompany a future post about the painting process. Just one note about the scene: If you are familiar with Jacksonville Beach, you know that our dunes are not really this high. Hence my earlier disclaimer about freely adapting the actual scene--using my "artistic license" again, friends. Just one more thought before I close for today:

Question of the day: For me, the paintings that I have struggled with most sometimes grow on me, even becoming favorites. Does that happen for you--whether in visual arts or any other challenging undertaking?

Learning--Reference Photos for New Landscape Painting Projects

Each of these photos is slated to serve as a reference for a new coastal North Florida landscape painting. The sandpiper feeding in the foam spun by Atlantic Ocean waves is started on a 9" x 12" canvas board. So far, the major change from the photo is to swap positions of the bird and seaweed debris--didn't want our feathered friend skittering right out of the painting :>). The major challenge of this piece will be to render a pleasing, faithful impression of the sea foam and the wet shimmer on the sand. Even in the photo, that ridge of foam looks a bit unreal--so stay tuned for how my wrestling with it all turns out. It will be great for my learning process to work on this scene.

I think I mentioned the other photo a few posts ago when we had some fun conversation (thank you, thank you, commenters!!!) about a dune scene that left the viewer no clear way to cross over to the beach. This scene shows one of many dune-preserving boardwalks on Jacksonville Beach, the only permitted way to cross our precious dunes in order to protect them and the life forms they support.

Right now, I have just begun to sketch possible compositions for the new dune scene. The photo cuts the composition almost in half vertically--not acceptable. Secondly, I am not happy with the way the foot bridge competes for attention with the white fence. So, I have been juggling the elements in thumbnail sketches in a way to feature the foot bridge, the intended focal point. Once the plan for the composition is ready, I will consider the palette--will punch up the color and contrast some, but still keep it natural and a bit soft. Lots to think about for this one. It's time for me to paint something new in an 18" x 24" size (or possibly even larger). Dune Crossing may be the one.

Question of the day: If you are an artist or have a creative hobby, what is your planning process? Are you more intuitive and inclined to pursue that flash of inspiration spontaneously; do you have a meticulous planning or preparation process; or are you somewhere in between?

Learning and Growing--Critique Service Results on Dune Painting

On February 1, when I posted this 12" x 16" painting as a work in progress (the small photo), it was ready for comments from my painting mentor, Linda Blondheim. You can scroll down to that post for more information about Linda's teaching services and a link to her website. I had signed up for her e-critique service for the month of February and have found it immensely valuable in the development of five paintings. I was aware of several changes this piece needed, and Linda suggested other modifications--most of which I included in the revision. By the way, I photographed the earlier version in much brighter light, so please don't think that the whole painting is darker now. If you'd like to see more detail, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

The work seems about finished to me, but you will notice that it is not yet signed. That means it will rest for awhile so that I can live with it and decide if any further tweaking is desirable. As I have mentioned before, knowing when to stop revising is both crucial and difficult in any art form. The piece is based on reference photos from a June visit to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean over the dunes. All along Jacksonville's offshore islands, the dunes are protected so that natural vegetation and critters can thrive; beach visitors may cross to the beach only on boardwalks.

For those of you who are interested, here are the main details of the revision. Probably the most noticeable change is the stronger, darker fence. Since it is the focal point, it needed more drama in size and tonal value. Even those of you who paint may not guess what gave me the most trouble in this piece--it's the top half of the dune on the right. In the earlier version, the tall grasses drew attention to themselves and distracted both from the fence and from the bright wildflowers that I considered a secondary focal area. As Linda and I considered various possible fixes, I first painted the grass out completely but did not like the look of the dune completely bare either. My final solution was to cover more of that dune with grasses, carefully keeping them soft, nearly uniform, and neutral in tone so that they would blend with the dune and not pull attention away from more important areas. Other changes in tonal balance (degrees of dark and light) on the horizon line, on the sunlit left dune top, and in the foreground increased the interest and drama of the scene. The ocean is deliberately kept as a quiet area, somewhere for the viewer's eye to rest, as one looks out toward an interesting, but not overly dramatic, sky. The painting now captures my impression of that lovely June day.

Question of the day: In your creative projects, do you enjoy the ups and downs of the process, or do you feel impatient for completion?