Sargent

Finished country road, thinking of Sargent’s Simplon Pass paintings

coreyaber2 Comments

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I finished this one just now, at least as much as I intend to today. I was thinking of Sargent’s Simplon Pass paintings as I did this. He often chose the ground or a path to occupy most of the work, with a sliver of distance occupying the top. I tried to do the same here while also being pretty loose with the brush. I tried not to overwork it and very the colors in my greens enough (learning from my attempt to paint my golf course view a month ago). I think it came out okay for a pretty quick job. I could have done a lot more to emphasize the tire tracks, but their value was really directional, so the lines and swipes should do. That’s how Sargent would have done it at least.

Thanks for reading.

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Hearst Castle: all but the foreground

coreyaber1 Comment

I finally got into working with the opaque mixtures tonight on the main tree. It’s looking pretty good, but perhaps a little more needs to be done to get at the impression I had in mind. I am new to using opaque with the transparent, so I won’t know for sure until I get the foreground finished with the large flowers. For those I intend to use impasto techniques to really make them pop out–I am thinking of the gondoliers in Sargent’s Bridge of Sighs painting. I like how this is shaping up. A good experiment so far, and I think in the same family still as my elephant seals painting.

Thanks for reading.

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