Fruits of the workshop...2 paintings

At the Roger Dale Brown workshop we learned how to stand in front of the view and make decisions about what to include and what to leave out. It was overwhelming to study the subject matter and boil it down to a few elements and then try to capture not only the objects, but also the feeling of the place...the old rusty barn roof looking blue in the sunlight; the stillness, but not stagnant, creek all yellow-green and silent; the profusion of foliage just starting to turn fall colors. So you stand there and put paint on the canvas, push it around and maybe sigh... a lot. 


But then you get to take what you started back into the studio with a few reference photos and work on correcting the problems, switching up colors and values, brightening the hues and it gets a little closer to what you had in mind in the first place.  Still a few problems...funny how they show up in a photograph of the painting when you hadn't really noticed them before.  I am so hungry for the day that all the mental work that goes into creating a truly beautiful painting becomes second nature for me. In the meantime, I'm going to keep a little "cheat sheet" taped to my easel reminding me of what to not forget!


So my two unnamed paintings from the workshop: a Leipers Fork barn on the left and a little silver tree on the right. Let me know what you think, my friends :)