Thursday, June 6, 2019

Painting in a Weird Forest

Let's hunt down the weird magic of the wild woods.

I carry my sketching gear far into the woods along an overgrown horse trail.  It's close to the spot that I painted in March, when it was still covered in snow.


I use a limited palette of gouache over a casein underpainting.  
Weird Forest, gouache over casein underpainting
Along the way I face several challenges: mud, ticks, centipedes, and rain, not to mention the complexity of the vines and branches. His companion is the husky dog "Smooth."

Here's how I express the feeling I'm trying to convey in the picture: "We're traveling toward light through a jungle of chaos...and I better get back before the rain starts."
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SELECTED MATERIALS
Richeson Casein
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4 comments:

  1. arturoquimicoJune 6, 2019 at 1:49 PM

    Great special effects... but as I understand it... this type of painting is not about the struggle of trees... but a subconscious reminder of the birth moment... great video!

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  2. Sherry SchmidtJune 6, 2019 at 7:23 PM

    Really enjoyed this piece, the painting and the video.

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  3. Tom HartJune 7, 2019 at 7:01 AM

    Combines the best qualities of Gurney videos: instructional and meditative, with a healthy dose of reality (ticks and rain showers) added for good measure. Oh, and a beautiful painting results!

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  4. SteveJune 7, 2019 at 7:28 AM

    And all accomplished with the one brush (number 8 round?) found buried in the pencil case. I was prepared to learn you’d done the painting with a twig and some leaves, but still. Great reminder that tools are subordinate to motivation and skill. So many of us wouldn’t have gotten past the jungle of self-imposed limitations: “The path is flooded.” “There are ticks.” “I forgot my brushes.” “There’s nothing interesting in this view.”

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