Color Relationships

In landscape painting, being able to express the atmospheric circumstances is desirable. Whether it is rainy, foggy, sunny or dull, all of it can be captured by closely observing the relationship between the colors of the scene before putting it down on canvas or paper.

All three dimensions of color - hue, value and croma, change with changing weather and even with the changing hours of the day.

Light illuminates objects differently according to the angle at which it touches down. That affects the hue or color we see.

Shadows will appear darker when the sun is stronger, less contrasting when the light is weak. The result is a constantly changing value relationship between the elements of the composition, one of the difficulties in plein air painting and the reason most plein air painters work small.

The intensity of the color depends on the waether too, particles in the air may create duller colors or a stunning, red sunset. After a rain colors look fresher, pollution or fog will put a veil around colors, and so on.

So, watch out if someone claims to be the "painter of light", it's no more than a catchy phrase. You can't paint light, just the effects it has on the natural world.

Realism

Not all realism is alike.

Since so called realistic, as well as impressionistic painting requires abstraction from reality, no two dimensional work can ever be totally "real", not even photorealism. The painter has a choice as to how much he or she wants to (or can) adhere to the scene at hand.

For me, realism is not about slaving over detail, nor is it about sticking to the correct number of trees, waves or rocks in nature, but it is about conveying the overall impression I get from the scene: The movement, the light, the texture of things, the temperatur and if possible the joy of being part of it all.

When is a painting finished?

Knowing when to stop is always an issue and sometimes a problem with painters. You get so involved and fascinated by the process of creating and refining the image, that it is hard to quit at the right time. Who hasn't ruined a painting by overworking it?
A good painting should be good at any stage, right after the block-in, half done and at the end.
Some paintings look better when they remain sketch-like, others when they have more detail. The personal preference of the painter and the viewer have, of course, a lot to do with the way of judging this, but my rule of thumb is the following:
A painting can be considered finished when no additional time spent working on it will improve it.

Mexican Pacific

I can't believe how long I have not posted anything. I have painted a lot though in that time, but have been slow photographing the new pieces. Here's one, it's called Playa Los Cocos.

The moment I saw the evening light on that scene, I knew I had to paint it. Colors and shadows were changing rapidly and I had to come back to finish the painting the following evening.

Capturing the angle and temperature of the light is extremely important for a successful landscape painting, all the shapes and colors depend on those two qualities. It makes me feel warm just looking at this scene of the Mexican Pacific coast - kind of nice, now that the temperatures have dropped!

August Rains

August is wet in Mexico. You´ll never know when it will be sunny or raining, but you´ll get plenty of both, depending on what path storms and hurricanes decide to take.
I painted this plein air piece from a balcony of a friend´s house in Tapalpa, in Central Mexico. The clouds hurried across the sky and the shadow patterns on the ground changed rapidly. Luckily I had a previously stained linen panel with me, which made the painting go much faster.

Yet Another Seascape

Here´s another one.
Different beach, different view point.

In this scene I loved the fact that the ocean, though in constant motion, gives a feeling of tranquility and, because of the repetitiveness and predictability of it´s movements, a sense of permanence.

Another Seascape

My best client loves seascapes.
This one is not sold yet and I would not mind keeping it for myself. I have been to this beach dozens of times and on every occasion I find a new view that I simply have to paint. I can´t keep up!