Spring in Blysmith Station 6

A bit different than the rest of the series, but pretty much what I wanted to do.  This may be the last on the series, however, at least until I can think of a new angle.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Spring in Blysmith Station 5(rev)

Just after I posted the first version and commented on how the buildings had gotten grander than I had originally envisioned, I decided that not only had they gotten grander, but they had gotten out of scale as well. They looked  bigger than the space would have allowed. Now there's not a lot of realism in my paintings, but the one area that I do try to be realistic is in the shape of the scene. I don't insist on strict drafting exactness, but I try to have my paintings seem like they could be based on real scenes, even if I don't paint them that way. Since I had to do the buildings over, I decided to go back to the more modest type of row house, as I had painted the first time around.

Spring in Blysmith Station 5

This piece started out looking a lot like the last one posted: mostly in blues -- too much like the last one, so I went the other way and made it a sunny morning. My idea was to have a series with smaller terrace houses but I seem to have drifted into painting bigger buildings.  I'm going to have to come up with some other ideas now, as I think I've done enough street scenes like these.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Spring in Blysmith Station 4

Another rainy day in Blysmith Station. I had a lot more color in this painting at one time, but it didn't work (or I couldn't get it to work), so we ended up with a very blue piece.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Spring in Blysmith Station 3

This is more like it - less fussy and clunky, more fluid and relaxed.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Spring in Blysmith Station 2

Again, a bit too clunky. Not what I was hoping for. I did up the size of my brush to try and avoid picky details, but still not the free impressionist painting I'm shooting for.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Spring in Blysmith Station 1

Not what I set out to paint; too many colors, but that's what improvising is all about. I'll try for a little more monochromatic painting next time.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Hamdril Hill, Lansworth (Minor revisions)

A few minor revisions this morning to the last post: such as giving the top of the retaining wall more of a curve and changing the color of the figure so that she's less a part of the wall and sidewalk then she was wearing blue, plus a few touch-ups to the light.

Hamdril Hill, Lansworth

I generally like to keep my views on the level, since I mostly make them up in my head or on the board as I paint, and looking up or down a hill makes designing them more complicated. I think you need more detail than I use to create the illusion of depth and prospective, especially looking up a hill. Looking down a hill, as in this case, is easier in that one can create an opening that can be used to define the depth of the scene, something looking into a hill one can't do.

12x16" 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Early Spring, Lansworth

This is kind'a what I wanted, but not quite...rather boring. Still, I'm tired of winter, so I'm moving on to spring and this is a start.

12x16 30x40cm acrylic on hardboard

Upland Road on a Frosty Morning

This is what I've painted today over my last posting, Winter Sunset, Lansworth Commons. That one was just not it -- I didn't like the colors and the composition was just too blah... Of course, this one is pretty plain as well, but I'm more comfortable with the colors anyways.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on hardboard.

Winter Sunset, Lansworth Commons

I've been working on the idea of winter on Lansworth Commons all week and this is were I'm at now. Early versions were morning versions with more (and closer) trees frosted with hoar frost, but I never quite got it right: too little sense of space, too much room for details that were lacking.  This, at least, has a sense of space and everything is far enough away to avoid details... Unless I come up with something brilliant, I'm giving up here.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on hardboard