My Process: from Photo to Painting, Land Sea Sky

This is a peak behind the curtain of my process: I go into nature and take photos and color notes on site, then go back to the studio and often times will make a watercolor painting/study first and then a painting from that. Some stay fairly realistic to the original, some get more abstract in color and shapes. This one is of the Big Sur.

the inspiration photo: 

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the watercolor: "Land, Sea, Sky (Big Sur #5), 2015, watercolor and gouache on paper, 22.5" x 13"

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the painting: "Land Sea Sky (Big Sur #5)" 2015, Acrylic and Silver on Canvas, 36"x48": 

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Works in Progress: Linear Landscapes

There are several works in progress in the studio. I've been working on these abstractions of landscapes for a while now. I was working on the Colorband Series which was based purely on the colors of landscapes, when the compositions of the landscapes started creeping in. It went from solely straight colorbands, to adding diagonals, and eventually realistic elements of the landscpae like the cliffs, mountains and rocks. The colorbands usually stay in the diaphanous parts of the painting, like the sky and the water. The geometric elements disrupt and draw attention to the surface, while interplaying with the colors of the landscape. I usually start with thin washes of acrylic paint to lay down the color and composition. Then I draw the lines and continue to paint with oil paint and silver leaf. 

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