Working from a Photo

The Small Pond Culzean

Oil on board  24 x 20"

Bridget Hunter 2012

I've been searching through sketchbooks and photos for a painting subject and found this one taken on a walk at Culzean Castle. I've always wanted to paint the shadows and reflections there but thought it might prove too tricky to get it right.

First a few thumbnail sketches to decide on the composition.

Then the exciting part - blocking in the main shapes.

 Palette - Ceruleum, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Rose, White.

After that it all went downhill as the struggle with the foreground meant I kept wiping paint off and adjusting the plants and resorting to lots of coffee breaks and getting totally scunnered with it !

In the end the large mass of pale plants at the bottom disappeared as it seemed to work better with a darker area there. Then it seemed best to darken the tones of the left side to emphasis the light areas at the end of the path. It now sits facing the wall so I'm not tempted to do anymore and so overwork it.

However, I love the work of Ivon Hitchens and would love to be able to reduce the scene as he does in this painting.

Drooping Trees over Water
Ivon Hitchens  1957

A Postcard to Cathy in South Africa

Acrylic on thick watercolour paper

This is another postcard from me to Cathy in South Africa. It's supposed to be a card from a walk - the exercise part. But having been a bit housebound at that time, I used my back garden as a resource with the winter stalks and frosted leaves but also with the snowdrops just beginning to show.

Loch Doon with a Dark Sky

Oil on board  20 x 24"

Bridget Hunter 2012

I'm not sure if I need a new camera or maybe wait until the paint is dry before trying to take a photo of a painting because, in reality, this is much deeper in tone. I even photographed it outside propped against a north facing wall but the colours look bleached. It might be good to go a get some lessons in photography. Think I've said that before many posts ago !!

Anyway, this is a view of Loch Doon, 17 miles from where I live, a beautiful wild area.