Tow path to Sonning 20" x 30"

Comments

like this - steep camber to the path, though. Like the quite cold colour AND STARK TOUCHES IN FOREGROUND - sorry about caps, broken arm plus big cigar in my chops impeding vision/ability to type!

Posted by Robert Jones, NAPA on Sat 16 Jan 19:52:33

Good recession and colours ( thanks for the explanation of your tecnique and working methods) and I think you've caught the winter sunshine beautifully, makes me look forward to spring. I agree with Robert though about the camber on the path, wouldn't like to try walking on it in the ice and snow!! Good work.

Posted by Val Kenyon on Mon 18 Jan 15:07:36

You've heard enough about the camber already so I won't mention it :). The rething I like here is the way you have captured the winter sunshine with the highlights in the foreground and again just as the path disappears. Great painting and sounds like a good pub too!

Posted by Gary Austin on Thu 21 Jan 21:52:52

thanks all, always wonder whether putting replies to comments in here is futile, as not sure if any of you will pop back here to see if I replied... still.... yes, i will have a go at flattening the path, I got carried away with the shadows and colour and didn't look too carefully at the line of the right edge of the path. it curves a lot so will bring the bushes closer into the path. Otherwise thanks, yes the painting is intended to be all about the stark winter sunshine so it sounds like that works for you.

Posted by Andrew Giffen on Mon 25 Jan 10:19:36

Hang on Studio Wall

31/03/2015

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Well, in the end I didn't get to using the 'snow shadows' sketch as a basis for a full painting yet, nor did I try to do a railway scene with the by now famous steam engine 'Tornado', but instead was struck by this pic we took between the snowfalls so tried to render the bright winter sunshine falling on brush and bark. This walk leads to Sonning where I heartily recommend the pub/restaurant 'the Bull' - the biggest pot of tea for 2 you have ever been served... Plenty of refined linseed oil mixed in with this one, glazing of the bottom right shadows, dark water on the left is mostly ultramarine, mixed in is grey, cobalt and alizarin, gradually with less ultramarine and more cobalt and grey as you move up, touches of coeruleum for the tops of the small swells. brightest scrub on the bank is raw sienna and white mostly, and the dark shadows on the right are alizarin, burnt umber, cobalt, grey, burnt sienna. greens on the right are viridian mixes for the darker spots, self mixed greens for the mid-tones and yellow green for the highlights. combinations of those serve as the duller mixes going off into the distance. Very loose impressionistic brushing covered the canvas, moving on to smaller brushes and finger-dabbing, hopefully judiciously, to focus the eye and draw it from the 'sticks' on the left, to the middle trunks and then to the distance. I chickened out of adding human figures to this one because the painting is partly about the remote feel of the tow path here. OK, I must try that steam engine now for a complete contrast in theme.

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Andrew Giffen

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