topiary cats

topiary cats

Friday, December 13, 2024

Cloisters Plein Air Milestone


That painting took me 6 1/2 hours over 3 sessions to complete.
I think I had just started doing architecture, or it was new to me.

Anyhow, for a while I have been wanting to go back and re-do this painting to see what happens and look at my growth. So I stood in the exact same spot, same time of year, same cold, same sky even... and did a painting...
8x10 oil


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I am very, VERY happy with this painting.
And... astoundingly, it only took 2 hours, almost exactly! I was shocked!

I was not looking to finish in any particular timeframe, I was not rushing, and I thought it would be a 3 or 3 1/2 hour painting... but 2 hours... I was shocked.

I don't know, maybe someone Very Skilled will look at this and pick out drawing issues (I do see a few) but overall I know this is a good painting. We can always nitpick....... The drawing is (mostly) solid and my value structures are great.

It is a MUCH better painting than the one I did 4 years ago.
It's nice to see that progress.

It is very likely that the 2 hour timeframe is because I have painted this scene before and I spent a LOT of time studying it in great detail. That visual memory kicked in even 4 years later, and it's the same experience I had when I painted Times Square the second time.

Here is the initial drawing which took..... 13 minutes.


And the scene shot:



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This year I upgraded my winter gear to 100% heavy duty merino wool underlayers- feet, hands, and body.

Today I wore it for the first time. It makes a HUGE difference, wow! Wool really does hold in your heat like nothing else.  Wool plus my boot-coats with extra heaters--- temps started in the high 20s and went up to 33 (1c) when I was finished and I was not cold even one bit.

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