New Painting

[artfont]

Just thought I would show this new painting. I took the photograph up at Algonquin Provincial Park a couple years ago. It was so gorgeous up there it was at The Lake of Two Rivers. I finally decided to paint it as I loved the place so much, its hanging in my dining room now and everytime I look at it , it brings back wonderful memories of such a great day of hiking and sightseeing!

[St.Luke]

Hello artfont.

I could not open the attachment to have a closer look. So it simulates a painting I would see from a distance.
I am sorry, but I have a lot of trouble understanding what I am looking at.
I can see rocks and vegetation, but little recognition within the busy shapes.
Maybe if you could upload a larger image for further clarification.

[artfont]

Peter, maybe my problem is that I took the picture with my cell phone, it is a large painting and to post it I had to make it smaller , I will try to take another one with my camera, it is a painting with a lot of rocks and vegetation, where I hiked and stood under that wonderful rock formation. Don't you think Mother Nature is the most wonderful artist!

[artfont]

Well my photo was too large to be loaded, not sure how to fix that!

[artfont]

click image for full size

[artfont]

I had to change the size in half, done!

[ehoeveler]

Oh, Yeah! Love it - the palette, drawing and perspective. Any more to do, or is this finished? E

[artfont]

Thanks so much Elizabeth, it is done and hanging in my dining room now ! I have got to go back to this wonderful provincial park again, there are so many places to see that I did not get to!

[ehoeveler]

Great! I hope you'll send us that visual result! E

[St.Luke]

That is better artfont.
Seeing the new enlarged image made a big difference.
I liked the way you have done some of the rocks, especially how you highlighted some of the areas.
Also how you done some of the vegetation, especially some of the leaves.

Though you done a great job, I feel that it is not yet completed. Maybe some of the detail is lost from the photograph.
What I find from your painting is that some parts look very real and 3D, while other parts look too flat and 2D.

I am only making a gentle suggestion here. Don't rely on photographs too much.
Photographs are not always the best guide to use. Exercising artistic liberty is what makes a painting better (subjective) than a photograph (objective).
For instance, a photo of a wet rock could just look plain and darker in color. While a painting of the same thing with a slight touch of light reflection suggests that the rock is wet.

As a guide, the best position to view a painting is one and a half the distance of the longest side of the painting.
If the painting is 4 feet tall, then the ideal viewing position is 6 feet away.
From that distance if some of the detail (light and shading) is washed-out from that distance, then the detail may need to be more dramatic to stand out. And visa versa.

Hope I was not out of line with my response. If so, please tell me.

[artfont]

It definitely was a very.....sunny day, the sunlight is coming through the trees from the right, so it in fact is blurry from the light in the photo. So I painted the detail and highlights from the sun on the rocks and to the left side of the picture if you know what I mean. If I had taken the photo at a better time of day then the lighting would have been different and more detail would be on the right hand side, so my painting would have looked less flat on that side. So I do see what you mean. It took me months to finish and sometimes I just don't know when to finish it, is it finished or isn't it lol. Thanks for viewing it!

[St.Luke]

Thanks for explaining artfont.

[ehoeveler]

Judy, I have to admit that Peter said what I was thinking. I fell into the
'OK, it's finished, move on" mode. I apologize - still, I like many parts of
this work. Overall it has a nice energy and a gentle vibrance. E