Friday, December 28, 2007

Rain in Oxford


Rain in Oxford
Originally uploaded by linfrye
It rained the day before yesterday!! And we celebrated the less than an inch of preciptation since it's prolonged even more stringent water restrictions for three days.... and we've got our fingers crossed for a bit more this weekend.

This view is from my front porch ....Quite a number of pines, small birches, ornament grasses now copper-toned. We were scheduled to add some plantings in the central area until the drought hit, and those plans are on hold until the normal rains return. I wanted to practice painting rain again and since it was so cold, snapped a photo from the porch, and sketched by the fire! LOL

I've been intrigued lately to learn more about composition, especially in landscapes, simplifying all the many details, and rendering simple views into works of art. I'm missing a real center of interest here, I think, though the pine and birch on the left suggest a POI ... still, I look at this and ask how it can be improved, how to dramatize the rain (or not?), change the lighting (as Tom Lynch does) with even more darks even though the scene above was what I was seeing .... these are questions I plan to explore the remainder of this year and add to my art goals for 2008 ...

7 comments:

Laura Frankstone said...

Well, I think you've done a masterful job at rendering rainy atmosphere. It's a really hard thing to do! I can't believe how far you've come this year, Lin--you are just fearless in tackling subjects and your techniques are so strong!
I just know 2008 is going to be another great year for you and your art!

Tami said...

Lin, I'm obviously NOT an expert and end up with some of the same questions in my own painting so it's going to be interesting to see what others have to say. For myself, this feels rainy to me and that was what your were trying to capture.

Teri said...

Lin, after I read your comments I went back and looked at the beautiful painting and my eye was drawn right into the center light. For me, that is the center of interest. Beautifully done.

Brenda Yarborough said...

I agree with Teri - the way you captured the rainy sky with a light bursting through a hole in the clouds is SUPERB! And that light IS the POI.

Lorraine said...

Oh I love this -- the mist -- you captured that beautifully and the beautiful green colors playing off the browns of the bushes. Great job!

Linda said...

This is just gorgeous! Lin, I do wish you could come to Knoxville and do a pastel workshop with me. DeMarrais does a fantastic job of explaining compositional elements in a landscape ... I'll have to let you know when he's doing another! ;-D (Like you really have time in that oh so very empty schedule of yours!)

It has been so wonderful to have rain -- I hope you have more, too!

Anonymous said...

I was about to say you did a masterful job capturing the look of rain but I see Laura already said that. Well anyway, it's a beauty! There's so much to learn about landscape (for me anyway since I never really studied it before). You're well on your way!