FIX IT FRIDAY 2 - Bowing to the Mist

Bowing to the Mist, 8 x 6, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2020

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Welcome back to Fix It Friday! 

This is a little painting that has been on the shelf, screaming at me for years. That little tree in front was absolutely trapped, creating visual tension. It was as if it was pruned back to fit within the edges of the canvas.  When I finally took it down and reworked it, I wondered why it took me so long. And I really wondered why I didn't notice that tension when I painted it. 

FIXER UPPER #2 - Bowing to the Mist, 8 x 6, oil on panel

BEFORE

AFTER

CHANGES:
Problem 1 - Main tree was cramped.
Fix 1 - Reshaped the tree to allow it to go off the edge of canvas.
Problem 2 - Color was dull.
Fix 2 - Brightened up the mist color and kept tree color more uniform. 

OBSERVATION:
The edges of a canvas are actually design elements, and they impact a painting's composition. The related design principle to remember here is that when two design elements meet up, either pull them back from each other or make them overlap. Letting the tree overlap the edges of the canvas (vs pulling them back in the original) is a WAY more aesthetically pleasing solution. 

Misty Coastline - Hawaii

Misty Coastline, 8 x 6, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2013

SOLD

Even foggy, voggy days in the Hawaiian islands capture the imagination. The mist settles in and adds a quieting layer in the atmosphere. On this morning, it grayed everything out to a lovely soft pink. 

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Misty Watering Hole

Misty Watering Hole, 8 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2013

Yesterday, Plein Air Austin painted together at a gorgeous ranch outside of Johnson City (the home town of LBJ). The land out there is beautiful, but on this foggy morning, it had a quiet enchantment about it. The muted colors and atmospheric layers were very soulful and inspiring. It was magical.

Misty Marsh

Misty Marsh, 8 x 6, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012

SOLD

I do love sunny days, but I also really appreciate a misty, mystical morning... when the low fog softens all the edges as far as the eye can see. The landscape seems more quiet somehow. This piece came out of my summer travels and takes me back to a lovely morning bike ride along the marsh. Maybe that is why I saved it till now. :)

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Cool Mist

Cool Mist, L. Daniel, 8 x 6, SOLD

This has been a summer of any thing BUT cool mists here in Texas. Thankfully, I have been able to take a couple of excursions to places where jackets were needed and water actually fell from the sky. It's a beautiful thing. This piece is a revisitation to the drippy skies of upstate New York.


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Pastureland, L. Daniel, 8 x 6, SOLD

I kind of fixated on these spindly trees... they were in the last painting I posted, but seen from another angle. They were just so quirky and full of personality.


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Morning Vapors - Enlargement

Morning Vapors, 18 x 18

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Here again, I worked from my small plein air study to paint a larger painting in the studio. Revisiting my field paintings takes me right back to the original moment in time - complete with sights and sounds. On this particular early and foggy morning, a very cute couple came speed walking past. When they saw what I was doing, they slowed down and asked if they could take a look. (Most people actually don't stop.) It was really satisfying to me when they agreed that the subject was worthy of painting. "And it's right here in front of our very eyes!" they said. As if, maybe, they were seeing it for the first time. I felt like I had done my job that day.

Dissolving to Mist - Enlargement

Dissolving to Mist, 18 x 18

This foggy peninsula, coming and going from sight in the mist, reminded me of the Brigadoon legend. Remember the old musical classic about the village in Scotland that would wake up for just one day every hundred years? At the end of the day, they would all disappear into the mist for another century. (The enchantment kept Brigadoon from being changed by a progressing world.) Okay, this homestead does have electricity and probably even wireless internet access... but still. We can pretend.
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Painted from plein air study done on Long Island - Mecox Bay.

Silent Fog - Enlargement

Silent Fog, 18 x 18

So you thought I was done with all that fog? Nope! After doing the small color studies, I returned to my plein air pieces and painted them onto larger canvases. This revisiting process allowed me to solidify in my mind how I got there and to understand it better. I also just really fell in love with the soft subtle gradations in value and couldn't leave them alone. :)

I am a little behind in posting, so this one and the next three are from a couple weeks ago. I have a show coming up on October 24 here in Austin at the Davis Gallery, so I have been busy trying to get all of that together... well, and travelling to the workshop... must slow down...

Foggy Treetops

Foggy Treetops, 7 x 5

This is the last of four color studies in which I took two colors, mixed them for a variety of muted neutrals, and added white for value shifts. In this piece I used red and green (yes, Christmas Red and Green.) What I enjoyed most about these little experiments was discovering many ways to say "grey day", without using the obvious black and white.

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Note from Colorado: Workshops, demos and panel discussions have been unbelievably fabulous; and each day is jam-packed. Best of all, there is a wonderful spirit of generosity and support both from instructors and other students.

Foggy Dunes

Foggy Dunes, 7 x 5, SOLD

This is my third study in finding color-based neutrals. For this piece I used combinations of indigo and yellow plus white to establish a range of foggy grays. This excercise was really helpful before embarking on some larger fog and mist paintings! Can we ever experiment enough?

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Personal side note: I am now off at a four day workshop with some incredible painters in Colorado Springs! Kevin Macpherson, Scott Christensen, Skip Whitcomb... I am pinching myself. It's like being at the most fun camp. I always loved camp. :)

Foggy Field

Foggy Field, 7 x 5

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This is the second of four small "color studies" I did to experiment with muted, foggy tones. As explained in my last post, for these experiments I limited myself to two colors (plus white), and mixed them together to find interesting greyish blends. In this one, I used green and violet. (Okay technically, both of those colors were mixed first out of primaries, but I limited myself from that point on.)

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Foggy Road

Foggy Road, 5 x 7

Fog... love it. My next four posts will be some small fog "color" studies (done in my studio). I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but here's the deal... while I was painting fog in the field, I was painting fast & fursiously and found the foggy greys through intuition. Back in my studio, I have attempted to discover greys in a more intentional way. These next studies were basically painted in two colors plus white - mixing them to find some rather delicious greys. This one was painted with mixtures of orange and blue.

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Morning Vapors

Morning Vapors (study), 9 x 12

Old Town Road, Southampton

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This is the last of my Long Island plein air paintings. I'm always sad when I know I am out painting in a place for the last time. I felt like I was just starting to "get it" and then it was time to go home. SO, don't be surprised when you see some of these images again. I have been revisiting the fog and the mist and the vapors in my studio ever since I got back. It's like finishing a thought - you're kind of stuck until you get it all out! :)

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Painting friends - Is anyone going to the "Weekend with the Masters" in Colorado Springs next week? I will be there and think it would be fun to try and meet up. Let me know.

Dissolving to MIst

Dissolving to Mist (study), 12 x 12

Mecox Bay, Southampton

More fog - I had great fun with this particular weather pattern! Beginning this painting, I made mental notes about the reflections, the values, and the mist, thinking that the sun would come out and change everything. Instead the mist got thicker and by the time I finished, I couldn't see any of it any more! Painting outside - always a surprise.

Silent Fog

Silent Fog (study), 12 x 12

Fowler Road Beach Access, Southampton

Because of Hurricane Bill, the east coast was completely socked in with fog on several mornings I was there. The extremeness of it was so inspiring - I love the soft, unresolved edges and mysterious quietness. I drove to this beach access thinking I would actually paint on the beach, but I couldn't get past the road leading up to it.

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The afternoon before, I had done the following studies on the beach; so misty, moisty atmospheric conditions were already catching my fancy...

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Disappearing Shoreline 1 & 2, each 6 x 8