Sunlit Surf-Lana’i Lookout 28 x 32″ Oil on Linen
Other than some minor adjustments, I consider this painting finished. Now is the time where I move on to another painting and get this off my mind. I love this point, because ironically, that helps me come back to this piece with a fresh, objective eye after some time has passed, to see if it’s really finished.
I make that judgement based on a couple of factors. Going back to my original intentions, that sense of weight, power, and energy are as close to what I’m after as I think I can manage. I’ve made some changes from the sketches; choosing to keep larger areas in shadow, shaping the rocks differently than I planned. The main thing is that the eye moves through the composition as I wished it to, and the handling of the paint seems to me to be energetic and varied, without arresting the movement of the water more than necessary. I remember while doing the plain air sketch that there was a sense of the water actually “galloping” forward, and I’ve tried to capture some of that.
While I move on to the next painting, I may come back to build some of the impasto areas more heavily after some drying, and possibly a warm glaze over the rocks in sunlight.
I always seem to hold out the great hope that “this time, I’ll really get it.” “It”, for me, is the sense of creating a convincing, shimmering reality, all the while keeping the viewer fully aware that this is “only made out of paint.” It’s the duality that one gets with good impressionism…it’s the absolute look of the thing being painted, and the paint itself, and you can’t decide where the thing ends and the paint begins…the awareness of both are simultaneously present.
I’m not there yet, but trying.
4 Comments
Love this. I can feel the breeze.
Hey Rhonda, glad you enjoy this. Do you know the spot by any chance?
I do know that spot. SE Oahu? Speaking of breezes…do you ever have trouble with your easel, your canvas, and the mighty wind? If you need someone to hold everything down for you, maybe I could assist.
It’s Lanai Lookout, near Hanauma Bay. I’d love an assistant, but for the most part I work small on pieces like this because of the factors you mentioned. This was a studio painting based on sketches done on location; if you go back into the archives you can see them.