Ansouis (W.I.P.- continued)

Here's some progress to report on the composition I sketched out in my last post.

After laying in the sky and distant mountains, I set out to establish the broad areas of light and dark in the painting. I'm really trying to think of my composition in terms of underlying masses of light and shadow, and not just a group of individual objects.

I'm using a broad palette of colors- my usual red, yellow, and blue, plus cad. orange, cad. red, permanent rose, sevres blue, as well as two earths; gold ochre and burnt sienna (for the tonal sketch) and, of course, white (titanium).

This is as far as I got today- about 2 1/2 - 3 hours' work- before it was time to pick up my daughter from preschool.

I'd really rather not allow this to set up, as this is my "first pass," and there is so much more to lay in. I am going to try and work on this again tonight after my little girl falls asleep, but I'm not normally good for much creative work after wearing the "mom hat" in the evenings. We will see. Otherwise my next dedicated painting day will be Friday, and I'm afraid it may be too tacky for my liking by then.

Ansouis/French village painting in the works

Note: I have gotten word that some users are having difficulties placing bids on my auctions. I believe I have fixed the issue now (the bid button was missing!) But if you have attempted to bid unsuccessfully, or if you are having any issues now, can you please contact me and let me know about your issue? Now, on to the new painting! Not a great photo here, but I'm doing a bit of mobile blogging and the image editing options on my phone aren't optimal. Nevertheless, I  thought I'd share the rough sketch I've started on a 20x24" canvas of a French provincial village street scene.  Even though I mapped out the composition more or less to scale in advance, it took a little more editing than usual  to get the layout the way I wanted it (the first pass had things too centered).

The plan for this painting is to portray a square in the center of the charming village of Ansouis. I have a busy next few days with family, but I hope to be able to get back to this soon. I'll post further developments as they unfold!

Dancing Light in Ansouis

My recent experiments with painting small inspired me to look again at some of the little pieces I have done in the past. Why not, I thought? They may not all translate well to a larger canvas, but in many instances with the composition and color work already fleshed out, they provide great jumping off points for further development.

"Dancing Light, Ansouis" Oil on Canvas, 12x12" Click here for more info! Contact me to purchase!

This painting is based on a compositional study of a charming little Provencal window that I did a while back. The scene is from Ansouis, a beautiful little village with flowers tucked in every nook and cranny, and gorgeous painted shutters and doors perfectly washed by the sun.

Speaking of small works, there is still time to bid on my current auction, also of Provence in spring. The auction ends Sunday evening at 9 PM, EST.

New auction of Provence

"Springtime at the Chateau de Lourmarin" Oil on panel, 6x6"

Technical difficulties on my blog last week didn't exactly create a seamless experience for my first auction. But I'm trying again with a new feature that I think will work much better. This week's auction is  a sweet 6x6" Provence landscape. Click over to the auction page for all of the details. Or if you simply can't wait, start bidding in the sidebar to the right of my blog! Congratulations to Pat H. for winning this auction!