Friday, October 15, 2010

Something a Little Different

I went back to Newbay Forest on Wednesday afternoon, encouraged by some breaks in the cloud. But it got even darker when I got there. I looked around for something to paint and settled on this old tree. I had to invent the  light to some extent because it was bordering on dusk down there, and I also played around with a few other things, including the shape and direction of the branches. I sort of felt that this old tree put up a fight before succumbing to the inevitable. I suppose I sensed something heroic about it, and it conjured up related images in my mind. Accordingly, the title draws from the frequent use of the word "fallen" for those lost in battle.

Fallen, Newbay Forest
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)



















I took a photo, but you can see that this was much more out of my imagination than my usual plein airs:-

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the way you have softened the tree at either end.That decision anchors you firmly in the central area of the painting. A very interesting image and maybe a new direction? I often think that small segments of the landscape say more than images from a wider perspective.

Michael McGuire said...

I don't know if you have Richard Schmid's " Alla Prima", Mick, but he is really good at doing stuff like this. Stole some of his ideas maybe!