Day 3 Again

14"x11" oil/panel



It was a bridge day for me. The bad weather was moving in. I set up to do a work from a photo I took in Paris years ago. I feel it's the strongest thing I did on the trip. Bridge over the Seine.
I've taken a new picture with less glare. This is the new pic.

Day 3 on the Cape

I started out close to the cottage. The Swan river passes nearby. Liked this scene so painted it.

Day 2 Cape Cod

both pieces 12"x24"

The morning had good light. I drove east to Chatham and ran into heavy drizzle. Turned around and went back to Saquatuckett Harbor. The light was improving there so I set up (with permission) right along the boat dock. Still gray day conditions but I liked the scene. After completion of the painting a boat rolled in with a serious catch of striped bass. I became hungry and envious.

The second piece is from Fort Hill. A rare chance to get a good downhill view on the Cape.

cape cod day one

12"x12" oil/canvas


Back from 4 days of painting on Cape Cod. I arrived there Wednesday evening and did a quick painting in overcast conditions. I chose a small lake close to our cabin in Dennisport as a painting site. Used the knife for most massing and moved the paint with brushes and stand oil.





I'll post each days work in the following days. Yes, the sun came out finally! My painting comrades endured days of heavy wind and rain before I got there, so we were all excited to see the improving conditions.

More Rocks

12"x12" oil/panel sold

I did another knife block in, then pulled out the brushes. While knifing in I felt good about the process and the painting was developing loosely and believable. I left the lightest values white and the painting was almost good enough in my eye albeit more as an abstract than a representational piece.

I pulled out the brushes and immediately found myself tightening up. Not good. I found myself trying to paint individual characteristics within the rock formations. I was attempting to use the brushes to draw. Again, not good. I'm better now at getting over these hurdles thanks to so many years of knife work. I quickly adjusted and went to the proper mindset. KILL. keep it loose larry.

Off to the cape soon. The weather there has been horrid so I've delayed my arrival time. Probably only be able to paint 3 days

Carmel Valley

6"x12" oil/panel

Back from a good show on the Jersey Shore. Good sales and great art! It is great to meet so many art enthusiasts at these shows and engage in wonderful dialogue about art and the process of creating it with people from all over the country and world for that matter.

I did get back to doing a new painting from some California studies. I'm already beginning to feel a nice rhythm switching from knife to brush and back. I find by mixing my knife block in and then mixing some more of the same colors on the far side of my palette I can quickly apply block in then get to work with the brushes. This is encouraging and seems to make the best use of time. Granted these are studio pieces and things will change outdoors. I'm going to Cape Cod next week to paint with the 7 livelies group and will implement these new techniques and can't wait for the results. So here's the latest.

a little tweaking

A friend suggested I remove part of this piece as it looked before. I think he was right. This is the new piece. I never posted the original. So Mike, how's this?

I'm doing the jersey shore fine art show this weekend on long beach island so won't be posting for awhile. Cheers all!

I've taken a bit away on this one.

I've added a tiny bit to this one

california coastline 2

8"x10" oil/panel



Here's another coastal scene. I love the strength of the rocky outcroppings. Again applied paint with the knife and pushed it with the brushes. I'm building towards big work. I might just mix directly on canvas and then use brushwork on the big plein air stuff.

9"x12" oil/panel

Had a bit of a breakthrough tonight. Tried applying all paint with the knife and then moving it with the brushes. I attempted this with the same subject as I did last post just a smaller canvas. Disaster! I've mentioned before if I do something once I rarely do it again. This proves monumental in painting, for me. In this case it was only subject matter but apparently that is enough. I wiped it down about 45 minutes in. I took a deep breath and looked at my other studies from California. I decided to attempt the same process but with a new subject. I immediatly felt better and could see the painting in my head. It seems once I've burned an image in my mind and created a work from that image I find it very difficult to do the same image in another fashion. This new work felt good from the start. I mixed all colors first for the massing in, applied via knife and felt I could have finished the piece as such. I am working towards doing large plein air work-over 30 inches- so the idea of knife application seemed a bit difficult to negotiate and I will still have to contend with this mixing dilema. ( need a huge palette). Anyhow I'm posting the block in and finished piece.

I feel the last post, although painted "loosely" feels tight. I concentrated on the brushwork but I am most interested in paint. In fact I have said for me painting is all about the paint. I got away from that idea and need to get back to it. I still am most interested in how artists can manipulate paint, myself included. I think this latest piece is a good direction and incorporates both knife and brush.

California Coastline

16x20 oil/canvas

Second one from my California studies. I'm sticking with the standard method of thin wash first establishing lights and darks. Then add colors thinly to establish color and value ranges, then adding more pigment. Finally adding any details that I might find appealing or necessary. By using this method I find it exciting to see the painting develop out of abstact masses. With the knife, often times the first appliction is the last.





I will attempt some works by applying paint with the knife then moving it with brushes. Maybe even these same studies to see the difference. I suspect I'll get the thick paint that I like but remains to be seen how tough it will be to keep things accurate. The colors came out a bit washed out on this one and I may add to it after letting it rest awhile. At any rate it's exciting to experiment.

Point Lobos north trail

16"x20" oil/gessobord



I'm stopping at this point. I wanted to keep it loose and show the brush strokes. I did not achieve the thick paint application I was hoping for, however after a 7 year absence from brush work I'll take it. I'm trying to keep the light believable and will introduce thicker paint when it feels right.

rough in with the brush

16"x20" oil/panel

As stated, I'm now using brushes. It's been at least 7 years since I've touched a brush. All the knife work has taught me alot but I've been feeling limited in my abilities lately. This new approach is very exciting and I feel like a new world is in front of me. Here is my first rough in of a landscape from sketches and a photo from California. This was done quickly and I need to relearn my mixing of the slurry on my palette. Controlling warm and cool again proves troublesome. I'm divided between mixing with the knife and applying with the brush or just use brushes exclusively. At any rate I'm excited with the new direction and will post the next application to this piece very soon.

Summer schedule

I'm finally getting things back in order after the epic trip from Pennsylvania to California back to Montauk NY and finally back to PA. California was a blast and I had a great time painting. Competition was of high quality and I feel honored just to have been in the same event as these highly skilled artists. Here is a link to see all the paintings that were hung for the event http://www.carmelartfestival.org/ just click all paintings on the left. Also I'll link to my website where all 4 paintings I completed can be viewed http://www.brianeppleypaintings.com/carmel.html

The outdoor show season is in full swing and I have some new shows added to the list. I've been extremely busy wrapping paintings, labeling, organizing and all the other stuff that goes along with transporting paintings.

I intend to get back to painting this week and have decided to incorporate some thick juicy brushwork. I'm going to really stress directional strokes and see where it goes.

Finally, here is the first piece I did in California. I'm happy to say it has found a new home.

Carmel Art Festival

My apologies fellow bloggers. I have abstained from painting and viewing paintings in the past weeks. I was intentionally building desire to peak for this competition so I avoided all things art related. It worked. I am now in California and have one day under the belt. The pent up aggression to paint is now released. I'm posting some pics of works in progress and will post more detailed images after the jurying is done. I will build a page on my website documenting the trip across this great country as soon as possible. I love California and can't wait to paint tomorrow! Cheers and I'll catch up soon on everyones work

Lakeside

6"x6" oil/panel


Well the studio tour is now over and the remaining paintings are back home. It was an absolute gem of a weekend! Felt like summer and we all set up our booths alongside David's pond/lake. With some mature conifers providing shade and the close proximity to the water, conditions were fantastic. Not to mention the fact that David's wife supplied endless traditional Thai food for the whole weekend. The artists and viewers were well taken care of!





There were very few slow times, but when I had the chance I kept working at a little painting on site. I can't say this is a terribly focused painting. Between watching the schools of fish swim by and keeping an eye on the booth I just kind of had fun with this one. It was warm and green things were rapidly appearing.

I'll soon be getting caught up on what everyone's been up to.

Enlarge this one and try to find the Chester County bugs within the paint. There are several sacrificial critters that got a little too close.

steeple at twilight

I've been busy lately preparing for the Studio Tour (see link to the right)

I don't expect everyone to get this painting. For me, I'm finally feeling it. With all disregard for reality I'm finally laying down paint instinctively. I shouldn't say disregard for reality but this is my interpretation of reality. It is really about finding freedom. My take on life as I see it. This may sound selfish, but really what artist isn"t self indulged? That's the beauty of art. We discover ourselves. No?

p.s. the sun had already set while doing this one.

sunset steeple

8x8 oil/panel

I was able to sneak in an evening painting. Went back to where I did a scraper last night. Decided to focus on just the steeple. The sun was setting. I did this around 7 pm.

I have to say I have been quite frustrated lately. I made a decision to only paint from direct observation indoors and out. Well, it's much "easier" to turn out a serious piece in studio. I hate to say easy because there are still many years of painting involved to do a good studio piece. At any rate my goal is to produce work as strong as I can in studio on site. I think it's coming around. As far as taking a small plein air piece and building upon it in studio. I can no longer do that. I am a victim of my mind and my mind says if I do it once it's done. This proves quite difficult to complete a large piece in lowlight conditions. If I were able to return to site on multiple occasions with the same light this could be possible. The future proves inspiring.

House on Italian Lake

12x12 oil/panel

I tried a few things with this one that I normally don't like to do in landscape. One is including a house that is read as a house and two is centering an object. Since the panel is square and the water was creating a nice reflection it seemed to create an acceptable arrangement of masses. I especially liked the blossoming tree surrounded by dark spruce. For me, it is interesting as an abstraction. I did struggle a bit with getting the proper color relationships for time of day. I didn't know how to act. It was a beautiful morning and I got wrapped up in the experience. I thought while painting I was managing warm and cool properly, in fact I still do. However, I think I could have used better or different colors. Oh well, I have the rest of life to try and figure it out.

Zembo Mosque

8x8 oil/panel


Snuck out for a quick study. I was heading for Italian Lake but when I saw the Mosque bathed in light I knew I had to paint it. Beautiful day with spring colors. Yes, I pushed the pink a bit.

Dillsburg Street

8x8 oil/panel

I actually painted this yesterday from inside my car. I wasn't sure why but something inspired me to tackle this scene. I was cramped and uncomfortable. I resorted to an old mistake I used to frequently make. I took way too much time sketching in the cars and buildings to get an accurate rendering.

I was very dissapointed with the result and today scraped down the painting. This left a reasonable result. I began to see what attracted me. The abstract quality of the masses and the effect of good light. Ha! Isn't this always the case? In studio I carefully controlled color temperature and was able to see the painting develop. The result is a mix of thick and thin paint, pencil marks and scrape marks. I'm much more excited about it now. Above is the end result.