Sunday 20 April 2008

COMPLETED OIL PAINTING OF HORSTEAD MILL

Well, at last I have finished the oil painting of the mill. I straightened up the verticals, softened the shadow sides of the building, added the windows and supports, highlighted the water flowing out, put more made up detail into the tree area on the left.....
Finally I turned to the bank and all its plant life. I removed the bull rushes I had planned in the early thin blocking in layer, as I didnt like the shapes and colour re-iterating the dark arched windows which were already repeated in the reflections. So I was left with the evening primroses that were in one of the 1906 photos I had been given. To add variety I put into the foreground my interpretation of some yarrow that grows in abundance round here on the riverbanks. A few dark sap greens, ultra and king blues, with stalks of red umber and touches of yellows and reds and I was finished. I feel the bank and the tree on the right give me what I had planned (a reverse 'L') to frame the building and give the feeling of space.
The two archways on the right look strange, but I checked out the photo reference and they are different shapes to each other.

Being close up, the bank plant life is all quite impasto, so I'll have a long wait for the painting to dry before I can take it along to the gallery to see if his client likes it.

6 comments:

caseytoussaint said...

Wow - this is really impressive, Joan. Your client is going to love it.

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Thanks Casey. Its not my client but a request from a local gallery who had an enquiry for an oil painting of this mill which is now extinct. (can buildings be extinct or is that only animals??) The gallery provided three 1906/07 photos to work from, but all the foliage and bank were made up.

"JeanneG" said...

Joan very nice job.

Anita Davies said...

'I feel the bank and the tree on the right give me what I had planned (a reverse 'L') to frame the building and give the feeling of space.'

I think you deffinately achieved space here Joannie, the mill stands proud and regal like a beautiful woman you can admire but dare not touch!

Serena Lewis said...

Oh, I do love Anita's description. It's almost like it is beckoning to its viewers to come forth and explore the depths within. Magnificent finish, Joan!

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Thanks for scanning through my blog and commenting on the mill I posted back in April !! I must say I was pleased with the result.