Angel Oak (V) Progression

     For my latest painting of the Angel Oak, I decided to document the progression of the painting as I worked. Unfortunately, I missed photographing the first couple of painting sessions where I draw out the under-painting, but for the most part, it's all here. Each photo represents the end of a working sessions, usually about 2-3 hours. At some point I'd like to edit it together as a streaming sequence like a movie. Anyway, here it is (it's easier to see if you click on the first image, then scroll through the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen):

 

24" x 36", oil on linen

Angel Oak revisited

untangling a giant knot!

     It's been almost a year since my last series of paintings of the Angel Oak tree. Since then, I had an idea for another one, from a different spot, where all the branches are reaching towards me (actually the sun and water in back of me) It was nice to return there, feeling the calm and quiet stoicism of the mighty tree. My heart skipped a few beats when I pulled up one day and saw a large chipper and some guys hanging down from ropes with chain saws, but it was just her annual routine maintenance pruning.
 

pencil drawing, sketchbook

     I started with this quick pencil sketch. Since you're not allowed to set-up equipment just anywhere under the tree, my options are somewhat limited as to positions to work from. I already knew the spot where I wanted the painting to be, and actually, I have also picked out another spot for a painting in the future (as it turns out, all the paintings and drawings I've done will be at points around the canopy's circumference). In this quick sketch, my main objective was to capture the energy and movement of the branches and try and determine the scope of what I wanted to paint.

charcoal, 22" x 30"

     I returned later to work on a larger drawing in charcoal. This drawing took about 2 or 3 hours. I think of these larger drawings that I do as pieces that can stand alone, but their main purpose is to inform the painting and allow me to get to know the forms. Along with the sketch and photos, I used this one to determine the over-all composition and size of the painting. After the drawing was finished, I took a bunch of photos as reference for the light. Although most of my work is done from observation in front of the motif, I'm not a strict purist in regards to this. In this season of my life (with a new 4-month old), most of my painting time is at night after my kids go to bed. The photos allow me to continue the work in the studio, between visits to the tree.
  

photo collage mock-up

     With the photos, I made a mock up about the size as the final canvas (24" x 36"). I use this to grid out and transfer the image. My biggest problem working from the photo is that the space of the tree limbs are compressed and flattened; no sense of the space between things. Having painted and drawn this tree so many times, I can sort of move through the space in my minds eye, which helps a little. Obviously the color is different than in real life too. The photo does allow me to lock in the 'drawing' part of the tree.

in progress- 24" x 36"

     Here's the painting after about 3 painting sessions. At this point, it's all about blocking in the shapes and keeping the flow of the paint loose. In this initial stage, the most important thing is to capture the sense of space and the light; the details and form comes later and at a slower pace. At the beginning of the painting I use larger bristle brushes, which hold more paint and allow for a quicker build-up of the surface. After that, I can proceed with smaller sable brushes, but usually alternate between them depending on what kind of mark is needed. I plan on documenting each stage of the painting process...I might try and put these together to show the chronology of the painting through it's completion.

     This will be my last post for 2012. I don't keep up with this blog as much as I should; but I like to maintain it as a public journal for my paintings and my process behind the work. I would encourage you to 'like' my Facebook page: Francis Sills, artist. That has more frequent updates on paintings and drawings that I do and it's easier for me to dialog about them there. Hoping you have a blessed and prosperous New Year!
     
    

New Angel Oak paintings

     While working on the first Angel Oak painting I started in the fall, I knew I had to do more. This one was started towards the end of October:

     My usual process is to work out the composition with a drawing first, but here, I jumped right in with the paint. I chose this angle because it shows the branches gracefully arching up and out to the left. While working, I've realized that the painting is not only about the trunk and it's branches, but also the space between me and the tree. Another thing I noticed, is that each time I would return to paint, the tree would sometimes be covered with small ferns. Somebody pointed out to me that this was the 'resurrection' fern, an air plant not actually attached to the tree. When there's moisture out, the leaves open up, and when it's dry, they curl up and remain dormant....very cool.

     As I continued, I began to see so much that I was editing out, both with the tips of the branches as they moved to my left and the canopy above. I also wanted to include this tiny patch of unobstructed sky, and this would have occurred in the upper left hand corner of the canvas (had I used a larger canvas.)

     As I continued to look at it back in my studio, I realized that the painting needed some more space. After doing some measurements on site with the painting in front of me, I figured out a plan to add on. There would be a panel attached to the left side and another on the top, and I would attach them with bolts through the frames from behind:

     I worked on it like this for awhile, but wasn't really satisfied with the way the different panels were fitting together. The seams were slightly off, with some irregularity and problems with the alignment, and I wasn't really sure how the different panels were functioning with the concept of the piece as a whole. The painting being pieced together seemed arbitrary and haphazard. What I wanted to paint was a cohesive depiction of a clearly defined space, and the new format wasn't working. It was a tough call to start over after so much had been done, but I knew it was necessary.

     After some careful measuring, I re-cropped the overall image again, dismantled what I had started, made a new frame, and stretched a new piece of linen. I stapled the three different panels to a large piece of plywood and then gridded it out using string. From this, I could transfer what I had started, reproducing the entire image on the larger canvas in my studio.

     Not wanting to ditch the original canvas I started with, I decided to re-stretch that one again and work on both simultaneously. The smaller one I work on during overcast days, which is how I originally envisioned the light, and the second, larger one, is the one I work on during clear days. The two pieces now become a tandem piece, functioning not only as the same image seen in differing light, but also as a window that zooms out of the scene:

in progress - 21" x 28"

in progress - 25" x 37"