Day 23: Right Field

From January 23, 2012

Right Field, a soft pastel on 6x9 brick Colourfix sanded paper.

1. After working and reworking my white Conte pencil sketch of this composition, I blocked in colors. Initially, I really, really wanted to love this "as is" as an abstraction. I could do it for the left half with just the purple tree (it probably looks blue on your screen) or for just the right half. I think if I had more time on which to work and ponder, I might have been able to regroup overnight and figure out a way to leave this as an abstraction. I do think that I'll come back and do just that another day, after I've had time for iterative versions.

2. I began trying to extend the abstract plan to the trees by using just a few colors to create depth, and then trying to build something that would work as an overgrown shore line next to the meandering stream.

3. One of the main aspects of the composition for this piece was the foreshortened oval field and the concentric ovals contained within the stream edge in the foreground and the dense foliage in the background. I continued to build the shore structure and reflections in the water with colors to match.

4. At this point, I settled in to this piece not necessarily remaining as an abstraction. I did want to keep the very warm field colors, as this was summer in the South, where only a few patches of grass remained for the cow. The water is beginning to look like it flows, and little tick marks of bright green at the top of the composition give the impression of a canopy of leaves high above with part of a cast shadow affecting the colors in the midground.

5. I continued to refine and enhance my tic-style mark-making, with some rich green plants spilling over the shore line into the water and solidifying the background foliage. The composition and field structure ultimately took on the feeling of a baseball infield, and hence I named the piece Right Field.

In search of...

...a good photo opp...sometimes results in something totally different...Last Saturday morning, my intent was to shoot a GOOD photo of the "mystery bird" that, in the bright morning sun and from a distance, looked pretty much like an inverted bald eagle--a dark head and a stark white body. It's sad to say that I was disappointed in the fact that it was simply a large, healthy red-tailed hawk. He or she did not appreciate my stalking methods, and I was able to shoot only three frames of it before it continued its hunt elsewhere.

Undaunted, I went out on a local photo safari, catching some local residents in action--horses and cows mostly, although there were a few frisky geese working on repopulating the species...I did run across a pregnant cow with what were probably her yearlings, and they were curious about the gal across the street in the car with the funny-looking mechanical device...after a bunch of reference photos, this time intended as reference materials for some pastel work, I headed back to the homestead, and after a day of thought, began this pastel on PastelBord, which I put the finishing touches to on Thursday.

Today was a day off work, so I finally shot a photo of the finished cow to share with my blog audience. Enjoy!