2024 #30×30 Day 27 : The Wrong Painting

10×10″ Oil on Panel

Stepping back for a minute to discuss this objectively; this one is a miss-step in my series. It’s important to choose images / compositions that support my vision. It’s not just a matter of choosing a dramatic landscape and copying. The works in this series are best if they’re built of big slabs, a ‘map of the earth’ kind of feeling, where the ridges of paint are almost a scale model or sculpture, rather than a drawing.

I think yesterday was a similar mistake. If get tricked into drawing a reference photo, and not letting the mark-making happen by instinct – they become too pictorial. Too much of an illustration.

The bottom line is, this one looks fine at a distance but it doesn’t have the magic up close. Too many brush strokes, too much drawing, and not enough slabs of paint!

Ok! Back on track tomorrow!