Cedar Grove

[TimRC]

MY IMAGE(S):



GENERAL INFORMATION:
Title: Cedar Grove
Year Created:
Medium: Oil
Surface: Board
Dimension: 10
Allow digital alterations?: Yes!

MY COMMENTS:
Hello, this is a painting I did last week. It was done outside, looking at the subject as the sun was setting behind me.

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
I would really just like some honest criticism, good, bad, or indifferent, I'm just curious how others feel about the piece. Any comments will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tim

[Debzy]

Hi Tim! It's a good effort at plein air, I tried one myself but wasn't too successful. I feel there is a need for more colour, some warmth perhaps? I guess the centre of interest is the building, so I would like to see some more detail to it to draw the eye in more. That is just my opinion of course, and as I said, i am certainly not an expert. Great effort and I will be interested in what others have to say in order that I may also get some pointers. Cheers and keep painting! Debs. =))

Just a suggestion? Perhaps if the sun was shining on the building, it would have a yellowish tint to it and thereby warm up the painting. At present, it's all very cool. And perhaps give a bit more definition to the greenery on the left.

Keep painting!

[song_bird]

I like the scene and its composition very much. I, too, feel the need for some texture/detail on the building and more darks/depth looking into the windows. It's painted much the same as the sky. I think maybe the vertical brushstrokes of the sky could be horizontal or more smooth like the far right; or the sky varied in some way such as sunlight shining sounds good.

[TimRC]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

[AllisonR]

indifferent. YOu asked! I think it is nice as a composition study. Needs some warms, the buildings and sky and shadows are all cool.

[tony1]

Nice feel. My only crit is the 2 upper windows. The bottom one is fine. On the 2 upper, give a dark line on the right side and ligthen the left to carry through the idea that light is coming from the right. Otherwise those windows look a bit flat.

Other than that I really like it and the play of light is very nice.

[TimRC]

Thanks Allison and Tony, your comments are appreciated!

[ahmadaustin]

I love the looseness. I just seems like it is missing something. Maybe in the lower left coner.

[TimRC]

ahmadaustin, thanks for the comment. I feel the same way about it. More time, I think, is what would have helped. By the way, the link in your sig isn't working.

[AllanFink1960]

Your picture plane cuts off the building at the bottom, making the viewer seem to not have a place to stand. Normally I think it would be okay to have an image of just the top of a structure, but in your case, it causes a bit of discord. I have mentioned this in a few of my comments on art on this site, but consider your image's fore-ground, middle-ground and back-ground as distinct areas to manage. Your fore-ground is ...missing.

Your colors are a bit over mixed and painted on as flat. You could create more interest by using more mottled colors in the building walls and roof planes. It would add a lot more life and interest. Rather than "gray" try mottled blues and oranges, or the yellow sunlight as others suggested. It would also allow you (or force you) to pay more attention to rendering the forms.

[TimRC]

I cannot help but to acknowledge the accusatory tone of your comments. That being said, I will address your concerns as best as I can, in a calm, non-defensive manner.

1. "Your picture plane cuts off the building at the bottom, making the viewer seem to not have a place to stand. Normally I think it would be okay to have an image of just the top of a structure, but in your case, it causes a bit of discord. I have mentioned this in a few of my comments on art on this site, but consider your image's fore-ground, middle-ground and back-ground as distinct areas to manage. Your fore-ground is ...missing." (gasp)

This idea would probably be a concern for someone interested in traditional realism. For me, there has just been far too much done with space and composition since the Renaissance for me to care about traditional composition or "giving the viewer a place to stand". See Picasso and Diebenkorn.

2. "Your colors are a bit over mixed and painted on as flat."

I enjoy flat shapes. I think they're sexy, and I enjoy colors that are close to unnamable hues. Also, I think most people would be shocked at how little "nameable color" there is in nature. You see grey, I see vibrations of warm and cool.

3. "You could create more interest by using more mottled colors in the building walls and roof planes. It would add a lot more life and interest. Rather than "gray" try mottled blues and oranges, or the yellow sunlight as others suggested. It would also allow you (or force you) to pay more attention to rendering the forms."

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "mottled colors". I confess, I had to look up the word, but I think I get the gist of what you're saying. This goes back to the "flat colors" thing. See answer #2.

Now, "yellow sunlight" is an interesting thing to say. I think I would have a painting made of yellow shapes if that's how I addressed sunlight. This painting was painted during the sunset, so the light was very direct and very warm. I think that is reflected in the coloration of the painting, keeping in mind that a painting's colors are (hopefully) experienced in relation to each other.

There seems to be a lot of concern on this website, this subform in particular, about draftsmanship in the realistic sense. Now, I'm not knocking rendering, it's just that I find most people's (beginners and hobby artists in particular) approach to it rather dogmatic. You can try to get your ellipsis 'perfect' if you want to, that's your business, but I like my drawing a little *ucked up. I think it makes it more alive and exciting. See Bonnard and Morandi.

Now all this being said, I thank you for your comments, and if you would like more examples of artists doing similar things, I'd be more than happy to link to their work. I think I'm going to paint now.

: )

For what it's worth, I saw no 'accusatory tone' in AllanFink1960's critique thus, in my opinion, no defense is necessary.

Everyone's opinions come into play on this forum and a critique is only an opinion. It is not set in stone nor is it mandatory to follow anyone's advice.

Take what advice you think is worthy, use it and leave the rest. But above all, be respectful and considerate of others' opinions. Thank you.

[eyecandy2]

I see nothing wrong with AllanFinks remarks. No need to get defensive about them. You can either accept them or ignore them as you chose. They were meant to help you and not to hurt you even if your feelings might have been hurt. It isn't easy to critique well.

[allanom]

Hi Tim:

Providing an alt that may help with the suggestions of picking up the colour a bit. It's a lovely piece, but just a bit dull, colourwise.

Hope this helps!