Low Tide Off 101
Low Tide Off 101, 7" x 14", Oil on Canvas, 2012, Nancy Van Blaricom
~ Click on the photo to enlarge ~
This says Pacific Northwest to me and one of my favorite scenes off Highway 101 heading into Olympia. You have a great view of the sky, the distant hills and a farm off in the distance.
I've read where an artist always has one place in their painting that they like more than any other. In this painting I love the sky. The sky shows some areas of getting lighter on the left. Maybe there won't be rain after all.
On another note, I can never get my photos to show the true likeness of my work, with or without iPhoto or Photoshop. I think I'm going to have to buy a photo tent. Do the rest of you have this issue? In this photo, in real life it isn't this bright, *sigh.
The scene is familiar to me too. Perhaps a bit more rugged here on the east coast, but still the trees and water predominate.
ReplyDeleteI understand the photo/likeness issue. I think we all have it and few have found a solution.
I have a light box, but to be honest, don't use it as much as I should. The light in it is very diffused and even then I still have to tinker and adjust with a photo editing program.
I light my paintings with spotlights then take a photo and then adjust as required. I still never get the subtle values and colours that the piece has in real life.
I think its one of the frustrations of trying to show work on a computer screen. Calibrating the monitor can help a little in getting true colour representation, but nothing is perfect - except to view in reality.
I like the atmosphere of quietude in your landscape, Nancy. I understand what you say about the frustration with pictures,I sometimes feel the same(when my painting is not dry,and the background dark and shiny, dor instance), but what is a photo tent?I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI love the depth you were able to achieve here...something I am still working on! and I love the little red roof that just draws you in.
ReplyDeleteI have a large photo tent and love it. I use it constantly and am happy with the result. I sometimes still have to tweak the brightness a bit in photoshop but it offers the best result of all the methods I have tried. The trick for me is to put my lights on either side and the flap in the front and just slip my camera through the slit. So no outside glare can enter the tent. At least that is what works for me...
I feel the same way about photographing my work. Last summer, I made a photo tent with foamcore board, packing tape and tracing paper. I use clamp-on work lights for lighting with some 'daylight' CFL bulbs. (I thought I had photos of it, but can't find them right now). I know my setup isn't perfect, nor the correct type of lighting like the pros, but it does help me get better photos without glare on oil (when I take time to use it). I have also figured out all the options on my point and shoot camera and now set white balance and adjust before taking the photos.
ReplyDeleteI use Photoshop Elements to adjust after.
Even so, I never am happy with how they look on my monitor - and the viewer's monitor would probably show it even differently.