TM8707 Quiet Afternoon at the Pond 36×36 oil on panel
Quiet Afternoon at the Pond is a view on a typical summer day – undisturbed. During one of my last photo shoots at the pond a wonderful goose did some posing for me. I inserted him into the lower right of the painting, looking much as he did when he said good-bye to me. That’s one of the pleasures of visiting the pond regularly – getting to know (and sometimes recognize) the wildlife inhabitants. The goose also reinforces the peaceful feeling as he floats calmly away. Details below. Enjoy.
TM8707 Quiet Afternoon at the Pond – detail with my friend the goose
TM8707 Quiet Afternoon at the Pond – detail
TM8707 Quiet Afternoon at the Pond – detail from left side with shoreline and distant hill
Technical painting notes: With mid-summer, the issue is what to do with all those greens? And the answer is mix as many variants as you can, ranging from warm to cool, saturated to grayed. I used the glow of warmth from the bottom of the pond, along with the blue in the sky (and reflected in the pond) to contribute to the chromatic range of the painting. Transparent glaze is another way to modulate the color.
Teri Malo Studio 
Teri,
WOW, what a magnificent painting!
Your Ocean State fan,
Stan
>
Thank you Stan. Hope your summer (and plans) are going well. Though there haven’t been many posts lately, I have been painting, and a few more are nearing completion. I’ll be posting them soon…
I love your pond paintings and I really like your tip about varying the greens of summer.
Mixing burnt sienna into pthalo blue or green plus white provides a lovely range, especially if you vary the yellows you add (lemon to golden). Also, violet added to greens that you have mixed yields some gorgeous grayed tones (try a blue violet, then a reddish violet).
I would imagine that this applies to watercolor as well….I am sure of it. I love mixing burnt sienna with either Ultramarine blue or cobalt, a wide range of colors….
Hi Teri, I missed your posts. I’m an email subscriber that has recently started my own blog. So I’ve added you to my follow list 😊 Your paintings give me great pleasure. They are so beautiful. Thank you for the close ups and the technical notes too. I have been working on what to do with all the greens so this is very helpful. If you don’t mind, can I ask what you would do with all the orange,i.e. Autumn foliage? Many thanks, Tania.
Hi Tania,
I’m glad you are enjoying my paintings. The strong reds and oranges of autumn present their own problems and opportunities. What works for me may not be your solution, but as with the greens, I find it helpful to pre-mix a range of oranges and reds before I start painting. In fact, I often take a piece of white matboard and dab samples of the mixes (and note the colors I used in the mixtures) as part of the preparation for painting. It’s a good way to push yourself to think up new combinations. And don’t forget to add a little white, then a touch of the complement to the mixtures on your “chart.”
It’s actually fun to play a game of what if….what will happen if I mix crimson with yellow ochre? then add white? then add a touch of green – warm then cool? Try extending the obvious choice of reds to include a red violet, burnt sienna, transparent oxide red, etc. mixed with yellows that include cool lemon to warm golden tones. Keep the chart you make. You can use it for reference, or hold it up to a painting to see what color might work in an area, or, if it is large enough, keep adding mixtures as you discover them. I have two charts that I refer to regularly – one is for green tones, the other for red through orange colors.
One more thing – autumn’s colors need neutrals. If all the colors are bright and saturated, they tend to cancel each other out. You might mix a chart of grays – blue grays, violet grays, warm grays. Start with complements plus white, then try slant grays – colors not quite opposite on the color wheel plus white. Again, pencil in what pigment is in the mixture so you can refer to your chart later. It can be quite surprising how much neutral color is in a fall scene – you just have to look for it.
Good luck!
Hi Teri, thanks so much for your kind and detailed reply, it does sound like fun indeed. I have some time off for a couple of days so I will definitely take your advice and work on the color mixing and charts. That’s exactly the advice I was looking for. You’re a wonderful artist and kind soul. Thanks again 😄
Really lovely Teri. It is looking a lot like the lagoon across from our house in Sherman Park. You captured that laid back, summer lushness. Good to see you posting again.
Thanks Kathy – good to be back!