TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January 30×30 oil on panel

Every woodland has its moments, and this view over a clearing and creek, then up into the hill beyond, glistens with a strong January sun. These are days when you could use a pair of sunglasses, but who could bear to alter the blues and violets, and warm ochres  and siennas in the branches? Not me. Details below. Enjoy.

Technical painting notes: The first stage was rolling a thinned layer of sienna, mixed with violet and umber, onto the whitely primed panel. I scraped into the wet paint to indicate trees and limbs, the spattered some blue-grey paint, and some solvent, to “interrupt” the paint surface, giving it more depth. A few days later, when this base layer was dry, I started to block in the sky, then trees, with a more opaque oil paint.

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – second day, blocking in the sky and using small roller charged with transparent grey paint to block in ground plane in woods

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – second day, close-up showing sky blocked inn, beginning to define tree limbs with highlights over scraped areas, streaky color from base layer showing through

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – second day, beginning to paint tangled growth in foreground, light grey paint rolled over textured color in creek area

I like to work the whole painting, not getting to bound up in the details too early. Using a roller to pick up and reposition wet paint keeps me from worrying the details too soon, and contributes a sort of anarchy that suits the subject. I use Liquin medium to speed the drying time.

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – close-up showing roller marks t indicate ground plane in the woods, spatter from underlayer showing through

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – end of third day with contrasts developed and shadows refined

On the third day I continued to paint directly with the brush, developing more detail in the trees, and rolling into the wet paint to reposition and multiply the effect of the trees. This serves to soften some edges as well, increasing the sense of depth. By now, the paint was beginning to get “sticky” so I left it to dry.

The fourth day I selectively glazed the shadows. intensified the whites, and added more snow to the trees and tangles. The painting now felt the way I remembered that day, full of cold and joy and wonder.

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – fourth day with more translucent white paint re-rolled onto sunlit areas to increase vibrancy, blue and violet glazes added to woods to define shadows, additional snow added to tangled growth and a few trees for contrast

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – close-up of tangled growth by the creek

TM9260 Basking in the Heart of January – detail from left of center