Recipes For Merriam             July 2007

         Dawn

       First, pull up a cornfield photo shot in early morning light.

           Adjust   the Saturation scale                    
           to convert a color photo of your own into
           a black and white reference image.

 Use a color scheme you agree with.     
     

       I wanted the patchy
       blue clouds and light yellow above the treeline, with
       the cornfield cast in a darker green-brown, as Corot
       used in his painting "Le Matins" (seen above).
       (A big book with Corot's work given to me by a friend,
       Louis Webber, has been invaluable.)
      
       Use transparent strokes on treeline.

       In the bottom half of Dawn I created a zig zag pattern
       highlighting corn stalks that lay in the field. A purple wash
       helped keep the foreground dark.

      

      Make all the adjustments you feel you need to make.
                          Here is the full piece.
                          
                                  Dawn  24" x 12"
                                  Acrylic on canvas 2007
     

 

              Desert Ridge 
    First, pull up ridge file photos I took in Clarkdale, Arizona.
       
     Ridge near  Bitter Creek.                                   Mingus mountain range up from Jerome, Arizona.


     Use a color scheme you agree with.
          
  I liked the way Corot lit this garden scene from Villa de Este (left) and his lighter
  blue mountain by the Lake of Geneva (right).
 
     
  Rome, View From The Gardens by Corot                           Lake Nemi, Seen Through The Trees by Corot

   Corot had a way of describing the lightness of the sunshine. I wanted
  to lighten my mountain silouette. In Desert Ridge (below), my sky,
  the sun-filled air, and the distant mountains were inspired by Corot's work.

     
               Desert Ridge 18" x 36"  Acrylic on canvas 2007

        Playskool 

        First, dig out black and white photo
        my father had taken of him and me.
           
         
         Then, decide the colors, rough in the body forms,
         turn painting upside down or on its side to help
         get body proportions right.
    
            Playskool   42.5" x 42" Acrylic on panel 2005

                Boys With Mom
      A black and white photo my father had taken was
           the reference I used for this painting. On the left is my brother Paul,
           Dorris (my mother) in the middle, and myself on the right.
        
           The yellow sky, the figure shadows, the blue water, the orange
           skin color were choices of my own.
      Boys With Mom  40.5" x 27" Acrylic on Board 2005

                 Across To The Bright Side

        First, pull up photo of quarry wall shot in shadow.

           Adjust the Saturation scale to convert your color photo
           into a black and white reference image.
          
           Create a passage way for climbing cow form.
        
       Refer to charcoal studies of cow climbing.
       Make adjustments to sky from dark to light, left to right;
       adjustments to thickness of cow legs, add blue edge
       along top side of cow form;
       re-arrange rock pattern on right side bright side;
       re-work shadow colors of quarry wall;
       sign painting, add © below name.
      
         Across To The Bright Side  16" x 29"   Acrylic on panel 2007


         Cow In Ravine

          
         Color file photos of mine--hanging roots first,  rocks in water second.
  Use a color scheme you agree with.
        I keep a scrapbook journal
        with artwork that I admire from other artists. Whenever I can I paste
        in the artist's name next to their work. You can see from this page
        Mc Kee's Ravine (in the upper right) whose colors I borrowed in my painting.
        Other artist names include Phil Starke and Jean Le Gassick. This page also
        has two scenes cut from a real estate magazine. I use these scenes as
        reference material as well.
      
        Add a drinking cow form.
              Cow In Ravine  14" x 11" acrylic  2007

                  

        Around The Bend 
      Sometimes colors from your color file photo can block you
        from painting what you see. In this case, I did an oil craypa study
        off my file photo.
            
                                                                           8.5" x 5.5" craypa
 
        Then, I did a painting from my craypa study.
                                                              
        Around The Bend  7.5" x 5.75" acrylic on board
    
          Land Marks: Lincoln 
             How The Works Of A 19th Century Painter Awakened Courage
           Recipe For A Water Hole 
           Help Came
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