Study: Meadows at One Trick Farm. 6x8, oil on canvas panel. 2016
Continuing on from yesterday's blog post, the other thing that helps me to decide whether a painting will work or not is to try it out on a small scale. Among other things, this lets me to figure out the palette I will use in advance, and gives me a preview of how the finished painting might look.
Each of these studies was done on canvas panels that I made with leftover fabric before we moved to Seattle. Even though they are oil primed, they have a fairly textured surface which is difficult to paint on. To get enough paint on the surface to fill the weave, I did most of the work with a painting knife.
Study: Bluffs at Discovery Park. 6x8, oil on canvas panel. 2016
All four studies were based on places where I've painted on location. I painted here twice in the last two weeks.
Study: Discovery Park Lighthouse. 6x10, oil on canvas panel. 2016
This study in particular was a real eye-opener into how difficult it will be to create as a large scale painting. The big problem is the texture of the rocks on the beach and the breakwater in front of the lighthouse, neither of which appear in this sketch. I know there is a painting here somewhere, but this ain't it.
Study: Geese at Great Country Farms. 6x6, oil on canvas panel. 2016
This isn't a great looking study because I used a painting knife for most of it and the geese would really look better if painted with a brush. But it was enough to let me know that it's worth pursuing in a larger size.