North Bluff From a Study

North Bluff. 9x12, oil on linen. 2016

North Bluff. 9x12, oil on linen. 2016

In the early summer I worked on a series of sketches and studies, trying to complete one or two small paintings every day over the course of a month. In addition to using them as a learning exercise, my original goal was to eventually turn some of them into larger paintings.

I started with this one because it was my clear favorite of all the studies. I kept the values shapes and atmospherics in the far distance, and used split complementary colors in the foreground to break up the green.

A 9x12 panel might not seem like a particularly large size, but the step up from the 5x7 original is a comfortable one. I didn't need to invent much detail to fill in the extra space; in fact, other than having a more refined feel, it's largely identical.


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