Spring in Washington Grove, 16″ x 20″, UART 320
Underpainting, stage 1
Underpainting, stage 2
Partial completion
Hello Friends. I’m continuing with all my routines, including painting. This painting was primarily done last weekend but I knew there was something wrong with it. I just fixed it! Still not perfect but at least ready to send out. This is a painting from the small, lovely community of Washington Grove, in Gaithersburg, MD. It was formerly a Methodist summer colony with small houses with very pointed roofs. The houses are now occupied full time and many have been expanded. There are beautiful gardens, walking paths, and a feeling of great peace. I need to go back soon!!!
What I liked about the photo for this painting was the strong diagonal of the tree shadow and the garden at right that lead the eye to the house, where a green tree and red bud are catching light. (In the photo, the redbud is behind the tree and has no prominence. I fixed that!). I also liked the way the orange sunlit bush at center right mimics the colors of the red brick house. The house is of two colors, brick on the left and a grayed blue or violet on the right, which sets off the bush niclely. This is a complicated picture, however, with many things overlapping others!
We were there on a day when it was sunny but clouding over fast. The lower part of the sky seemed a little darker and cooler than the top, which I think had more clouds in it. I started with the sky and used several Ludwigs blue violets and turquoises, then did a little burnishing with a Girault. I added the smaller branches with several violet Giraults.
My main problem, which I fixed today, was the roofline. If you look at the earlier versions of the painting, you’ll see that I didnt include the top of the roof extending to the left over the dormer. When I saw this on closer examination of the photo, I knew immediately what was wrong! Also, originally, I used only a light violet on the sunlit portions of the roof. Today, I added some yellow orange and yellow green to it and now it looks much more natural and fits into the overall landscape much better.
The most difficult part of me was the right side, with all of the various elements going on. But getting the fence in really helped with the overall triangle-nature of this portion. This painting is all about triangles! There are many flowers and flowering bushes all competing with each other for the viewer’s attention. The tree shadow was also a problem. Too straight! I tried to break it up in places. I also started the lawn with more yellow greens and my husband said it was too chartreuse! So I cooled off the right side and bottom and left the warmest parts for the grasses leading into the center. I love the way the land undulates!