As much as I enjoyed making those previous winter scenes – I was also a little – I don’t know, bored (?) with the results after a few days. Looking back – sure, they were made in watercolor, but they were not FULLY utilizing the effects of water.
This one here, is an experiment. Not a real piece – just a test. A study of what would happen if I pushed the values and the wetness. I couldn’t get to a place of complete satisfaction with this test. I tried a couple renditions that got scrapped. In the end, this version is tweaked digitally – I had to push the values down to where I wanted them.
I expect for many people, this isn’t something they’d put on the wall. It’s kind of dark right?? Probably too abstract.
But – I was looking at this old photo. It’s a place called Top of the World, very near Laguna Beach. It’s kind of a favorite spot in that area. I’ve painted it about five times before in various different ways. I wanted to try another version that was both 100% watercolor – and – as different as possible than all my previous takes on the scene.
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The last time I painted this scene it was an oil. I took the early morning shot and made it into a kind of pre-dawn fantasy.
As much as the watercolor is pushed into darkness, this oil is shifted into a imaginary light. I don’t know what kind of lighting that is in the painting – maybe it’s how a nocturnal animal sees the pre-dawn. Just an invention of a place – only loosely based on what you see. But the basis of the invention is brushwork – dabs, scrapes, broken color.
It’s hard to believe these pieces came from the same starting point! Or even from the same artist!
