Unfinished Studies and Potential Ideas

In looking back through old sketchbooks and color studies it is interesting to come across works that at the time they were executed, seemed somewhat unimpressive or incomplete and in revisiting them discover that they still contain potential for a strong image.  For instance, below is an example of a night painting I did in pastel at a beach in Big Sur.

At the time I thought this pastel was interesting, but incomplete, so I tucked it away in a folder for over ten years.  In looking back through more  old work I came across several other studies of the same spot at different times of day.  The following are some examples:

I have  currently begun working on a larger night painting based off of the initial pastel night study.  The other works even though they were created at different times of day offer a good deal of information about the structure of the rocks, the movement in the water and the overall space.  It is interesting to note that many of my studies above are unfinished, I have never been a painter that has developed a facility for bringing paintings to a finished state in one sitting – I simply let them develop as they go.

For this work I am actually enjoying the fact that I am not on location in front of the scene for a sustained period of time which can be very demanding and risky in investing large amounts of time for an uncertain result ( I have done this a lot in the past).   In working from these studies I feel less bound to the  description of the actual forms and more free to respond to the painting itself (the color, shape, application of paint).  I am also glad that I have no photo reference available, I rarely use them anyway, but when I do, I easily become a slave to the reproduction.

This work is in its very early stages, but I thought I would show the starting point.  I don’t know what it will become, and in a way I’m not really worried about it which is a nice thing that happens when experimenting at home.  Not to mention that I have an excess supply of canvases left over from past discarded student works.

I have  come across a problem in working on such a dark-toned painting in oil because it creates an extremely reflective surface.  The dark paint exaggerates the reflection and the oily medium only makes it worse.  I am thinking of moving to another medium but would love advice from anyone who has worked with darker colored oil paintings.  I actually had to shoot this photo at quite an extreme angle to get rid of excess reflection.  You will not notice any keystone effect from the photo as I have cropped it to look correct.

Here is another piece I am just beginning of the Salton Sea.  I think it may work out, as I like the initial color development.  Again, I started with a few studies which I have posted below.  One is a drawing and the other a small painting.  This one will be a little different in that have a detailed drawing to work from and in this case I am glad I do, so that I can develop the smaller structures to give a more expansive and descriptive view of the overall scene.

Below are some old pastel paintings that I did of the L.A. River.  These works were done over ten years ago and are lacking in many regards, but I am considering heading back down to the river to create further studies for larger pieces based off of these pastels.  I am interested in translating them into oil and working on a larger scale (six or seven feet tall) to give a real sense of the size and weight of these concrete slabs.  

Finally here are two studies that I am anxious to work from to develop a larger work of the Bolsa Chica inlet.  I love the restrained, washed out color in the painting study, but feel that the sketch is much more harmonious and sets up a stronger sense of balance and space (due to the two signs on the right and the oil rigs in the distance on the left).

I was inspired to post these works in process because last night I was going through pages of sketchbooks looking at a variety of past drawings that have potential for developing a range of ideas about landscape.  I think it is interesting to think consider works in process and where they might lead.  I feel like there are so many different possibilities to explore and very little time available.  The examples that I have posted above are interesting but really also pretty traditional their nature and process, I have many other ideas that relate to incorporating multiple points of view,  large scale drawing, the exploration of more freely composed pictorial spaces, and incorporating figurative subjects in the environments.  I would also like to  expand my work to  present more of a commentary and reflection on our time and culture.  In this regard, landscape painting does have limitations, however, I do find great value in working with this subject and am fascinated by how different working processes can lead an artist in different directions.