This photo shows where I was standing when I painted the study shown below.

 This is a 6 x 8 study I painted outdoors on site where the above photo was taken.

I've taken some artistic license by changing the things I felt distracted the viewer

from the focal point.  I added color where necessary to direct the eye or create

the illusion of distance.  Its important to keep the viewers eye moving but

inside the painting.

I started the sky with a base color of clouds first then added the background sky

colors into the clouds.  I've tried to keep the brushwork loose and fresh in the early

stages of the painting.

I didnt take photos early on but this started with a pink line drawing.  Next I went

to work on the sky and just painted the feeling of the sky.  It was soft and subtle

with a fairly tight value range. 

Next I went to work on the on the midground and the foreground.  I wanted to

keep this soft as the sky is the focal point and I dont want to take too much 

attention away from that.   Going forward I'll want to add a little interest

with backlighting in the foreground for a bit of sparkle and to

keep your eye inside the borders of the painting.

Here is the finished painting.   Dusk Nantucket 24 x 36  Oil  on Canvas

Next Up.....Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa, California

This is the photo that inspired the following 12 x 24 painting I

used as a study for the much larger 36 x 60 which follows...

You'll notice many changes have been made to simplify the overall composition.

If you squint your eyes though, you'll find the overall feeling of the painting

remains very similar to the photo.

I begin with a simple line drawing to place the large shapes and work

out any design problems within the canvas.  The focal point in this

piece is the energy, movement and color of the lavender in the foreground.

Next I paint in the background hills to get a sense of the values and 

colors that will bring the painting together.  I like to begin here so

that when I lay the sky in next I'll have a wet edge to soften the

background and create a sense of distance.

I've painted the sky and the distant hills keeping them soft to create 

the sense of distance.  This can be easily sharpened up later if need be.

As I move toward the foreground the colors become warmer, purer

and edges sharper.  Again...as the painting progresses there is plenty

of time for corrections and changes. 

Now I'm laying in the lavender, the plan is to keep this very

broadbrush though I usually get caught up in the brushwork.

So far, so good.

The foreground is fairly well covered...now I need to let it dry and

then begin to pull the colors together a little more. 

Here's the finished painting....