Photo Gallery: Derelict Croft House Painting Project
It’s a dark and stormy day as I pulled together the photos for the November painting project (instructions here) gallery, the kind of weather Eddie has in his pen and brushed-ink painting:
By Eddie, pen and brush with ink. “I don’t usually use such bold marks, especially on very wet paper, but it is something to explore.” From Marion: I think it’s an evocative use of ink well suited to the subject. Join the discussion on Patreon here…By Eddie: “This pastel is huge (for me) at 65x45cm but doing it has challenged me and inspired me to the extent that I intend to keep exploring the possibilities it throws up. I was surprised by the amount of creative energy generated by such a simple change.” From Marion: If it’s the larger scale that’s brought you to this point, then keep it big! Join the discussion on Patreon here…By Asif, watercolour: “I realized that land between the house and water is too flat without details.” From Marion: A tiny touch of variation in the land to suggest vegetation will solve this without distracting from the foreground.By Barbara. From Marion: I like the softness of the land, with the few tufts of grass adding interest that pulls your eye upwards towards the building. The suggested texture on the building pulls me in for a closer look, enticing my eye to linger as it sees more, interprets and fills in detail. Join the discussion on the community section of my Patreon page hereBy Erika: “Party time at the Croft”. This six stages of this painting: excitement – play/fun – despair/anger – banning it from being seen – coaxing it out from the darkest corner – joy. From Marion: I find the result imaginative, intriguing and invigorating, inviting me in to interpret and connect, as well as connect to the starting point reference photo. . The use of corrugated cardboard for the roof is something I want to try too!By Cathi: A good learning trip, trying different ideas.. This was using my mini roller and I love the sky effect.By Cathi: But then, having added the red roof (texture paint) I decided I wanted to go greyer rather than blue… then I totally spoiled the whole thing by being too heavy handed so I started over again.By Cathi: This time I began with a good orange base to make the colours less flat, and added the tree. I think this is my best effort.By Cathi: Thinking I was reverting to being too “fussy/detailed”, I did a really quick one to finish up on, which I quite like as well.
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I had a few goes at painting this myself, with mixed success. But as it’s a building I’ve walked past even since we moved to Skye, even my failed paintings of it are more than I’d managed previously and so I should count them as victories.
By Marion: This was my last attempt, and my favourite. A5 in size, acrylic and ink. I think it conveys the character of the ruined house with enough suggested detail to make you engage with it. (The photo is slightly out of focus.)By Marion: I did the lower of these two paintings first. It’s a painting that wasn’t where I wanted it to be but that would merely become an overworked mess if I continued so I started again. The top painting still has issues of composition in terms of the house and the left-hand edge, but I like the looser mark making, the use of dark ink to create tonal contrast and drama.
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It’s never too late to do any month’s project; just send a photo and I’ll add it to whatever the next photo gallery is. And even if you don’t manage to actually paint because of life’s other demands, spending the time it takes to drink a cuppa visualising how you might counts because “thinking time” is part of painting.
There are some very interesting interpretations here.
Nice variety! I wish I had had the time to participate.
It’s never too late to do any month’s project; just send a photo and I’ll add it to whatever the next photo gallery is. And even if you don’t manage to actually paint because of life’s other demands, spending the time it takes to drink a cuppa visualising how you might counts because “thinking time” is part of painting.