3/20/23 - The Barn.
This is painting #92 for me. The purpose of this painting is to test out a couple of ideas I may include in my 100th painting (which I am planning in my head as we speak). The ideas I am testing are a wide painting, mountains across the whole painting, a barn, all while trying to achieve maximum distance in my painting.
The barn and mountains in this painting are based on a few photos I have seen of Moulton Barn in the Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I have included a couple pics of I used for inspiration.
My barn is a barn wood barn as opposed as a log cabin type barn in the photos.
I am happy with the way the mountains came out, although I need to practice making gray mountains with just snow on the peaks. Ideally that is what the mountains should look like here.
I painted the barn mostly with brushes after blocking in the base colors using the palette knife.
NOW FOR MY QUESTION: I really like the depth I have achieved here and do not want to lose it or cover it up. IS LESS MORE IN THIS CASE? Would you leave it like it is or add something on the right side of the painting. If this was your painting, what would you add to this scene?
12" x 24" canvas. As always, your comments and suggestions (especially suggestions) are desired and welcome.
I think you need to decide what is main subject of the painting. After you select one you will need to mute down another one. Why? Because the eye will be restless and jump from one to another if both are equally detailed, equally sharp, etc.
It seems like you need to bring horizon line down and let mountains be like in the first photo, but don’t forget to calm down the blue color. Why? Because photos in internet are heavily enhanced with brightness and second the blue color appear more blue in the photos versus reality.
See if you can draw this barn with your horizon line ( wherever you want to have it) on paper first with just a pencil. Adjusting horizon will alter perspective.
I think less is more in this case some grassy areas but nothing tall or man-made to distract from the barn if you decide it is the star of the painting.
Can't wait to see your 100th! I like already what you came up with. I will be a real treat!
If your focal point is the barn, what ever you add around must be very minimal or subdued so your eyes don't drift away from this beautiful building.
I agree with Sunnylady about your horizon line. If you look at both pictures, The mountains are being partially view-blocked by the barn. It looks like a picture taken from the ground. Although, yours could be a drone perspective and it works too. Nothing in your painting is displeasing about the view point you created. I think we are just not used to an elevated view perspective.
I would add a huge ufo hovering on the right! 😁😁...........Nice !
because the canvas is so wide, I would say maybe have the ending of the path on the bottom of the canvas located more to the right, maybe between where it is now and the corner, and the angle of the path would be more severe and dynamic (kinda like a sickle shape). but other than that very cool composition!
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A wagon outside of the barn would look cool.