Wine and Oysters

This painting still life features the classic table - wine, oysters and flowers.

Wine and Oysters

Preparing for the still life was a fun adventure.   I paid a visit to Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury so that I could handpick oysters that had good visual appeal.   The fellow was more than gracious, showing me which oysters had more color or variation in their shells and invited me to choose exactly the oysters I wanted.  He was knowledgeable on taste as well and since I would be eating this still life at some point, I made my selections based on both criteria!   I got a half dozen Duxbury Bay Oysters (one knot on the bag) and a half dozen Sandwich oysters (two knots on the bag).

I made the same speech at the wine store; the wine bottle would be depicted in a still life painting highlighting the delight of food.  The fellow suggested Le Grand Caillou from Southern France where an abundance of seafood would call for such a Sauvignon Blanc.  A whorl adorns the label, a not-so-subtle hint that this wine would pair well with seafood.

For the set-up I included outer shells, inner shells and lots of lemon wedges.   A speckled blue vase with yellow daisies repeated the blue and yellow scheme, and a wooden handled corkscrew on the bottom right was the painting lead in.  

One interesting aspect of this painting is that it provided a good example of adjacent item influence.  Not only do items cast shadows, but depending on the reflective characteristics of the element, they throw their color around as well.   The lemons were throwing strong yellow light on the shells as well as the cloth.  I played around with it a little bit to decide how strong or diluted to make this cast color.   The photo may not pick it up, but if you get a chance to see the painting, the reflective color is there.

South River View - Studio

South River Color Study

It was time to work on the large canvas version of the South River View.   In the previous blog post, I described the color study done "en plein air" for my color reference.  The large canvas was 24 x 36 inches which I underpainted with a warm cadmium red light, raw sienna and a sky undertone of Naples Yellow.   I knew that using these warm tones as a base would help give the painting a warm golden glow.




South River Underpainting - Stage One

The 9x12 color study came in handy back in the studio for color reference, although the key of the painting was one value darker since it was painted outside.   Photographs do not register color as well as the human eye.  I took photographs too, but mostly for composition purposes - cropping, drawing and element placement.

The elongated horizontal nature of the scene would make a nice addition to a large wall.  As for the color, this was probably the perfect time to paint the salt marsh.   The "extreme greens" of summer were being slowly replaced with hints of autumn red and gold.  



South River - Stage Two

I began by carefully sketching in my scene with dark transparent oxide brown.   A good likeness to the scene was very important so I took relative measurements - several times.   The composition had a pleasing variety of elements that helped balance the overall lights and darks.   For example the dark trees on the far shore were balanced by the darks of the foreground underbrush.
The larger canvas required mixing large piles of pigment. I began with a pthalo blue and white sky knowing that I would be building up the layers of sky prior to adding the summery clouds.   Next I mixed the distant marsh greens which were cool pale yellowish green, gradually getting warmer and greener as they got closer to the foreground.   The long rustic dock out to the tidal river was an iconic element adding angularity amid the surrounding soft marsh grasses.



South River

I took liberties with the foreground shrubbery, introducing some vivid green and red sumac, and I pumped up the grey-blue of windblown Juneberries.   And no September landscape would be complete without bright yellow goldenrod.

Finally I added the summer afternoon cloud pattern echoing the lines of the river and drawing their lights down into the river. 

This large painting was created for Catherine with happy birthday wishes from her daughter Leslie.   This spectacular view is special to Catherine and certainly it is looking its best on a sunny, pristine September day.   Happy Birthday to Catherine!