From the Artist: My painting, done in oils on 5 by 7 inch surface and solely with a knife, was to be a practice piece for a larger painting. As an after-thought, and good advice from others, I decided that if I did it larger I might not have the same results, so I'm leaving it and moving on to paint a different scene with knife.
The shadow, not the right color for the grass, was the most difficult part to do with a knife. I could use a brush and shadow in the color but then the painting would be a knife painting with an assist from a brush which I did not want to do.
Although is is a small painting and easily painted with a knife, it was rather interesting and enjoyable to do. I think painting with a knife prevents one from fussing over small details which is so often done with a brush.
From the Painting Guide: If you do a lot of knife painting, you'll eventually get so comfortable with it as a tool you'll be able to fuss with one as much as you can with a brush. But I believe the results achieved before then will help stop you, that you'll recognize when you're doing so.
I think this is a fabulous knife painting; it's got great sense of texture that fits and describes the subject really well. The sense of color and depth to the autumnal trees is magnificent, as is the sense of texture and shadow in the trees on the left.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Squint to identify the dominant shapes in this painting's composition. There's the strong rectangle on the left; the triangles of the trees, the slash of the path/road, and the sky. Notice how the dark greens on the left push your eye into the scene, and contribute to the sense of distance to the trees.
Notice how flecks of red and yellow from the two trees are used across the scene, creating a unity as well as vibrancy. Go with your instinct when doing this kind of thing, don't over think it. If it seems it might go somewhere, put it there and see what it looks like (you can always scrape it off).
Painting a Study vs a Final Painting: The painting has a freshness and energy to it that can be hard to recreate in a second version of the painting. It often happens when doing a practice piece or study, because you're not stressing about getting it right, you're just seeing what happens. When this happens that it's best not to focus on duplicating it in a larger version, but to rather paint another similar but not identical scene -- no. 2 in the series as it were.
The shadow, not the right color for the grass, was the most difficult part to do with a knife. I could use a brush and shadow in the color but then the painting would be a knife painting with an assist from a brush which I did not want to do.
Although is is a small painting and easily painted with a knife, it was rather interesting and enjoyable to do. I think painting with a knife prevents one from fussing over small details which is so often done with a brush.
From the Painting Guide: If you do a lot of knife painting, you'll eventually get so comfortable with it as a tool you'll be able to fuss with one as much as you can with a brush. But I believe the results achieved before then will help stop you, that you'll recognize when you're doing so.
I think this is a fabulous knife painting; it's got great sense of texture that fits and describes the subject really well. The sense of color and depth to the autumnal trees is magnificent, as is the sense of texture and shadow in the trees on the left.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Squint to identify the dominant shapes in this painting's composition. There's the strong rectangle on the left; the triangles of the trees, the slash of the path/road, and the sky. Notice how the dark greens on the left push your eye into the scene, and contribute to the sense of distance to the trees.
Notice how flecks of red and yellow from the two trees are used across the scene, creating a unity as well as vibrancy. Go with your instinct when doing this kind of thing, don't over think it. If it seems it might go somewhere, put it there and see what it looks like (you can always scrape it off).
Painting a Study vs a Final Painting: The painting has a freshness and energy to it that can be hard to recreate in a second version of the painting. It often happens when doing a practice piece or study, because you're not stressing about getting it right, you're just seeing what happens. When this happens that it's best not to focus on duplicating it in a larger version, but to rather paint another similar but not identical scene -- no. 2 in the series as it were.