Snow in the fields

24x36" Oil on canvas

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Comment by Richard Robinson on September 5, 2011 at 10:31: Thanks Dirk, going from loose to exacting is something I really admire about the work of Richard Schmid, Pino, Quang Ho, and a few others - love that effect of having the detail seemingly coalesce (nice word) out of the loose paintwork. So I like to try to leave some of those dribbly base layers to show through, but it's difficult when your brain wants to switch to detail mode and cover all that good stuff up.

Comment by Dirk Rampling on September 5, 2011 at 10:13: Hi Richard, thanks for the feed back. This was such a challenge, I felt a mental shift in each area of the painting which was good to recognize. From a really loose relaxed start of painting in the turps wash in, to the tightness in the black tree ( worried about the use of black ) then back to loose again in the foreground.

I hear you on inviting the viewer into the painting which will challenge me to think more about the overall outcome from the viewers perspective instead of just replicating the photo or scene. Regards to the warm & cool colours i'm looking forward to putting them into purposeful action.

Thanks again, looking forward to the next challenge.

Comment by Richard Robinson on September 4, 2011 at 9:35: Hi Dirk, thank you for your painting. I think you've done a great job. You've demonstrated really good drawing skills in being able to state the complex tree clearly. Your values are excellent - I especially admire the subtle 3 value structure you implied in the foreground snow to portray the bumps and hollows there. Regarding values, you might have thrown a little more light into the big black tree shadow to stop it becoming a hole in the painting. (Perhaps your photo has lost some color detail there though). Your brushwork is confident and appealing - from broad and brisk to fine and careful. Your treatment of the light against dark areas in the tree are particularly well done showing clear thinking in the most difficult area.

I like your composition - you've cropped to include only the strongest part of the tree and with it have created a nice window through to the background. I have 3 recommendations for altering the design however, the first would be that the 4 clumps of foreground grass need rearranging into a less balanced pattern - they look conspicuously well ordered, and too even in size. My other suggestions are not nearly as obvious as that, and only suggestions, that you might have provided a snowy way through the grass strip which is currently acting as a sort of barrier to the rest of the painting and is not inviting the viewer through, in other words. Perhaps some snow on the fallen branches there? The third thought was that you might have pushed the far-ground trees on the left even further back into space by lightening them a little or cooling them in order to more clearly delineate the main tree from the background, helping with the sense of space and enhancing the star of the show which is the tree.

My final thought was that I would have liked to see more warm/cool variation in your colors - a touch of yellow in the light on the snow and some warmer notes of orange and brown in the grasses and tree. Warm/cool variations bring colors to life. I keep reminding myself that the more variation I can inject into my painting the better it will be because our eyes revel in it - variations in color, value, texture, shape, line and edges - a whole symphony of variation.

Overall it's a nice piece which shows a lot of skill and I'd be happy to hang it on my wall. I hope I can do as well in my demo!

Comment by Helena Ignowski on September 1, 2011 at 8:21: Your painting is strong and expressive traits and really liked the colors!!

Comment by Xiao Li on August 31, 2011 at 10:27: I can’t find a way to make corrections after the comment was posted. I mean to say, "It is such a contrast to Linda’s painting," not "contract".