Sunset Paris Hill Pass 2

 

This is today's pass with Gouache over the charcoal sketch below.  The Focus was mostly on the sky and distant mountains.  The house had a particular shade of blue which is work for another day.  Feels great to be painting again.

"Just Paint"

Charcoal Compositional Sketch
18" x 24"

I fell into my bed - exhausted. Drifting off.... "Just paint" 

It could have been the tinnitus, but the voice was persistent. "Just paint" 

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled down cellar to my studio where I had previously taped four blank note cards to my easel. 

 For a host of reasons, I've been unable to paint for quite awhile - too long for my liking. But where to start? "Just paint" 

Many years ago on Paris Hill a particularly striking sunset looking west from the village green beyond Hannibal Hamblin's house to the mountains beyond was seared into my mind. It was breathtaking.... I soaked up every minute of that sunset. 

 "Just paint" 

 I did a few quick Pen and Ink compositional drawings and then broke out some gouache and did these four quick compositional studies.   From the top left to right - sketches 1,2, and 4 were closest to the actual scene as it was. Three was a combination of the scene with a cloudscape at sunset from a different time and location. 

The color was way off (off-full you might say) but for my purposes it didn't really matter. I just needed to push some paint around and work out a few ideas that though they would not be exact representations of the scene but that would capture the feelings it provoked in me. 

In looking at the sketches - a combination of numbers two and three let to this larger charcoal sketch (18" by 24") which will be the basis for a finished painting

These are all quite loose for sketches, but each one informs me a bit more and helps me catch errors in composition before being heavily involved with the final painting.  

I thank God I'm no longer held captive by the thought that each and every painting and drawing must be perfect and "finished."  It relieves so much unrealistic self imposed stress to not make any "mistakes."  I wish I'd figured that out well before my mid 40's 

Each and every effort informs the next one and so on.

Just Paint!

Too much to paint, too little time - Paris Hill

What do you do when confronted with Artistic Overload?  When every corner hides another dozen scenes to paint?

I suppose there are as many different answers to that question as there are people in the world.  For me, direct observation and sketching and painting from nature are key to my process.  However, there are simply times and circumstances where it is not possible to do either.  In those cases I will try to take a few pictures for later reference.  As soon as possible, I'll record my impressions with a sketch and sometimes a brief written description of what drew my attention to the subject - initially without even referencing the photograph.

The first time I went to Paris Hill was for a wedding at the church on the green.  If you've never been, it's well worth the trip and the effort to find it.  There used to be tours around Christmas of many of the historic houses.  I'm not sure if they still do that, but once again, worth it if they do.

Below are some small (3" by 4")  quick pen and ink sketches to explore different compositions and to develop a bank of historical house sketches for potential use in the future.  These particular sketches are all on a larger sheet of drawing paper sectioned off into 8 grids.

Paris Hill Impressions

               Church with Hannibal Hamblin House                         View from behind church toward

                              Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                               village Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

                     Sunset and Distant Hills                                            Distant Hills, Sunset

                        Pen and ink 3" X 4"                                                 Pen and Ink 3"x 4"

New Englander - Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

I now really enjoy playing around with these sketches and compositions before launching into a painting.  It is time spent up front, but in the long run it is good practice and saves time from having to make large adjustments to a painting in progress.

Another thought I had while doing these sketches is to later take these sketches as a basis for finished sketches to have a unique momento of a place.  Many small sketches in the space of one larger sketch.

I hope you enjoy these impressions of Paris Hill.  In future posts I will share impressions of recent trips to Eastport and Cape Cod.

The link below will take you to some painting sketches completed in Eastport

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/08/sea-glass-and-sketches.html