Pondscape explorations

A new painting! This one took me a week, it started last Friday October 3rd at the San Juan Capistrano Mission. I had personal family problems off and on the whole week. One absurdity after another, no wonder I am a crazy artist. So, I worked on this in segments in the studio. It turned out to be a good thing as I discovered ways to layer the wet oil paint over dry oil paint that added multiple auras of color. This is one rich painting in the sense of 3 dimensions because I carefully chose each color layer with alternating values. Say, the gold Koi, he is not just one value of orange and not just orange either, he is layers of deep rusty orange, gray, mauve, ice cream orange and so on with a compliment of blue streaked across him to convey he is under water. He is swimming through dark murky waters and the light gradually reveals his shape. I staggered the lily pads around in a design from warms to cools, they lead up to the violet lily on the left with the unopened pods behind it. Then your eyes go back upwards to the second lily which is lighter in value and hue. That lily touches the reflections of water Iris reeds that are actually out of the scope of the painting, but their reflection tells you they are just on the edge of the pond. At the front of the painting there are also reflections of the trees overhead. The lily pad in the bottom right is dying and half sunk into the dark waters. All of this is to give you a real feeling of the pond's depth, the koi's motion, the lily flowers and pads resting on water and the light reflecting off the water's surface. It's all a wholesome, cohesive pondscape. Hence the title, "Pondscape #1." Oh, there will be more of these paintings, I am becoming immersed in this type of landscape, which really is not a landscape since there isn't any land. My big mistake was entering the previous 30" wide painting into a landscape exhibition. It was rejected and I cried for a bit, but I am over it now. Next time, I will drive out to the country and paint a bunch of trees over the dirt. I'll make it pretty, don't worry. I could've slapped myself for being so ignorant about 'landscapes', but my artist spirit was too wrapped up in the lily pond at the mission. I was thinking of Monet too, his waterlily masterpieces are huge and not showing the land at all. It is all on dirt though. I could paint a much larger painting next time to show the whole fountain, the trees, the mission arches, the Koi, lilies and the works. It would have to be huge, a least 4 feet wide. I think I just convinced myself, I happen to have several gallery canvases that big. Since the weather is turning cold, I can do studio paintings until next spring. Ah, but the call of the wild gets to me and I have to pack my plein air easle and head for the coast. I will be painting at Crystal Cove next Thursday in fact with LPAPA in fact. The moon is getting near full and I live on top of a canyon overlooking San Juan Capistrano Hills. I could do a moonlit landscape, oh the possibilities! Right now though, my head is light, no food for six hours. Bye for now. I think I am going to list this "Pondscape #1" on eBay. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE AUCTION.