Not Done Yet!

The painting may be completed, however, that doesn’t mean the project is. Fortunately for me I love jig saw puzzles, because the next steps require some skill in that area, plus a LOT of patience.

Scanning
At the end of Day 10, I took the completed painting home in order to scan it. The painting is about 18” x 28”, but the surface on my scanner bed is only 8” x 12”. It is also important to overlap each scanned image by many inches. It required 10 different scans in order to include the entire painting, scanned in at 300 dpi. Each piece is about 25 Mbytes.

Here are the individual pieces that will have to be reassembled. Some of this will be done tomorrow (Day 11) in the library on my laptop so anyone who is interested in the final high tech stage can see it "morphed" before your eyes.

You may ask why should I bother with this tedious process when I have taken a high resolution digital photograph? Good question. The quality of a photo (which has to deal with atmosphere, camera movement, lighting inconsistencies, distortion, etc.) cannot compare to a scan, which is a first generation reproduction without any of the camera issues. And if reproductions are to be enlarged and printed on fine art paper, the difference is amazing. A scan done correctly looks just like an original painting.

Day 10 - Painting is Finished!

Today is Day 10 and the painting is now finished, signed, and dated (year only). It was done entirely in the library, nothing painted at home. The final touches today included lettering “Berkshire Athenaeum” and “Public Library” on the building, doing a little highlighting and deepening of shadows, and adding “Bo”, the Obama’s pup. The painting portion of the project took just under 20 hours; however, some of that time was spent talking to visitors too. I always tried to get myself there early and be set up in order to spend the full 2 hours in place. And, I only got one parking ticket the entire month!

Here is the final photograph of the painting.

Day 9 - Details, details, details

The painting is nearly finished now, still more lettering to do, maybe add a dog to accompany the Obamas (as a number of visitors pointed out to me...."you must have the dog too!"). I removed all the masking and freshened up the trees, adding more foliage and blossoms, and I put more color into the sky. I also pulled out my white gauche (white opaque watercolor) to brighten up a few places. There is always a problem in knowing when to stop...by painting too much one runs the risk of overworking the painting, so I'm going very slowly now.

Day 8

Only 3 more sessions to go, and I think everything is on schedule. Today I removed some of the masking and worked on the sky. Also added shrubs in the foreground, and more of the tiny details. The lettering on the building, book sale sign and street signs will happen very soon. Also cast shadows.

Day 7

Today began the second half of the public portion of this project and it seems to be right on schedule. It's kind of a leisurely pace to paint, which is great because it allows for a lot of interaction with visitors. Many folks saw the article in the Advocate and wanted to tell me. Nice. Also one very sharp lady wanted to tell me that the trees I have been referring to as cherry trees are actually crab apple trees. Oops. Today I fine-tuned some areas and added more details - a few more people added, and I worked on the curbs (my chronic problem). Next I will do the foreground and perhaps remove the masking and very soon I'll tackle the sky. I've been thinking about that too.

Artist in Residence - Days 4, 5, and 6

My original concern that the painting was going to fast is no longer a concern. As usual the tiny details do take the longest time to complete. I guess I forgot that. Every bit of the painting is being done in the library, none at home. Here are pictures from this week's painting.

Next week I plan to add at least another vehicle and maybe a couple more people, maybe even some you will all recognize!!!!

I'm certainly enjoying the "local color" at the library.....I have found that people do indeed like to come over and chat, some even pull up a chair and stay a while. About half of the time we talk about the painting, the project and the process, other times its about almost anything at all. I love the fact that some people bring me their own works to see too. And of course, I cannot say enough about the library staff, how everyone has made it a point to make me feel welcome. This is really fun.

A very nice article about this project appeared in this week's Weekly Advocate...front page, with a picture! My 15 minutes of fame. Thank you to Judi Fairweather for a great story. Take a look... http://www.advocateweekly.com/ci_12361922.

Day 3 Painting in the library

I'm worried that it is going to be done way too soon...I may have to come up with an alternative plan...which may be fun too!

I love the fact that people are very comfortable coming by to chat and ask questions.

Here's me painting in the library on Day 3.

And here is the painting at the end of day 3

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Day 2 - May 6, 2009

Day 2 of painting in the library - Today I added another cherry tree, and then I masked all the trees and let it dry. The masking fluid dries clear, but if you look at the image in person, you would see a little gloss to it. Once that dried, I added some trees in the background, the dome, some windows, and started with some of the other details.

Artist in Residence - Day 1

Monday, May 4, 2009 - Painting at the Library


Day 1 as "Artist in Residence". Why do I get so nervous? It was great fun and people did actually talk to me. Got some of the cherry trees painted. On Wednesday I hope to finish the trees and start on the masking in order to work on the areas behind the trees. That will be the fun part.

About Masking and Layering

This is a fairly complicated painting with many layers over-lapping the other. With watercolors, at least in this particular case, I do not want to be painting over areas that have already been painted (you can do that with oils and acrylics). In order to keep all layers fresh and distinct, I will use masking fluid (one brand is called "Frisket").
And this is where some planning comes in. First I will paint the cherry blossoms, laying in the pinks. Once that has dried thoroughly, I will add some of the green leaves and some branches. While waiting for that to dry, I can start painting some of the other less complicated ares that don't involve layering.
OK, back to the trees......once totally dry, (and I do mean TOTALLY or the paper will adher and rip when the mask is removed) I'll apply masking fluid very carefully to all the areas that I have painted. By doing this, those areas become protected. Once that has dried, I can paint the areas behind the trees, like the building. I'll be working from the foreground to the background. I may even mask other layers, but my main concern right now involves the cherry trees.
Masking is also a great way to create crisp edges and lines. It is especially nice when doing window panes, picket fences, lettering and for saving the whites in tiny areas that might otherwise get painted over. I'll be doing a fair amount of this type of masking as well.
It's fun when it's time to remove the mask. I'll use either my fingers or a "pickup".... it reminds me in a small way of "pulling a print" off a press...you're pretty sure what you will see, but it's always a little surprising too.

There was a very nice article in the April 23 issue of the Pittsfield Gazette about this project...I have it posted on my website. Here is the URL if anyone would like to read it:
http://margebride.com/Pitt-Gazette-4-23-09.htm

Tomorrow, Monday May4, I start painting in the library. I'll be running a little slide presentation continually so visitors can see the process, all my sketches and preliminary studies will be on display, and of course, I'll be there to not only paint, but to answer any questions.

Transferring the Image

The image has been printed very faintly in light blue onto 11” x 17” paper in segments, then it is taped together and used to trace the lines onto the watercolor paper. Not everything is traced, ome will be painted freehand.

Next step - masking.