Tutorial 2B

Working from an original photograph to plan a  painting.

Here is a photograph we took in the mountains of upstate New York.

I had a vision of a painting when we rounded the bend in the road and I saw this old barn.

I could envision this barn quietly on a sweeping landscape with backdrop of hazy mountains.

There were too many buildings to clutter the scene.

So, I took a few buildings and silos out of the picture using a photoshop program.  I copied what I wanted and painted over the buildings, then spray painted the background mountains. 

I also moved the roadway closer to the barn and put grasses on the other side of the roadway to give it a more rural ambience.

Now, the barn was not in the correct place for the focal point.

So, I cut down the sky to make this a long narrow scene and extended the mountains to the left. This would offer a sweeping landscape appearance. 

Now, I'd check to see if the barn roof was in the correct spot for a focal point.

Dividing the canvas in equal thirds horizontally and again vertically as shown here, I was able to choose an area for the focal point.  That is, one of the intersections. 

I chose the lower right intersection where the barn is located.  There I'll place the strongest contrasts to create drama.  The remainder of the canvas will be subservient to this special area. 

If you would like to watch the painting process and see the finished painting, watch the "How to" DVD page. When I'm finished, I'll film the process and create a DVD for you to watch the painting process and see the finished painting.

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