Lost in Translation

I'm in the process of taking small plein air paintings and translating them into larger paintings. My plan is to work as much as possible from the original  and not rely too much on photos. I'm not so concerned with making an accurate reproduction of either the original or what was really there, but rather just want to create a strong painting, Easy enough, eh?

Can you say Oh no?!  No one I know wants to paint the same painting twice. But I've committed to this project and just hope that I haven't gotten myself into a pickle.

But as I see it, I have a lot of options, and will be able to stay clear of painting the same piece as before. Take this little 8x8, soon to be a 24x24. It's a simple high key little piece that works as a miniature. When translated to 3 times its original size, the drawing must be stronger to support the composition. I'd also rather push it to a much closer, high value structure. While the building will remain the center of interest compositionally, I want it to draw the eye to it by the use of color and line rather than put a lot more detail in the house itself.

I'll post the results and we'll see if the plan changes as the painting emerges.

Getting out in the winter

As much as I love all of the seasons, I'm not a big fan of painting out in the cold. My solution was to go someplace warm, so I spent a week in Palm Desert, painting palm trees and poolside scenes. The light was fading fast when I decided to grab my easel and dash out to the front porch and do this little piece.

As for my complaints about the cold, it's been a wonderfully warm March so far in Denver, but nature has her sense of humor and is suppose to drop a foot of heavy wet snow on us tomorrow. May be my last chance to paint snow this season, so I'm going to bundle up and get out there. brrr!