This posting is about the thumbnail sketch I did of the barn at the farm this past Saturday morning.

I was pleased with my sketch and felt that although simple, it contained much information for me to use further along the way.  I’m satisfied with the painting I did that morning but also felt a small grain of something missing, something I needed to check out so I decided to do an experiment with underpainting using my sketch for the subject matter and all the information I’d somehow saved in each penstroke.

What made me unhappy about the painting from this past Saturday is the sky.  I think it needs to be cooler, grayer but that’s the best I can do being limited to Ultramarine Blue.  The shadow makes me unhappy, too, as to me, it needs to be cooler, too.

 

I taped 3 small sheets of low-quality watercolor paper to a board and ran these tests.  Because of the simplicity of the sketch, I decided that I’d draw in the shapes with my brush using a thinned-down version of the pigment I intended to use for the base.

That was fun.  Kept it simple.

 

The first painting is done with a base of Burnt Sienna, the 2nd a base of Ultramarine Blue, the 3rd a base in Pthalo Blue.  On the Pthalo Blue (aka PB), I mixed my colors from Alizarin Crimson  (AC) and Aureolin Yellow (AY) and PB. 

 

Of the 3, I’m happiest with the painting done with a base of Burnt Sienna as it most represents my feelings inside & out when I consciously chose to make art of the corner of the barn, hills and sky and the feelings with my eyes as I stood there trying to remain open to taking it all in....  

There's things I'd change, do differently -- Next time.

I’m thinking to add Burnt Sienna to my limited pallette.