Experimenting

I spent the afternoon outside, drawing, walking and painting in my sketchbook, finishing with this A2 below. Based on the view I had looking up at the sky.

Because of all the prep work I had done before working on paper, I felt confident with the paint and the setting, and was happy with the outcome. I like how the paint gets more concentrated towards the centre of the canvas. However I still don’t know whether I like seeing the stark white background around the edges, or if it would be better to have the background a colour.

Then, when I got back to the studio I added ink lines to the sketchbook pieces first, and then to this paper piece. Doing some small tests next to it first to work out what shape would work.

Adding the lines back in the studio is a less intinctual way of working, I only had the painting and an image of the woodland scene to base the lines on. Next time I want to try adding the lines immediately after the acrylic has dried, when I am still in the woods.

Overall I am happy with the outcome of the piece, and think is a positive start. I want to try different forms of lines next time, perhaps a thinner brush to apply the ink, or putting tape down before painting so the lines reveal the background.

The method of spending some time in the woods painting and drawing before doing a final piece at the end seems to work well, I’ll continue this method in the future.