I started this painting outdoors on a hot, August midday. I know that this is often not a very amenable time of day to paint, since the light is straight overhead. Yet in this case, I like how the shadows directly under the trees anchor them to the ground. I blocked in most of the main shapes, trying to get the intervals between the tree groups accurate, since this rhythm of spacing was one of the things that most interested me about the scene.
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| 'Tree Groves' - initial plein air sketch |
In this second stage below, I concentrated on developing the color and texture in the foreground. I also did a wash, liquifying the pastel with mineral spirits to solidify the major shapes. I felt like the foreground needed something to hold it in place, and the reddish color seemed to do it. I might have gotten the idea from some dried grasses which were in the scene, but more than anything, it just seemed called for.
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| 'Tree Groves' - colors added |
The main adjustments to finish the painting then were to darken and define the trees a bit more.
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| 'Tree Groves - Hot Midday' by Alice Kelsey - completed |
I like the varied distances between the tree trunks, and the way the more active pastel strokes in the foreground contrast with the quieter ones in the background, leading to a sense of space and distance.
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