I take a lot of reference photos and once in awhile I will get a shot that just needs to be put on canvas. The Barn was a photo I snapped a couple summers ago.
When painting my whimsical characters like silly birds I tend to be methodical, finishing one area before going on to the next. When painting landscapes I am trying to get an overall feel for the color and then come back in with detail.
I am also trying to loosen up my painting style and be a little more “painterly” as opposed to illustrating with paint. I envy artists that have a loose style and can paint quickly with lots of expressive strokes. So far I have been able to speed up the amount of time it takes to finish a painting.
I am happy with the way this painting turned out but it definitely has an illustrative style and not the painterly style I had first envisioned. More practice – more experimenting – more painting fun.
This design is available on Cards, Prints, and Canvas.