There's More to Rocks Than Meets the Eye!

Last Saturday when the sun suddenly came out, I dropped everything and went to Reid State Park. I especially like the little inlets and coves at low tide, but it was not low enough after two hours, and so I decided to make some sketches of long, sloping rocks. When I got back to the studio, I cut a long piece of paper from the roll of cold press paper, and taped it down to a board. It's 26 x 42" and I'm excited about starting the drawing.

What interests me most for this painting is what palette to choose. I am thinking about a painting where all the shapes are blue. What kind of lighting does this suggest? What time of day, and what kind of day? Compared to this very warm, sunlit scene of rocks at Schoodic Point in Maine, blue rocks sets quite a different mood!

In the meantime, I'm preparing for class, and have a few rock studies started. I hope you will take time to read this letter by Robert Genn. I often make reference to his "Painters Keys", as he was truly a master painter and excelled in his writing about art, from all perspectives. In this letter, his extrapolations on rocks are truly a fascinating read. (and the responses from artists are good, too!)

http://painterskeys.com/head-rocks/#prettyPhoto