The last painting that I was working on and "got stuck" with how to finish it, is shown below. This painting, oil on masonite board,  had started off with multiple glaze layers that seemed to glow nicely, but then when I tried to add the Antelope image, the entire painting seemed to collapse. It is obviously too large for even a foreground presence and must be modified or eliminated from the painting.

The subject of the painting is "Temple Mountain" in the San Rafael Swell area of Central Utah, near Goblin Valley National Monument (Northwest of the monument).

Since the subject is Utah desert sandstone and limestone formations, we can use poetic license and exaggerate the coloring a little more on the red side. Also, it is difficult to posterize the edges to explain the rock crevices and cracks, but this is a central requirement for the finished painting.

Here's the painting on the windshield of my car.  Notice the disproportionate size of the Antelope and difficulty in presenting the rock crevices.

Now I'll use Photoshop to define what it needs for a finished painting:

 Now we're getting somewhere. If I can finish the painting like this, then it would be adequate to the vision of the location that I was trying to portray. The question is how to posterize the edges correctly to create the desired effect?  Maybe a very dry brush and ink? Or, maybe it has to be an extremely large mural sized painting to allow for the brush to define the edges correctly. Or, maybe it will now live in the digital realm and get printed as a large-format painting as if finished as a painting.

Does it really matter how we arrive at the image we are trying to create? As long as the journey is taken and the desired image is available for replication and enjoyment, what difference is there in dabs of paint or finishing extrapolation of edges via photo editor tools?  There are very fuzzy lines here for an artist like me that just wants to see the envisioned end-product created, regardless of convention or mandatory procedures from antiquated academics.

Current Art Project - "Falling Up in the Redwoods"

     Now is the time to return to fine art painting, and I have the perfect project planned to get back into the groove. This next piece will be oil on wood-panels with several layers of acrylic glazing for the under-painting. I started this type of preparation on the last art work that I started, and now I need to go back to that process and refine it further, and also to finish that piece in the interim. (click on picture to see in full-screen)

This sketch provides of some of the ideas I've been playing out in my head:

- Side panels of looking up into Redwood trees
   - with lens flare lines that extend into the middle panel to have the eye follow into the middle panel.

- Side panels on wood to be able to cut out for curvature to provide 3D visual effect.

- Center panel to introduce butterfly elliptical shapes, with textures for metal, rock, and other earth elements.

- White line concentric circles to imply acoustic events taking place, and drum beats.

     - will also include a spiral shape of similar style (no shown in this sketch version).

- Middle panel with complementary colors from trees

     - The sketch is not rendered accurately to color balance; will be worked out in painting.

     - The side panels will be finished first and can be hung independent of the middle panel.

     - The middle panel can include different versions to change the mood of the environment.

Purpose and Manner:

The painting will represent the mental transformation experienced with being in a Redwood forest and looking up into the trees and experiencing a moment of inspiration.  The shape of the side panels will suggest a panoramic view and dimensional illusion, while the center panel will focus the eye on a fixed space with multiple textures that contrast yet complement the softness of the forest colors.  The hues will be somewhat subdued to allow the viewer to gaze as if in a dream-like state of mind.  When viewed laying down and looking at the wall, the illusion of being in the forest with a magical twist will be the desired result.
 

Process:

The colors will be matched better in the painting, and may be done with acrylic-based paints, with perhaps some oil glazes over some sections of the middle panel. Scumbling and other randomized rendering techniques will be used to build texture, while the precise lines of the concentric circles, outline of the elliptical shapes, and spiral shapes will contrast to the other earthy organic shapes.

The lens flare lines will extend from the side-panels and encroach into the middle panel to suggest that there is unity in the middle image that appears in the middle of the trees.

The use of wood panels will bring out colors better than canvas.