More Than a Landscape

Summer Clouds
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
20 x 16 in/50.8 x 40.6 cm
Copyright Byrne Smith 2018

If you had to classify the type of painting posted as today's image, I suppose most painters or anyone really, would call this a "landscape." But actually the "land" in this painting is only about 20 percent of the image. The remainder is all sky (and clouds).

All kinds of skies (and clouds) are the subject of lots of paintings, many with a little land and/or water. If there's more water than sky or land, they're called "seascapes."

Skies are beautiful. Maybe we should be calling these mostly-sky paintings "skyscapes."

Not all that important in the scheme of the painting world, I suppose, but what else are Friday afternoons for?

Cheers.

Paint What Makes You Happy

Green Valley
Acrylic on Arches Watercolor Paper
16 x 6 in/40.6 x 15.2 cm
Copyright Byrne Smith 2018

Life is too short to spend time procrastinating or to waste time on things that don't bring you joy, according to Marie Kondo, author of The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

I agree.

That's why I spent time the last few weeks going through my old paintings and throwing some of them away.  Yes, you can do that! I was able to re-evaluate them more objectively as time has passed since I completed them. If I don't want them, no one else will either.

I also spent some of my painting time painting a motif that brings me joy--panoramic landscapes in acrylic on watercolor paper. I haven't done one since last summer.

It was past time to get happy.

Cheers.

Time to Paint Something Different

Small Vase with Flowers
5 x 7 in/12.7 x 17.8 cm
Oil on Canvas Panel
Copyright Byrne Smith 2018

I rarely, as in hardly ever, paint flowers, although I did paint a sunflower just last month. Before that, I couldn't tell you when I last painted a flower. It's not that I dislike florals, I just don't have a relationship with them.

However, the other day as I was looking through some pins that Pinterest thinks "you may like," I saw several boards that contained nothing but floral paintings--all kinds of flowers. I discovered I was drawn to many of the small still life-like paintings.

They were mostly smaller than 8 x 10 in/20.3 x 25.4 cm and mostly oil, acrylic, or pastel. Many were rendered in a rather impressionistic way, which I like. I got interested in the ways these painters, who seem to paint only flowers, portrayed the lighting and backgrounds, and the brushwork on the petals, leaves, and containers, if any.

One of the few flower paintings I have done is today's image. However, I now have an interest in further studying the methods of these painters and will see where it takes me.