Most of the time I’ve taken on new scenes in each and every painting, as there’s simply so much I want to paint. I tend to dislike revisiting a subject because it feels like treading over old ground rather than blazing new paths. There’s a drawback to this though, and that is that I rarely find that one painting is enough to explore the nuances of a scene. Hence there’s a feeling of dissatisfaction, like I’m rushing on ahead too quickly, even though those new trails to be blazed are calling me.
In this series of studies on paper, I decided to restrict myself to a single motif – the Dairy Farmers Hill in Canberra. It has a clear distinct appearance, with the trees on its summit and saplings on its slopes & that of a closer hillside, along with the road winding its way up. I could stick to those basic elements and explore different weather, lighting and time of day…
So this was the first study. A simple view of the scene in broad daylight. I experimented with the colours a little, trending it more towards browns and oranges (the hillside was bright green with fresh grass when I last visited) but otherwise it’s a straightforward take of the scene.
And now it’s getting interesting. I imagined a dawn, with low horizontal light striking the hill while the closer slope is still in shadow providing a ton of contrast. Even more contrast is provided by the stormy clouds looming up behind. I must say I had a lot of fun with this one, exploring watercolour techniques (especially in the clouds) even though I’m using acrylics, and tinting areas with ink such as the purple covering part of the road and hillside.
The last of the three studies. The rain is falling now, blanketing the hills and blurring all the details. Through the curtain of rain, the sun peeks through the clouds and sends a shaft of light striking the roadway.
I need to do this kind of thing more often, as it’s liberating and pushes the imagination far more than a single painting of a scene ever could.
