I wasn't entirely happy with the on-site painting of
Cargodna, so it was always in the back of my mind to make use of the photographs I took that day. This is actually based on a shot taken from my painting position - it's just a wider view, incorporating another of the Wheal Owles engine houses. And a gate. Not to mention the memorial stone for the accident (in the foreground; it's a chunk of granite with a small plaque on the other side of it).
This time, I used a dark underpainting on the engine houses, with the intention of increasing the definition of the stonework; I think it worked. And, of course, one of the benefits of working from a photograph is that the light doesn't change...
You can see the underpainting (as well as my original Cargodna painting) in these in-progress shots:
Wheal Owles
Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
SOLD
Really lovely one, quite brooding with the dark background.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Beth. I think it works a lot better. These industrial ruins do brood, rather. Abeit quite prettily, in this case :-)
ReplyDeleteYou know what? I think I must have been standing when I took the photograph (as opposed to seated on the ground when I painted Cargodna) - look at the level of the sea relative to Cargodna on the two paintings (handily next to one another on my "Gallery" page).
ReplyDeleteyou're right it does seem to be from a different angle. I prefer this one, although the other one is nice too. My grandfather painted quite a lot of these, so the theme is very familiar to me.
ReplyDeleteDid your grandfather have a favoured mine/area?
ReplyDelete