Celene Farris, A Maine Artist: July 2025

Friday, July 25, 2025

July is S. Dakota - our Virtual Hike Destination

July's Virtual Hike is South Dakota! What an interesting state to explore - and paint!

Rt 87, Custer, S. Dakota

6x12, oil on canvas panel.

You are invited to join our virtual painting group. It is great fun, it's free and no strings attached. And you can interpret the scene as you wish. We use Google Street Views from Google Maps to explore our assigned monthly destination. Then we send a picture of our painting, with the Google Map link, to Marla and she puts it on the group's site on her blog. It really is a fun adventure. And it's interesting to see what the other artists have created!

For more info and to join - just click on Marla's link The Virtual Hike Painting Group .

This painting is available in my eBay Store. And, as always, you can purchase this painting, or any of my paintings, directly from me if you prefer.

Thanks for visiting. Happy painting. Happy exploring.

Celene

My Website - CeleneFarris.com

My eBay Store - Celene Farris, Maine Artist

My Facebook Page - Celene Farris, Maine Artist

Email me at - mail@CeleneFarris.com

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Overworking! Try Direct Painting.

Are you tired of reworking a painting - over and over - correcting shapes, adding lights, adding darks, fixing colors - only to find that you have overworked the painting again, destroyed the colors and values - and are so frustrated that you might as well wipe it off or throw it in the trash! All that wasted time, effort and paint!

We've all been there -myself included!

So let's try direct painting and see if that works better. Direct painting is the technique of painting one area as correctly and completely as possible before moving on to a new area.

These completed areas provide a reference point for judging each new area. As you slowly work across the canvas you are striving to paint the finished painting. There may be small bits and pieces to add later on, but if done correctly, no major changes will be needed. And since no area has been overpainted or fiddled with, your colors and values should remain clean and crisp.

Of course, all paintings, no matter the technique, need to be carefully planned out beforehand, the composition and value pattern worked out in thumbnail sketches and then lightly sketched onto the canvas. I like to begin with an underpainting of shapes and values - either in black and white acrylic or in general base colors using oils. This gives me a firm foundation to work on.

Then you can choose to begin direct painting at the focal point and work outwards, or you may prefer to start in the far distance/sky area. This will depend on your subject matter.

When the painting is completed, set it aside to dry a bit. Then add any small bits and accents as needed. Done.

Direct painting is in obvious contrast to painting in stages - where the entire canvas is first painted in all its general mass tones. Then the entire painting is slowly modified, working to completion, with each adjustment hopefully leading to a correct ending. But each adjustment changes the dynamics of the entire painting. Every half completed area influences the next step. There may not be a clear reference point for comparison - and that's where problems may arise.

It's something to think about.

Now for July news - Our Virtual Hike Painting Group is visiting South Dakota this month. I have submitted a new painting of Custer, SD. Fun.

Last month our destination was Japan, but it was a busy month and I couldn't find any extra time to explore and paint. I had a few commissions to complete and time just got away from me.

Happy painting!