Saturday, October 16, 2010

Camera troubles

The lens on my camera got jammed the other day so I have been unable to take any photos of the work I have done at the studio. I just picked it up from the repair shop late yesterday afternoon and it seems all of the settings have gone back to the factory ones. I will fiddle with it this weekend and hopefully get it to where I like it.

 River Thawing
7x7 
acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2010
BEFORE

 River Thawing
© Nicki Ault, 2010 
AFTER
sold

 In the mean time, I am re-posting a painting I did en plein air this past spring as well as the final, tweaked version which has never before been on the blog. After receiving a bit of feedback on the original piece I decided to make the foreground ice more interesting and I also pulled the right hand side of the ice up ever-so-slightly to make the angle less intense and to keep the viewer from feeling like they were sliding off the edge. I was looking up river while I painted this, so my eye saw the shoreline at an angle. Someone did mention to me that the water line should be level, but I think the angle makes it more visually dynamic- so it stayed.

I have to say I liked the original piece and wasn't sure if I wanted to change it, but after sitting with it awhile, I agreed that the ice wasn't interesting enough. So if I liked the painting before, I love it now! I feel excited when I see the "after" picture! Thanks to all who offered feedback 6 months ago!

6 comments:

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

I liked this one from the start. And I love what you did with the foreground ice. It's fabulous.

XOBarbara

-Don said...

Thank you for breaking the rules. The water line not being level made this VERY dynamic. Your final touches are exactly what it needed. Not too much, just enough...

-Don

suzanneberry said...

I love them both! thank you for sharing your thinking on this, very helpful. Great work as always. good luck with the camera. my world goes dark without that damn thing.

Nicki said...

Thanks Barbara,

I remember that you liked this one. I'm glad you still like it.

Nicki XO


Hi Don,

I'm pleased you think the changes I made are just right. You have such a good eye- I'll trust your opinion.

Nicki


Hi Suzanne,

Thanks! And I think my camera is working so I'm back in business!

Nicki

Judy Adamson said...

I think they are both great, Nicki, but the 'after' version is actually more satisfying because of what you did with the foreground.

I do think it's quite easy - or at least not too difficult - to make a successful painting with a lot of bright colours but it takes a lot more of something (not sure whether it's really 'skill'!) to produce something this good with the colours you've used!

And, by the way, I don't think that 'should' has any place in art.

Nicki said...

Hi Judy,

Thanks for your insightful comments. I always appreciate it when you stop by. I'm glad you agree that the after painting is an improvement or at least more satisfying, to use your words.

My favorite thought for the week is that "should" has no place in art. Thanks for that!

Nicki