Day 9: Florida Backlight
Painting backlit scenes can be fun, exciting and of course you might guess, very challenging (especially since you are looking right into the sun). It can also be one of the most beautiful, dramatic and exciting effects.
In this case the lighting was not so dramatic, but I did think it beautiful and the curve in the road together with the contrast of the dark trees against the white clouds and light road made me want to paint this scene.
Backlit Florida Street
Oil on Panel
6 x 8″
$200 | Available
One thing to clarify is the term backlit. If you do not know what I mean, I only mean that the painted scene was being lit from behind (hence looking into the sun).
I learned an important lesson from today’s painting and one that arrived just in time. What I remembered was the energy of the brushstroke and what that can convey.
I like this painting and I think it captures the synthesis of the place and the lighting and the main idea of what was happening here. What I could do if I paint this again in a different way, is use more paint, bigger brushes and simple but straightforward (i.e. bolder) brushstrokes. Make each stroke count and don’t just cover the canvas.
Brushstrokes can be like a sculptor’s tool or like a calm wave washing over the canvas. No brushstroke is arbitrary and to loose touch with that means to loose touch with the intention of the painting and the moment. The brushstroke tells you about the energy of a place and of the painter and his or her individual interpretation of a place.
There are so many things to remember, balance and weave all together as we paint, so sometimes just focusing on getting it down is all one can manage while other times we remember to add some good old fat, textured and juicy brushstrokes!