Harmony
Harmony
by Ellen Rice
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There is something so peaceful about the gentle movements of sea grasses swaying in a light breeze. I've painted the sea grasses along Delaware's coast in all her moods, sunny and not a breath blowing like it is as I write, bent over sideways in a gale or nor'easter or gently moving, harmoniously silhouetted against a lowering sun as in this small and misleadingly simple oil painting. Take a look at the painting on the print options page and use the magnifier by mousing over the image and you'll see a little of the work behind it. People often think I either put clear brush strokes over printed photographs or paint over photos, and there couldn't be anything farther from the truth. This little painting is entirely ad-libbed. There are more than 30 thin glazes of oil colors ranging from white to cadmium yellow, ochre, cadmium scarlet, raw sienna, Payne's grey, raw umber, Naple's yellow and others behind the subtle shading of the "orangish" background. Note the shadow affect at the bottom that gradually lightens as your eye goes upward. Toward the sun the sky gets lighter still. Each thin glaze had to dry thoroughly (usually two days) before I went on to the next. On something like this I use a large, fine haired brush to achieve a smooth transition of color, gradually fanning it out across the canvas with lighter and lighter amounts of paint in the mix. The process takes time, but all the effort made a harmonious and it that gives me a feeling of peace when I look at it. I hope you feel it, too. Ellen |
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