going up

About next location: the tree trunk leads up, side branch on left, top green, vines coming down diagonal from top center down to lower right corner, upper right silhouette leaves high up, reaching like a web across space to touch vine tendrils in center, central intersecting leafy vine. I admire Asher Durand trees that go up and wind around and trunk gets smaller. Can I do that? Can I depict the space between vines and leaf nets? After scouting my yard, I placed my stool where I had the best view. What I wanted would have been impossible to shoot with a camera. Close range. Looking straight up. Not about the sky or vanishing points per se.

After lunch and a nap, I was ready to T-R-Y another location. Today, Thursday, Sept. 3rd I worked from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on this "going up" piece.

With my wooden easel tied up by the pond, I tried a temporary easel to hold up my cradled panel. I used an iron planter post. After several tries and moving the post around, the panel was balanced on the hook, and the post leaned forward toward me, but kept the panel elevated fine the rest of that first afternoon. Ha.

To be sure, this was an extreme experiment. Could I paint something very close to me - that went up up up - without the aid of a preliminary drawing? The answer to that remained to be seen.

This is what is beside me. Shows left vertical branch and some of the upper foliage.

Above me. Shows crossing vines with light and darker leaf nets behind it.

The tip top branches in the sky. The labyrinth of crossing illumined leaves.

Leaves draped over vines, hanging down shapes.

Close up of trunk with olive green bark at a juncture.

What will I squeeze onto my 43 by 34 inch panel?

The seven videos gives you an idea of the time I am spending and practices I go through. Like, spraying down the area and my clothing with bug spray. The looking back and forth at the subject. And so forth.

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Going Up 1. Seven minutes

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Going Up 2. Fourteen minutes.

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Going Up 3. Eleven minutes. During the course of the video notice how the light changes from cloudy to bright. Light changes the subject you paint outdoors. The artist paints in an ever changing environment.

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Going Up 4. Four minutes. The next day, Friday, Sept. 4th, I worked in the afternoon again from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, or there about. I started out with the temporary easel, but found out once I started to paint that it wasn't going to work for me this day. Sigh.

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Going Up 5. Thirty-five seconds. Ooops.

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Going Up 6. Fourteen minutes. With the panel on the regular easel I went back to work. On this second afternoon the painting went through many changes. (See next photos. Double click to enlarge)

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Going Up 7. Five minutes. By the time I stopped for the day, I had painted out much of the painting. Down to what I could call essentials.

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On Saturday, Sept. 5th, I spoke about this work. Four minutes.

Because of what I learned from two other paintings, I returned to this work a week later Wednesday, Sept. 16th, from 2:00 to 4:40 pm. See the fresh paint, next. Double click to see enlarged. Compare with previous states.