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Catching the Light, ©John O’Grady, 2014
Oil on Canvas, 7″x 9″ x 3/4″ (no need to frame and ready to hang)
Not for Sale (NFS)
This piece started life with an underpainting of muted grey/violet applied thickly over a very smooth gessoed canvas. While the underpaint was still wet, I added colours close to the grey/violet such as cool blues and muted reds.
Then I decided to add a blue-green sky to add contrast.
I like the feel of this painting.
It reminds me of the billowing cloud fronts that rise over the hills in Ireland, glowing against the dark of the tree-covered hills.
How does this painting make you feel? I welcome your comment.
I love the perspective of sweeping grass in the foreground
While the gentle sloping hills and not forgetting the looming
Clouds 🙂
Thanks very much Rory, glad you like it
I wondered whether underpainting shaped this piece before I read the text. It’s a very cool (literally and figuratively!) rendering of a slightly altered reality. The clouds are gorgeous, but I especially love the way you render light on the grass; you have a real knack for this.
It makes me feel as though I’ve been dozing on the ground and opened my eyes to find that my perception of color is momentarily altered. Kind of unsettling and wondrous at the same time.
Hello Josephine, That is a really interesting reading of the painting-the momentary altered state after opening your eyes. Thank you
I love it, John. The grass, the clouds; looks very lush to me! I don’t really see the clouds as “looming”, but clouds being clouds!!! Somewhat of an ethereal feeling for me. Great piece!!
Hello Terry,
I wanted to make the clouds light and the grasses diaphanous. I don’t know whether I succeeded but I like your word “ethereal”- Thanks very much.
The main feeling for me comes from the perspective of looking upwards as if walking up a hill towards the tilted horizon. The blues create a distinctive calm, almost sleepy stillness. Fantastic flashing flecks of light on the grasses!
Hello Chris thank you for your comment. It’s interesting to hear different viewpoints or perspectives :). The blue/violet gives the painting a particular atmosphere alright.