Evening across the Bog II, ©John O’Grady, 2014
Oil on Panel, 8″ x 10″
SOLD
I have mentioned before how I find evening to be a special time. The light has a particular quality which imbues the landscape with a glow, perhaps it is the raking light which illuminates the land.
A common sight in Ireland is a day that ends with a fine evening and blue skies accompanied by cumulus clouds bubbling up over the hills.
They can look magnificent, often singular with a sculptural quality that stands in relief against the blue sky.
I wanted to try and capture the power and awe of one of these mighty clouds as it rose over the land.Probably bringing rain but they have such beauty.
Maybe its true that every cloud does have a silver lining. If you are a cloudophiles, here is a link for more. (I’m sure there is a proper word for cloud lovers!)
I am enjoying exploring how best to capture these masses of vapour and learning a lot about how to convey their weight, their texture, their tones.
To give variety, I keep some edges soft while others are more defined. As a result, the focus of the eye moves back and forth.
What I’ve learnt as well is that by darkening the blue of the sky slightly, it brings the shape of the cloud in relief and gives it a sense of movement. The particular shade of blue in the sky was a fourth attempt that balances well with the orange glow of the land below.
I would love to hear what you think.
I love the warm hue off the bog:)
Hello Rory, I was quite happy with that part too. Thanks very much.
I am just back from two beautiful weeks in Ireland and was lucky enough to have had much more sun than rain.
Anyway, as usually I enjoyed both.
And as usually, I still like very much each of your paintings !
Kind regards,
Dominique
Ah that’s great you had the weather on your side Dominique and the sun shone upon you. Thank you for your comment, glad you like the painting. merci bien .John
It is wonderful, John. And I see what you mean about the eyes’ focus being drawn to different areas on the painting. This is a beautiful piece and stunningly portrayed. Thank you for sharing this!
Hello Terry,
Thank you very much for your comment, I am glad you like it it’s a pleasure.
I do admire this impressive cloud John and I was interested in what you said about the colour effects – it is brilliantly done. However, my eye keeps returning to the bog itself and in particular the texture and shadows that you have created in the richness and warmth of the landscape. lovely!
Hello Chris,
I was very happy with the glow and shadows across the land too. The textural aspect just fell into place and worked well with the blue of the sky.
Thank you for your comment. Chris
Is it cobalt or a mix of ultra and cerulean? Lovely. I too like the bog colors and have to ask, since you paint them that way, but from memories – are they really that color of red?
Hello Steven,
It’s Manganese blue with Ultra and a touch of Dioxazine violet, Sennelier do a gorgeous one. The lower part of the sky has a touch of Cadmium Yellow into the blue but I found it impossible to pick that up in the photo. The colours of the bog do glow reddish gold in the evening particularly in Autumn. maybe not to the degree as in the painting but as I use no photo reference it gives me free reign to be creative around colour choice. Memory and imagination naturally seem to heighten those choices, perhaps in a similar way to Wolf Kahn’s working practice. The cloud is described mostly in white and without picking up the warmth of evening light. I did this intentionally so it would stand out against the sky. Thanks a lot for the comment.
I can imagine myself there. It is a warm evening and the sun is sinking low in the bright blue sky. You have captured the essence of these evenings perfectly. I love the warmth and the rich depth of the colours that you have used in the bog, they contrast beautifully with the clear blue sky.
I notice that this painting is sold already, congratulations, John.
Hello Patricia,
Yes it’s a big part of the painting the blue balanced against the orange red of the bog, glad you picked up on that and it connected with you. Yes the painting sold pretty much straight away. Thank you for your comment