Revision

Sometimes, despite best efforts, some paintings just don't work. With plein air paintings, the chances of "failure" are much higher as paintings are executed quickly in changing light conditions.

I have quite a collection of paintings that I don't let out in public. Every once in a while, I review them and see if I can recover the feeling that made me want to paint them in the first place.

Here are two such paintings, although you only get to see "the after shots".

(Wansborough Karri. 20x24cm oil on board. © Andy Dolphin)

This small painting was done in the studio but executed quickly, like a plein air painting. It is based on a piece I did a few years ago. The original lacked a significant warm-cool contrast and therefore failed to portray much depth or the warmth of the sunlight. This little painting was done with a view to doing a larger piece.

(Kitchen, Arthur River. 20x24cm oil on board. © Andy Dolphin)

This was a little plein air painting I did back in March of the historic Mount Pleasant Inn kitchen at Arthur River.

When I first painted it, the sun disappeared for quite a while and I lost the light that had initially attracted me. As a result, all my tones drifted toward the centre and the painting lacked punch.

Last week I took another look at it and increased the contrast on the building, darkening the shadow side and boosting some of the intense light on the red brick wall. This instantly lifted it so I continued on, making the front row of trees darker to bring them forward from the distant trees. A bit of warm colour was added to the dry foreground grasses and it was saved.

In this case, I painted right over the original because the foundations were okay. It's a risk, because it could all go wrong then you've lost the lot, but it is a huge time saver. This one too might be used as the basis for a larger painting. There are a few exhibitions coming up and I need some paintings bigger than 20x24cm.

Williams Cottage

Here's the painting I did yesterday.

 (Williams Cottage. 20x24cm oil on canvas panel. © 2010, Andy Dolphin)

Now, before you ask, no the title doesn't need an apostrophe. The cottage is in a town called Williams, it isn't a cottage belonging to William. Okay?

This one took about an hour. Other than the loss of light due to clouds, half way through painting, this was a pleasant experience with very little of the tension that can often creep into plein air works.

Although there is less spectacular light, shadow and atmosphere, I find paintings done nearer the middle of the day more relaxing than than those done at the beginning or end of the day when shadows and the colour of the light change dramatically by the minute.

The interesting challenge with this one was that the cottage is barely noticeable in reality. It faces roughly south so I doubt the sun ever lights up the front. There are trees along the roadside at the front of the property so I'm sure a lot of people drive by without seeing it. I had to decide whether to try and enhance the cottage a little and make it a feature, or to leave it subdued as just a part of the overall mass of shadow tones.

I opted for the latter as I think it feels more abandoned this way, almost as if it's hiding, forgotten. I didn't want it to be "pretty".

Did I mention that I used Australian Red Gold in every colour mix in this painting? It was a joy.

And now for something completely different...

I rarely do paintings of buildings that aren't in a state of ruin. I love rusty old sheds that look like they'll fall over in the next strong wind but I generally steer clear of solid buildings.

I was driving around town on Monday evening and noticed the strong, warm light of the setting sun lighting up the Mt Barker railway building. The station was glowing! Yes it was a solid building with no rust in sight but in a painting like this the building isn't as important as the abstract patterns of tones and temperatures and that's what I wanted to focus on.

As usual at this time of day, I was going to be pushed for time before the sun set.

  (Mt Barker Railway Building. 20x24cm oil on canvas panel. © 2010, Andy Dolphin)

I was especially captivated by the interplay of warm and cool reds so that was where I started (I wanted to say "the juxtaposition of warm and cool" because that makes any critique so much more "arty", but I'll avoid it for now). I quickly laid out the main outline shapes then worked on the sunlit face, trying to get the tonal balance correct here. Then I worked out from here, filling in the shaded roofs, walls, lawn, path and shrubbery. The sky, a hint of background buildings and a few flicks of the foreground trees were the last thing I added on site. By now the sun had gone but I wasn't finished - I was missing some of the sunlit areas.

Luckily I had taken a photo of the scene before I started so once I was home I brought the image up on the digital camera screen and used that to add some final details. I hadn't added that strip of sunlight on the floor so the photo was invaluable for placing this correctly. The photo also helped to clarify a couple of confusing shadows that had shifted quite a bit as I was painting so a couple of touch ups and I was done for this sketch.

This painting was done on a canvas panel. I've made a few of these up by gluing pre-primed cotton canvas to my pre-cut MDF boards. I used white PVA glue and finished the canvas with a fresh coat of acrylic gesso.

Next time we have a good clear evening sky, I think I'm going to give this location another go - but starting just a little earlier.

The station is no longer used for its original purpose. Restored in 1997, the main building now houses perhaps the best tourist information centre in Western Australia. The railway itself still operates but only for long, heavy haulage trains that pass through without stopping, on their way to deliver grain to Albany Port.