Through the turbulence a new painting arrives.

One of my newest paintings completed. Through the Turbulence, 12x24 oil on Canvas.  Are you interested in my process?  Read on and I'll share a little bit of it.

original sketches from sketch book.  These are about 2-3 inches across.  Very small

First comes the idea.  Recorded in a sketch book.  Sometimes just one sketch is needed, other times I play around and do different sketches.  In this case I did multiple sketches, different times, the key thing is the image kept returning.  Since I am always working on something the sketches will sit in my sketch book for a while, untouched.  Then, when the time is right I go through my sketch book and choose a few possible sketches to work out.

reference material

After deciding on a couple of sketches I gather reference material if needed.  In the bottom reference shot, the guy in the boat, left side figure, is actually from a kayaking picture.  I used Photoshop to cut and paste.  The boat at top center ultimately inspired me for shape and color.  At this point I am considering adding tribal marks to the side of the boat.  I'm not 100% sure of the direction yet.

final drawing

I use the sketch and the reference material to create my final drawing.  I'm pretty sure there will be no tribal markings but I still feel something is missing.  I just haven't figure out what yet.

color study

I use a copy of the final drawing to make quick color studies.  I usually do these in colored pencils and acrylics.  Above is the color choices I liked the best.

Stormy seas. Is this what I am missing?

Katsushika Hokusai's - Great Wave of Kanagawa from his series of 36 views of Mt Fuji, 1830-1832

Halfway through painting the sky and water I realized what was missing.  I wanted Iconic Japanese Waves, like the ones in the pictures above.  I was already thinking the canoe was emerging out of the darkness and going toward the light but the consistent water on the bottom was what was bugging me.  I thought it would be more exciting if he was emerging out of a storm.

Through the Turbulence 12x24 oil on canvas

And here we are today with the finished painting.

What do you think?

Cheers,

Larry
www.larryeinhart.com
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