Looking back at last week's progress, I realised that the house and tent were too colourful and blended into the background. I decided to paint over them with a wash of white and them build the details back up to make them stand out more. I also wanted to juxtapose them with the background to show the divide between the two concepts of the piece- childhood innocence vs fear of oppression. Making the house more sinister-looking compared to the playful landscape will help me contrast the comfort and discomfort associated with the different types of concealment.
In a peer review, Sue said I should decide on a time of day/weather condition so I could work out the lighting and make the painting more cohesive. I printed out photos of my outcome and quickly painted different skies over the top. This allowed me to work out which would better fit with the rest of the painting. I decided that full daylight or night time wouldn't allow me to have the ominous shadows I am aiming for.
I chose dusk with a dark sky and the last light along the horizon so I could have long shadows contrasted with warm light to show the different emotions. I found an article from The Telegraph about Jenny Oulton's photography of London between dusk and dawn. I used these images to work out how the light would interact with the landmarks in my painting.
^ From Jenny Oulton's 'London Dawn to Dusk'
I used layers of washes to change the sky whilst keeping some of the background marks and then added in the warm light through the trees. I started going back over the trees and bringing some of my favourite marks back into the sky. In my action plan, I planned to paint the figures this week but didn't get the chance because I needed to change the sky. Instead, I will add them next week along with the final details.
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