“L.L. Bean Scene – Red canoe”
Finding inspiration for a painting can be occur almost anywhere. “Red Canoe” was actually inspired by a photo I saw in an L.L. Bean summer catalog. The bright colors and feeling of absolute joy in this snapshot portraying childhood innocence was irresistible…I just had to see how all these elements would come together with my paintbrush.
Achieving a balance between what is contained in the photograph and how much detail and clarity of the forms I wanted to include, was the goal I had in mind when choosing to paint this scene. Back in the beginning of when I first painting, I had always incorporated a great deal of detail; attempting to approach the point of ‘photo realism’ which then led to the question how closely I could replicate them. What I realized, after I was comfortable that I had achieved that level of detail…was that there are many more ways of approaching a subject. I decided to really explore when it seemed necessary to add that level of detail by looking at when, if not included; those elements would be missed.
While perfecting techniques is important, I decided that being able to do so was not the only part of painting that would fulfill my need to create work that would express my own style and vision. I wanted to be able to show how subjects appear to me using color, light AND form. Although I can appreciate the work that goes into creating a photograph that enhances the products L.L. Bean was trying to sell, I wanted to take the composition and interpret it the way I ‘saw’ it and the feeling it evoked. This was done by choosing where to include the most detail…such as in the children’s faces, and when to represent elements in a less-detailed and more impressionist manner, to give the detailed areas more emphasis.
Note: Due to a shipping issue that caused some damage this painting is not for sale.