Here is the beginning of a painting. I have tried to make different color changes throughout the painting. The pink in the sky is darker and more red than the white of the house in light. The right bush is darker and redder in shadow than the bush on the left which is back further so the shadow is a bit lighter and cooler. The inside of the porch is a bit darker and warmer than the shadow part of the outside walls of the house. I am not sure whether these colors are accurate at this point but I have painted rapidly to get my first impression down. I have also concentrated on organizing the lights and my shadows.

I go back to my start and add the greens in the foliage and the reflective lights in the house. I am creating form with color changes. I am not doing this with value only but making hue changes also. When I add the reflective light in the white of the house in shadow, I am careful to keep it dark enough so that it still stays together with the shadow notes.

Voila, here is the finished painting with details added.

More steps of this painting are included in my book,
"Mondays with Camille "Capturing the Key of Light in Color"
Visit my web site: przewodek.com and request a ten-page preview of my new book!

Although this painting was done on location, here is a photo of the actual house. I think I have improved it.

As Hawthorne says in "Hawthorne on Painting" (a book I highly recommend)

"Anything under the sun is beautiful if you have the vision - it is the seeing of the thing that makes it so."

Here is a step study done at one of my Monday morning classes. I don't spend a lot of time on the initial drawing but just get big shapes and angles that interest me. I then lay in the first big color notes which I will modify on the second go around. I usually stop here and finish the painting either by returning to the location another day or in my studio, utilizing my painting memory. The finished painting is available and is currently in a show at Roger's Gardens, Corona Del Mar, CA.

This is a study that I did on location  at Yosemite National Park. I spent some time observing how the water was falling and organizing the light/dark patterns.

Bridal Falls, 11" x 14" oil on canvas, Still Available

Here is a painting I did later in the studio from my color study. I changed the composition and refined the painting. I much prefer working from a color study than a photograph. I had to rely on my painting memory which I have developed over the years by painting on location.

Cascading Water, 16" x 12", oil on canvas, Still Available