Evening Light on the River
In this post, I’ll walk you through my recent 8x12 painting “Evening Light on the River,” sharing insights about handling water reflections and exploring why certain compositional structures continue to interest me after all these years.
Evening Light on the River 8×12
This painting represents one of my favorite compositional motifs - what’s called a “steelyard composition.” You have a large tree mass on one side balanced by a smaller but strategically placed mass on the other. This creates both balance and dynamic interest while providing an excellent frame for the dramatic sky. This scene might look familiar if you’ve been following my channel, I’ve painted similar compositions many times. Originally inspired by another artist (though I can’t recall exactly who), this version of my reference was digitally manipulated quite a bit further from that original reference. It’s become a riff on a riff, which is something I love to do. Each iteration allows me to explore different aspects of light, color, and atmosphere within a proven compositional framework.
Returning to Tonalist Roots
The story behind this painting begins with my having just completed a major coastal scene - “Poor Knights Island” - which I’m making reproductions of and will discuss in detail when I share that piece. After finishing such an involved work, I felt the need to reset, and since Tonalism is my first love, I returned to this more intimate pond scene. While my coastal scenes do have tonal properties, they represent a different attitude. Much of what constitutes Tonalism lies in the subject matter itself, but also in a particular approach to shadows and masses. You don’t often see tonal paintings featuring the actual ocean, but you do see many featuring ponds and quiet water like this.
The Challenge of Painting Reflections
Reflections have always been a particular challenge for me, and I have great respect for artists who handle them superbly. I consider myself competent enough that they don’t distract from the elements I do handle well, but I’m always working to improve. If you know you struggle with painting water, here’s my key advice: start with a blocky, loose approach. Just block things in and creep up on the effect gradually. Cover the whole area first rather than trying to work out every tiny relationship from the reference. What you want to avoid at all costs is shifting into what I call “drafting mode” - where you start working out every minute detail and relationship between elements. This was a major part of my illustration work, but with painting, especially with reflections, this approach is deadly.
The problem with overworking reflections is that you lose the essential feeling of reflected light. The surface becomes stiff and unbelievable. Keep it loose and experimental. In this painting, you can see on the right side there are just two lightish lines at the bottom - that was essentially the only detail I added that specifically says “this is water.” You can use techniques like Bob Ross’s approach of adding a highlight against the shore, but you need to be careful with such effects. They work well for creating the illusion of water, but they can become clichéd if overused.
Understanding Proportion and Process
For those interested in seeing more of my complete process, including the struggles and solutions that don’t always make it into these edited videos, the members area features the real-time version of this painting session - about 3 hours in 4K with no ads. You’ll see the reference image at the beginning, hear about upcoming challenges, and watch a complete color mixing session. One technical note about working from references: I find it very helpful to match your painting proportions to your reference proportions. If your reference is square, make a square painting. If it’s a landscape format, use a landscape board. This makes the translation much easier.
This particular painting is 8x12, which follows what’s sometimes called the golden section or golden mean. Take your short side (8), divide it in half (4), and add that to the original dimension (8 + 4 = 12). George Inness loved this proportion and used it extensively, sometimes scaling it up dramatically to 24x36 inches. While I enjoy experimenting with various proportions, this ratio has proven itself repeatedly as harmonious and pleasing.
Landscape Painting the Tonalist Way
Speaking of artistic approaches, my book “Landscape Painting the Tonalist Way” represents 13 years of working in this manner and contains everything I could think of at the time about this approach. It’s designed as a how-to format, unlike the new book I’m currently writing, which takes a different approach. Both will complement each other, and the original remains available for $60 with international shipping included. ’m also excited to announce that I’m working on a new book that addresses a common problem with YouTube instruction - those moments when you remember a useful tip but can’t remember which video it was in. This new book is designed to be a thorough reference you can leaf through to find solutions to specific challenges.
Philosophy of Reference
One important point about working from references: I don’t consider my reference images to be art - my paintings are the art. Creating and digitally manipulating reference images is simply part of the process that culminates in the painting. I am the final arbiter of what goes into each painting, stroke by stroke, regardless of any digital work done on the source image. Don’t get too tight with your reference. Even if you have an amazing reference that you think would be “popping” if you could translate it perfectly, resist that urge for literal translation. Get your reference up, make your painting, and trust your artistic instincts to guide your interpretation.
Looking Ahead
For those interested in more direct interaction, I’m hosting live AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions on Thursdays - 5 PM East Coast time, 2 PM West Coast, which is 9 AM my time here in New Zealand on my YouTube Channel. Last week we discussed color matching challenges, among other topics. If you have questions about any aspect of painting, these sessions provide an opportunity for direct dialogue.
Thanks for joining me today. I hope to see you on the live session, and I’ll be putting out another video mid-week since I have quite a few paintings to share with you. Until then, take good care of yourself and stay out of trouble.