Mike McCarthy 1/15/25 Mike McCarthy 1/15/25

Riffing on Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen 6x8

Welcome to another tonal landscape oil painting demonstration. The painting I'm bringing you today is called "Riffing on Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen 6 x 8, ". I'm calling it a riff, but it was changed so dramatically from Julius's painting that it's hardly recognizable as being influenced by his original. It could have easily gotten away with just saying I came up with it.

If you're interested to see what's up with those changes , the live video is there in my YouTube Members Area. At the beginning of all the recent live members area videos, I put my reference images up. In this case, I put my adjusted reference image up and Julius's original. So check that out if you are interested!

One of the big changes I made from his painting is to the river and the tree, in his original, he had a tree coming out of the closer bank and then the tree back behind. Also, the foreground tree was tilted. I don't like tilted trees at all. I don't think they work compositionally. You can really get too tight when painting reflections. Watch out for that because reflections in the water should never be stiff, they should be loose with everything just roughly reflected in the approximate places they should be. This painting is pretty much Alla Prima. I did the drawing-underpainting in the morning, then came back and painted the rest of it in the afternoon, and that worked well. It's good to break up the painting process into various stages.

Let's talk about overworking paintings. It's almost inevitable that you will at some point. That's why often times there are many things I would like to add to my paintings, but I don't. I just leave it at the Alla Prima stage so the painting stays fresh. Many times in my YouTube members area while a painting is coming together live, you'll hear me say, "That's it. I'm going to leave it alone. I'm going to let it breathe. I'm going to let it live."

There's something to be said for how you initially interpret the reference, whether it's a plein air scene outdoors or if you have a photographic reference. It doesn't really matter, you're looking at something and then you're making a painting from it. There's a lot to be said for that initial impetus and carring that through quickly. Sometimes later on, when your future self comes in and wants to paint in the piece, that's not the same person, so you really want to weigh putting the painting back up on the easel very seriously. There's a lot that you'll be losing by going over your initial fresh painting if you do. I'm telling you what's wise and true for me. You may find that you need to overwork a lot of paintings of your own before you've learned the lesson for yourself.

Until I come back with another video and blog post for your edification and enjoyment, take good care of yourself, stay out of trouble, God bless you and your family!

Cheers,

M Francis McCarthy

Mike McCarthy 1/10/25 Mike McCarthy 1/10/25

Riffing on Frederick William Cost: A Tonal Landscape Painting Demonstration

Welcome to another Tonal landscape oil painting demonstration by your painter-in-residence, M Francis McCarthy.

Today, I'll be sharing a 5x7 painting I completed recently titled "Riffing on Frederick William Kost." I'm thrilled with the way it turned out, and I hop that you'll gain valuable insights from watching me create this artwork.

This painting is definitely a Tonal work, but it's not a direct study of Frederick's painting, it’s a riff, my take on Fred’s piece. Much like a cover song, it is sort of similar but also very different. I've altered the sky completely, as Frederick's original featured a yellow sky and in lot’s of other large and small ways. Check it out!

If you're a member of my YouTube channel, you can access the live version of this video in the Members' area, where you'll see not only the entire painting process LIVE but also Frederick's original image and my modified reference at the start of the video.

Many Tonalists would sometimes paint the sky yellow to create a peaceful, still atmosphere. I wanted more of a payoff in the sky, as it occupies a significant portion of the painting. I think the extra color adds up to a real pay off! I'll likely create more of these "riffs" as I update the older sections of my channel. What a blessing it is having access to all this information now. The future is awesome in so many ways!

Speaking of updates, I've been shipping out copies of my book, which I'm excited to send anywhere in the world for $60 US. This price covers international shipping, ensuring that everyone has access to my work.

I was pleased with how this painting came together. One aspect I'm particularly happy with is laying down the sky and leaving it alone. This approach allows for greater expression in the painting which is always my primary goal. I believe that we all want to see an emotive quality from an artist's unique perspective when viewing a painting.

Throughout the video, I discuss various topics, such as the influence of varnish on Tonalist paintings and my decision not to varnish my work. Instead, I prefer to use Liquin as a protective layer. We no longer live in an era of gas lamps and candles so the need for varnish is greatly minimized.

I want to remind you that there's much more content available in the Members' area. Additionally, I recently released a YouTube Playlist featuring all the live videos from 2019. While my skills have improved since then, those videos still offer valuable insights.

By the way I’ve painted this scene by Kost before. way back in 2015. That is more of a straight up study and part of my first set of YouTube video in a series called 100 days of Tonalism.

I hope you enjoy and learn from this demonstration. Until next time, take good care of yourself, your family, and all of your loved ones and after watching this video, go create a painting!

Cheers,

Mike