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Yearly I’m invited to donate a piece of artwork to a local fundraiser, Pick of the Vine, put on by an excellent organization, Senior Advocacy Services of Sonoma County. Long ago I realized it’s far better to habitually donate a decent painting rather than a frame-damaged dog. What possible good can that do to my reputation? And how likely will it be to receive many bids?

For this year’s event, I decided to revise an existing painting rather than create something entirely new. Looking around my studio, I found this rather dull, gray painting that I’d had for probably ten years.  The frame is still in good condition, and it’s glazed with expensive, non-reflective glass, so no reason to let it languish in the reject stack any longer.

However, the presentation of the subject matter needed some serious rethinking. I’d originally done a small plein-air pastel from our driveway of a fire up in the distant hills, a curiosity. Then I decided to do this larger studio version. Why? Who knows?  After the horrific wildfires in Sonoma County last fall, nobody would ever buy such a painting. I popped it out of the frame and got to work.

1. Here’s the original painting, Wildfire, an 11 x 22-inch pastel.

2. First to go: any hint of smoke. I cleaned up the color in the sky, and added some clear blues to the various hill ranges. I started enhancing late light on the Eucalyptus trees, the true stars of the scene.

3. Next to go, the looming gray cloud mass. Now oranges, lavenders, and inviting blues give life to the sky. I add rich orange-yellows for the horizontal planes across the valley and scattered warmth over the too-cool hills. I continue the makeover of the big trees. For someplace to go in the valley I give hints of buildings and perk up the foreground field with some detail. Greens go into the silhouetted trees.

4.  I want to move several trees over the first rise and thus use a purple that is cooler than the colors in the closer Eucalyptus and pines to extend the sunlit hilltop in front. More subtle details and color are called for down in the valley as well as in the clouds to give some interest. I also test highlight colors for branches in the tallest trees.

5.  Time for subtle final touches: more buildings in the valley, warmth in the distant hills, more softening of the clouds. I add fences and do some pruning of the Eucalyptus trees. The purple is much too pronounced, so I tone it down with gray-blues and carve into the trees with the background color. With this, North Towards Sunset (pastel, 11 x 22) is complete.

I think this scene now has a good chance of raising funds for a worthy cause. For a painting in an auction that is to appeal to a broad range of artistic tastes, I often leave the colors bolder than I might for a gallery or museum show.

Pick of the Vine     April 7, 2018

Rohnert Park, CA       www.pickofthevine.org