URBAN PALETTE KNIFE STUDY BY TOM BROWN

“BACK ALLEY ON BALBOA ISLAND”
5x4 INCH PLEIN AIR STUDY
ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING BY TOM BROWN
SOLD
This is another example of a quick study created on-site to capture the moment, similar to yesterday’s blog post.

Time and opportunity don’t always permit a more developed painting on location. In cases like this, I sometimes use the palette knife to quickly record the essential composition and color of a scene.

Then I can supplement that information with photos to document additional details. If I later want to create a gallery painting of the scene in the studio I can use the combination of the plein air study and photos.

It’s always interesting to compare the on-site study with the photo. The photo captures details like architecture, the automobile in the lane, and other specifics that I would want for accurate reference when working on a large painting of this scene.

But the palette knife study captures the soul of the scene. The spirit of the moment. It locks in the compositional arrangement I envisioned when looking at the scene first hand. And it records the subtleties of color usage that I envisioned as well. These are things the camera doesn’t capture.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, these are some of the lessons I’ll pass along to the students in my plein air workshop beginning this coming Saturday morning. If you’re an artist living in the Orange County area perhaps you might be interested in joining us. Email me for details.

Thanks for stopping to look. Have a relaxing day. And if you would like to own this little jewel, email me at: tombrownstudio@cox.net