My Latest Painting : Serenity

Here's my latest painting.It's an oil on canvas,75 x 50 cm.

Finished Painting

I painted the field of reaped wheat over that dark background which I had done by mixing burnt umber,burnt sienna and yellow ochre.

Painting in Progress Step 4

The tree and the bushes on the left side of the painting are here!.I will go back to them and put some highlights.

Painting in Progress Step 3

Time to leave the sky in peace and get down a bit!I painted some mountains in the same colours I had used for the sky and clouds to create the illusion of distance.A landscape is usually painted from background to foreground,that is from the furthest point in the horizon to the closest thing before the viewer's eyes.That's the same method I usually follow.
When the mountains looked convincing enough to me I moved to painting some distant houses and trees.I was still working on the illusion of depth and distance in my painting so I painted some houses that looked even further behind another group of houses.
Time to get closer now. I painted some trees in the foreground on the right side of the painting.I wanted it a summer/autumn landscape so I knew what colours I was going to use.
Trees on both sides of the painting are a good way to create a focal point in the painting and guide the viewr's eyes to where I want them to go.To create 3 dimensional trees,that is to give them depth ,I painted them in the shadow colour (the dark one),then I started highlighting them to create the effect of the sunlight striking the leaves.
Next step will be painting some trees on the left side of the painting and working on a field of wheat where I have blocked that mass of dark brown which is mixture of burnt umber,burnt sienna and yellow ochre.

Painting in Progress Step 2

I feel more comfortable with a canvas and a brush than with a pencil and a paper!On a 75 x 55 cm canvas that I have already stretched and primed myself,I put some titanium white scarcely thinned by some linseed oil.(linseed oil is what we use for thinning oil paint).I put this mixture of linseed oil and titanium white so as to be able to mix my colours right on the canvas ( a technique introduced by impressionists).I grabbed a mixture of dioxazine purple and cobalt blue and started painting the sky.From time to time I grabbed some magenta to introduce more hues into the sky.
Time for my favourite play now!Putting some clouds into my sky!What I did on what you see here is define the shape of the clouds and the lights and shadows on them.Lights are done with pure titanium white while shadows were painted with a mixture of magenta and dioxazine purple.I'll go back and put more hues and tints on both lights and shadows.I'll also give the clouds more texture.
See you over the next step!

Painting in Progress Step 1

It has just occurred to me to let you go along with me on a little experience..that of following me as I create a painting.Seeing a finished painting can be very nice,but I believe seeing it be created gradually can be a great experience.
What you are watching here is a very loose sketch on a paper that has been done over a few minutes.It is meant to make clear in my mind the general composition of the painting..the proportion and balance of the elements of the painting.I'm not bound in anyway to this sketch..I always tend to go patiently with the painting as it is being built and be open to whatever would make it look better.

Thanks for the comments..keep them coming

Hi everybody,I just wanted to thank those who have taken time to have a look at my blog,gone through its posts and jotted down some words.Actually those comments are what this blog is all about.

Links to some of my paintings

Here is a link to some of my latest paintings :

http://www.artactif.com/mustapha-farmati/galerie/index8911.htm

My early paintings in a video

Took me some time to get this video done..but I guess it was not a bad attempt at movie making !

Have you ever raised your eyes up to discover the wonders that float just above our heads?!

First Moment Beyond Time

The first moment beyond time I'd like to invite you to is with some of my early paintings.These were my first steps into what's becoming the greatest adventure of my life..painting.These canvases embraced my first strokes,my first impressions with welcoming hearts.They were painted,in oils, between 2005 and 2007.