Working from plein air sketches in the studio

 

I'm working in my studio from plein air sketches I did last week, trying to work in a loose, washy style.  I wanted something atmospheric and suggestive, without drawing every detail. Usually when I work plein air I draw with a pen, but in these painting's I am drawing with the brush and doing more negative painting initially. Direct painting like this makes it harder to get proportions correct, but in doing the painting several times over I should figure things out! The subject matter is very complex so although I peeked at my photos periodically, I didn't have them in front of me when I painted.  I tried to be more focused on what is going on with the paint, rather than reproducing a photo.

In this painting I felt the figures would be a nice focal point and give some scale. This is done on Arches Palatine paper, which has a smooth surface.