Friday, May 13, 2011

Mission in Oil

Recently I've been rediscovering oil painting. 
It's been fifteen years since my brief introduction to oil painting in an art class in college. 
Last month I pried the caps off those old tubes of paint and started experimenting. 
And it has been so much fun!  

During a recent visit to Santa Barbara I snapped some pictures for painting inspiration. 
My mom and I walked (as we often do) up to the Mission, whose recognizable facade is usually viewed from this vantage point from the beautiful rose gardens at the foot of a wide lawn in front of the Mission.

 

  I've found that photos that are less beautiful--less picturesque--and less busy--
tend to work better for artistic inspiration for me.  
I think I feel more free to interpret when the original image is not something 
I'm trying to re-create in all of its photo-perfect detail. 

So I walked down into the overgrown field to the side of the lovely gardens 
and captured this glimpse of the familiar landmark:


And here's my interpretation:




The Santa Barbara Mission in Oil:



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