Monday, August 14, 2017

The Tinker's Dream.....




Sweet Summer Solace....

I Had a week of Vacation, Dear Readers, during which one would think I got a Lot done because I went Nowhere at all, except perhaps to Travel far far away into a land that never was and perhaps will never be, trying to find the Tinker's Dream. That elusive place where the horses are always running free but never running far, where the sun is always just rising, or just setting, and one can sit and watch the shadows shift with the promise of peace and go nowhere at all! And there is a soft mattress in a quiet corner where the Dreams find you and steal you away....

Perhaps some of you will remember that A year ago 
I got swept up in building a Gypsy Caravan.... 
and as with so many of my in-progress projects,
 I came upon a challenging place 
and jumped to an easier project instead!
In this case the challenging place was the realization 
that in order to complete the outside of the wagon, 
I had to first complete the inside!

Which meant first of all adding glass to the windows!
This kit comes with lovely frames, but no glass panes.
(I wanted real glass panes)
Here you can see that the windows are finished....

Including the ones in the front door panels 
which here are open wide to give you a view inside. 
They required quite a bit of fancy measuring, cutting 
and additional interior framing to hold the glass in place.
(The roof is only temporarily in place.)
But that was just the beginning! 
Because a Gypsy wagon has to be very well organized... 
and all the spaces have to be carefully planned.
And in this case the sleeping compartment was so dark and gloomy... 
even with the two windows.... 
It made me think that perhaps the Tinker had painted the walls
 to bring in a feeling of the outdoors he knew so well.... 
and perhaps he had painted all his beloved horses...
So I had to see if I could find that place and bring it here....
 
The beginning is many coats of gesso...

And then a rough sketch and the beginning of layering the sky.....

You might be shocked that the next layer is the yellow ocher for the ground...
 but I wanted the warmth of sun to infuse the land.....

But there would be deep shadows 
so next came the burnt umber wherever the shadows lay.
At this point I began to need to be very specific about the source of the light in the painting... 
which is the sun just tipping the hill....

And then I start to add the greens....
 first the chrome green which is an olive yellow green....
And then the pthalo green which is a very translucent and blue green.... 
layered on top for the shadows....

And then I started to place the trees in the middle foreground..... 
to start to define the distance of the horizon...
And the ones at the "corners" which would frame the illusion 
of the outdoors on all sides of the wagon....

Arching their branches over the top of the "view" to enclose it....
To make it more sheltered and intimate and moody...


And of course, there will be horses!
They need a coat of white under-painted first...

But it has gotten very late and I had to pause for the night, Dear Readers, 
lest I begin to make too many mistakes...
And I go to sleep dreaming of grassy meadows I have never seen before...

And in the clear light of morning, start chasing shadows again.....

feeling my way into the left-side of the wagon...

Here I need to check that the shadows "run straight" 
once the wall is at 90 degrees angle to the main panel....
Of course, it depends entirely on the exact point of viewing to see it correctly....

And there will be another horse there too!

The horses will be colored... 
but their coats require the layering of colors too...
 
And too many details to enumerate... 
and shadows to ground them....

Being careful to leave the highlights of the lighter color where the sun strikes them.....
(sorry the surface is reflecting too much....)

And more close-up of the left side....

And the right too.
And another day has flown and I must stop for the night.

And with the fresh eyes of morning I can see 
that the central horse needs to be patched with black markings too....

And shadows added to ground the shire on the left.....

And highlights added to the leaves at the top....

And shadows in the trees....
 always tweaking the shadows.
And at some point Dear Readers, 
one must decide that enough is enough!
And move on the the framing.... 
here being the "structure" of the wagon...

The arched piece comes with the kit, 
but I have added the corner pieces....
because by now we are desperate to see how it will look when assembled!

Looking through the open doors to the sleeping compartment....
 (the blue tape is still on the inside of the door panel 
which has not been finished yet!)

Closer.... to see the right side panel too...

And the left hand side.... 
I know it is dark... the sun has set....
Can we feel the Tinker Dreaming?

So you can see Dear Readers, I did not go anywhere at all...
but I spent my Summer vacation in search of solace...
chasing the Tinker's Dream.
I hope you did not mind that I brought you too!

27 comments:

  1. Oh Betsy! It is truly marvelous! I feel as though I have been transported to a magical land - I can even feel the soft twilight breeze and hear the evening chorus. One night in this enchanting caravan would leave me feeling recharged and renewed! I hope in its creating, you feel that way, too!

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    1. Hi Jodi! It was very therapeutic to be able to paint day after day and not think about the time at all! It always amazes me how much time disappears into a painting.... much more than I imagine it will! Which is probably why I am so far behind on most of my paintings! LOL! I am really glad you could feel the atmosphere of this one! :)

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  2. Les chevaux représentent si bien la liberté chère aux habitants des roulottes, c'est une très bonne idée Betsy d'en avoir peint sur les murs de la partie chambre. Comme toujours, votre travail est impressionnant. Félicitaions!

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    1. Thank you Jean-Claude! I love to paint horses... and I am really glad you can feel the freedom of the setting!

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  3. An invitation to dream and freedom, very beautiful!

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  4. Hello Betsy,
    Only you could elevate a gypsy wagon to such a work of art. Your painting is gorgeous! I could just see myself lying in bed by candlelight looking at the scenes and falling asleep. It is marvelous. Great work on the windows as well. I am going back to admire the horses now. It is as grand as a mural in a country manor. Love it!!!
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Dear Giac, your comments are so encouraging! I love the Grand Country House murals.... and try to paint them whenever I can find an excuse! LOL! It just seemed to become necessary for the Gypsy Wagon... once the idea came I had to try it! I would love to have a place like that to Dream....

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  5. What a beautiful little painting! How big is that wagon, anyway? This was a lovely blog, interesting to see how much work you put into a tiny, tiny painting!
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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    1. Thank you Mom! The wagon is about 7.5 inches wide and the painting is about 4 inches high at the highest. The side panels are about 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches.... so not very big at all! I'm glad you like it! :)

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  6. Thank you so much for sharing this dream... and please... don't wake me up! I need to dream on and enjoy the lovely landscape and watch the beautiful horses (btw according to me adding the black patches to the central horse was the best decision, this pinto is exactly what you have in mind when thinking of a tinker pony), perfect in every detail like for example the feathering on their legs. It was great to see the development of your painting, all the different color steps, the composing of the scenery... your painting skills never stop to amaze me. Wonderful work!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Thank you Birgit! :) The best thing about a blog is that we can keep coming back to the same Dream if we like! LOL! I won't wake you at all! I knew somehow that you would appreciate all the Exact details of the horses! And I knew the central one would end up with patches.... but just how many and exactly where the black landed was the really tricky part! I had to Dream on that one! :)

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  7. Oh, wow! What a magnificent scene! I feel as though I could run with the horses. :]

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    1. I'm so glad you feel that way Brae, it means I was successful with the painting! :)

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  8. I LOVE your wrap around painted mural Betsy! I love the horses and the meeting of earth and sky, and how you have your equestrienne family grazing or prancing or strutting about each one enjoying their freedom.♡
    My only hope is that eventually when you install the lighting, and the rest of the fitting, that you will still allow plenty of room so that your AMAZING Mural will still be visible. :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Dear Elizabeth, you know me so well...! There is a risk that the mural would be too hard to see... but the real glass windows make viewing a "breeze" from any side! And eventually I hope to make the roof hinge open like a jewelry box..... I know it is complicated! But these are the challenges that seem to keep me Dreaming....! :)

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  9. Betsy, this looks just soooo gorgeous! I love it. So much detail and the just-right amount of light shining through as the sun rises. Sigh.

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    1. Thank you Shannon! It is always a challenge to make the light feel right once it is in the enclosed space.... so much depends on the light conditions inside! (I still have to figure out the lighting for this wagon!) I am very glad you like it! :)

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  10. Hello, Betsy - Thank you for letting me come along to enjoy your Summer Solace. I love the peaceful landscape of trees, meadow, and horses viewed from inside the caravan. The horses, in their varied postures, are lovely. I especially like the mare and foal. (I almost missed the foal!) I've always been partial to your gypsy wagon; now I want to go wandering in it. I think I'm a gypsy rover at heart! I've loved this delightful and carefree interlude. Thank you.
    Marjorie

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    1. Hi Marjorie! I am so glad you like the painting and the horses and the mood... and that it speaks to your "Gypsy soul"! I welcome your "company" on the journey of this Gypsy wagon project! I only apologize for the long gaps between the stages while I get things figured out! LOL!

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  11. This is truly amazing piece artistic work. I really enjoyed it. http://www.treacyscarpetsandfurniture.ie

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  12. Lovely scenes of freedom! I love your painting of the beautiful horses on all hours of the day.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Thank you Drora! I had a wonderful time painting them... getting "immersed" in the mood of the time of day and the nature of the horses! I am glad you like it! :)

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  13. I love your painting of the beautiful horses on all hours of the day.


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