Warmth of Home

 

Drawing (c) Lesley Powell 2019

A cold snap has arrived, and with it my thoughts have turned to cozy interior spaces.  Early nightfall and a chill in the air definitely draw my attention inward. 

I've been revisiting some of my favorite paintings of interior spaces.  I do love to paint interiors--but unfortunately I end up throwing away as many interior paintings as I keep.  I fall too easily into the trap of making them look like stiff renderings of furniture!  Much harder to make them tell the story of how the light illuminates the room.  Therein lies the challenge...

"Ground Floor Entry"

14 x 11, Oil on Board

(c) Lesley Powell 2019

SOLD

It helps when I can take the time to draw the space while I am sitting in it.  With a drawing in hand, I can move on to the canvas, and sometimes not even look at a reference photo.  Working from the drawing alone allows me to be more free in my interpretation, and to avoid the distraction of extraneous objects.

"Sheltering"

Oil on Linen

(c) Lesley Powell 2020

 

My quest to simplify the interior continues.  I recently read that "The best way to stay afloat is to throw things overboard."  So I am "throwing overboard" all the unnecessary clutter, and focusing on how the light and dark shapes tell the story of the room.  Stay tuned!