Reflections of an Artist

Painting by Karl Dempwolf and Sketches for Changes

      After the break, Karl discussed the painting above, which he wanted to improve. Karl thought the rocks were too similar in size, shape and color so he did some sketches to help him decide how to proceed. The tree was another shape that bothered him, it was to close to the center and too evenly shaped. Karl's paint is very thick so he will score the painting by sanding it before painting over top of the old paint.

Karl Dempwolf Making Changes to his Painting

      Above, Karl boldly reshapes the rock on the left and changes the color to be less blue. He inserted more sky between the rock and the tree which moved the tree to the right and changed its shape. In addition to these basic design changes, Karl added color interest to the foreground.It was easy to see the improvements.

Karl Dempwolf Making Changes to Another Painting

      Karl brought this large painting above to show us how he puts the finishing touches on one of his paintings.  In one large stroke he is lightening the hill to the right. He felt the original sketch had more punch so continued to modify the larger painting accordingly. Karl then added the lines of bright green on either side of the river bed. He wanted more warm colors in the sky and added touches of peach. Karl then defined the foliage of the center trees against the sky. All these final changes added bright colors to the painting.

Karl Putting in the Final Touches

      The mid ground trees on the top left were to uniform and ended at the branch of the foreground tree so Karl added sky holes to separate them from the tree in front. He punched up the intensity of the orange in the center of the painting, separating that area from the foreground lines.

After Adding Highlights and Detail

      The shape of the curved trunk in the front bothered Karl but he decided to try adding white highlights to the trunk and a few white branches. I am sure that Karl will continue to make changes to this painting but it was fascinating to hear his reasoning as he worked on the painting. One of the most important lessons I came away with was seeing how bold Karl is with the changes he made. He is not intimidated or afraid to try something if it could improve a painting. Lesson learned: be fearless.