Water and Stones

Water is becoming one of my favorite subjects. Especially interesting to me is moving water in all of its forms, from ocean tides to ripples in a puddle. Clarity or murkiness is another feature of water that I find fascinating. And so on.

I've painted water on the spot, outdoors, and recreated it from reference photos. Obviously, painting moving water en plein air is tougher, at least for me. An important lesson from an old teacher is "don't try to paint glass [or water]. Instead paint what it does to the things behind it." That is, clear or transparent material like glass or water distorts and alters the image of whatever it covers. In "Streambed" (painted outdoors) I tried very hard to be aware of soft, blurry edges and reflections in the water. The stones dotting the stream made great, solid counterpoint to the moving water.

Hoff, "Streambed," oil on panel, 6x6

Unlike "Streambed," there have been quite a few works in my past that showed the actual bottom of a stream. "Mountain Stream" is a relatively large studio work, created from imagination and several photo references. In this one my interest was showing convincingly how a stream of water could be reflective, transparent, and refractive. The stony bottom of the stream was a great challenge.

Hoff, "Mountain Stream." oil on canvas, 18x24

Finally, in "Bottom," was the challenge of showing varying color, value, and transparency of moving water. This work is from a personal photo of a crystalline stream in far southwest Virginia. 

"Bottom," oil on panel, 12x16