Nathan Mellott

Report: (draft)

it is a cloudy day. work on the Sandia Mts. painting is coming along. today i will go on site and most likely work on the dirt road in the foreground; i may also flatten the shadows of the mountains with more king's blue and a small amount of a pine colored green. i should consider leaving an application for a scholarship to Rome, which is due the 20th. there is also the peace hotel scholarship in shanghai. 

project report (draft) : 

-"Sandia Mts (from Santa Anna Pueblo)" oil painting. 6 days of on-site work, daily in-studio touch up. New Mexican Monsoon Season, relative abundance of greens, swift clouds change mt. lighting continuously. Mountain has elusive clay-red notes; dark blush and peach impression given from a cloud shaded road - both yet to be tackled. the dark trunks of the bosque are an easy and impactful detail still to come. since yesterday i've debated if and where to place a walking person, kicking up dust in the stillness. foreground, middleground, or on the hidden trail where it meets the bosque. the skeleton of a large wooden shrub, fallen over, mid-fore, has not been addressed, but will add significantly to the overall impression of detailing and dry climate which is predominant.

-"Washington Sq. Park (NYC)" oil painting. 4 days of on-site work, studio work since the spring. light values are in development with consideration to the sun, sourcing light; the ground vs vertical facades vs sky intensity vs foliage highlights. the clothing detailing is under consideration as well as the breadth of the color palette. the slate blue paving stones have a good start, and i'm thinking of a transparent unbleached-titanium white glaze  to go over similar slate underpainting for the effect of lighter pavers. the building to the west (painting faces north) needs corrected perspective lines on the windows alone - pencil and ruler work.

-"Miss C (portrait)" oil painting. 15 hrs. with live model, many more without. likeness was of greatest importance; this painting is going to the model. work ahead includes detailing of blinds, curtain, leather chair, blanket, and skin tone fluidity. hands need refining and hair colored. still life to the right needs fleshed out. photos have been taken as a reference. I am no longer working in that studio space.

-"Tidal Basin, Cherry Blossoms, Two Women (District of Columbia)" oil painting. originally executed in the spring, interviewed by the travel channel and chinese newspaper on-site. completion postponed by demand to finish other commissions garnered at the same time, of paintings of the cherry blossoms from different locations. after hiatus, the most pressing change i wanted was intricate detailing and inventions to be placed on the jackets. the woman on the right will likely have lightened grey hair, and the darkest skin; she has a new mexican sun icon on her coat. 

-"Apparatus" oil painting on paper. invention. the sky near my horizon must be lightened closer to the ground's value. Sandia Mts. may be added to the background. skin modulation and hues to be refined, edges to be sharpened or softened.