Counting the strokes
 

Hi,
This is the bellringer in the church tower on the isle of Anholt.

Oil on linen, 50 x 45 cm

Allen
 

Beautiful job Allen, makes me wonder what time it is.

Dan, thanks,

it was made from a photo taken last years Whitsun, may 27. at 17:41 : 34 to be precise ;)

The bellringer ring the bell for an hour and finish with 9 long strokes, hitting the bell and letting the tone fade out before he strike again. He had 9 matchsticks to secure that he did it right.

Allan,
So nice to see another figurative of yours. I had been waiting.
Your inimitable and envious way of painting has succeeded again in evoking atmosphere and quiet concentration. Masterful technique as usual. I admire very much how you resolved his garment, and how you have given solidity to his head in profile.

If he didn

Allan, what a successful composition ! Beautiful edge work too, very subtle, a real pleasure to look at
Ilaria

Wow!

What a wonderful painting- I love the story it tells. I especially love the colors you've chosen for the man's face - everything is so light and open, and painted with such confidence.

Allan, I love the way you add to the description of your life with each new painting. In this one, the subject matter is unexpected. Sometimes the setting (as in the elevator) is unexpected, but really it's all part of your realm. It is as much a description of your rich imagination as of your outer environment.

The simplicity and serenity of this one is so striking. I love the colors and brushstrokes of the scene outside the window--like a jewel--with the bell-ringer's profile silhouetted against the light. It makes a compelling focal point. The arches of the deep window niche pull your eye to the left, while the figure balances the composition to the right. You probably arranged the intuitively but I couldn't resist commenting on it. I also admire the way you painted the textured walls, the man's face, and the folds of his gown in the light.

Allan,
great work! I love how the light sculpts all the scene, and the face in particular.
Nice composition, beautiful colors : a treat for the eyes!

Thank you all for the nice words.

This painting was an educational treat for me because of the wide value span. I had to lighten the darks quite a lot to avoid a total black and white effect. I believe that a painting should look right in most lighting situations and this tended to be too dark in low light before I lightened the inner wall.

Carlos,
I too, found the counting system to be cute. ;)

Very, very nice painting, Allan. I really like the way you worked the painting so thoroughly and still kept your brushstrokes so fresh. Confident and courageous. How long did it take you and how many times did you redo things?

Thomasin,
thank you for your comments.

The painting was on and off the easel a coupple of weeks, but the actual painting time was about a day.

Most work and thoughts were spend on evaluating the value intervals and relations. I must have lightened and darkened the inner wall 3 - 4 times. I knew that the lightest light should be a slightly colored white and the niche only a little darker to make the great valuespan to the inner wall.
The bellringers coat is a dark green and the walls whitewash, almost black and white, seen in the dark they come very close in value.

The details such as the head, hands and coat were not hard to fill in once the values were decided.
The window and niche was made in one "sitting" beginning with the light outside the window, window frame, shadow and light in the niche. That way I could relate the values to each other while they vere still wet and keep them very close in a light value, reserving a great valuespan for the shadows inside the tower.
I used the painting knife for the light outside the window and brush for most of the rest.