The Eli Lilly Estate "Oldfields" from the Canal

With this post, I thought it would be interesting to show you a recently finished painting along with a view of my studio and the progressive stages of painting it.  This painting is of the Eli Lilly home and estate called "Oldfields" which the Lilly family gave to the Indianapolis Museum of Art for the permanent sight of the modern, large art museum.  The estate encompasses many acres, with beautiful formal gardens and stately old trees, in which visitors are welcome to wander at their leisure. It's an amazing place and not to be missed when visiting Indianapolis. ( www.imamuseum.org ) This view of the mansion is from the rear as it sits high above a canal that takes water from the White River to the center of Indianapolis for the cities water supply.   Because the painting is large (18" x 24") and the scene is in December, I took a photo of the scene which I used as a photo reference to paint in my studio.

"Oldfields from the Canal", Oil on linen canvas, 18" x 24"

This is my studio.  The painting on the easel is about a third complete.  You can see my computer with the photo reference in the center and my paints and brushes on the right, complete with coffee cup.   Now I'll show you the initial drawing of the scene on the canvas, drawn with a brush and oil paint thinned with odorless  turpentine.

And here are the other progressive stages of painting during the development to the finished scene:

 It was very, very cold that day, and you're probably wondering how I got to the other side of the canal.  Well, there is a little foot bridge some distance to the right of this view.  I hope you can feel the cold dry air and the wind whipping along the canal as I can remember the day.   Painting winter scenes in my studio with a hot cup of coffee is much more pleasurable than being out there in the weather. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my painting process.  Thank you for viewing my paintings and for your interest.  Remember that I always enjoy hearing your thoughts and comments, and hope you'll pass this along to friends who might be interested as well.  You can see all my paintings on my web site www.kathrynclarkfineart.com.