Acrylic Underpainting by landscape artist Tracy Haines,Figurative, the zone, right brain activity

For so long I've wanted to tackle this image of my daughter, which was taken several years ago.  I liked the casualty of the pose, the attitude. It's Jordyn!

I finally started!  This is the acrylic underpainting.  I don't often start an oil this way, but lately have been playing around with loose acrylic underpaintings to get the canvas covered.  I will continue the painting in oil, and I will attempt to keep the end result loose, too.  I love a painterly quality in works; just not a big fan of especially tight paintings-although I admire the realists.

What is particularly fun about this approach, is that once the tough work is done- the work requiring left brain activity (which is always a strain for me , and why I beat a hasty retreat out of medicine)-one can put in "time out" the chatty, over- analytic left brain by, say, listening to an interesting podcast.  This frees up the right brain to take over and allow a more fluid, intuitive completion of the painting.  For me , this is where the painting really comes to life.  This is that zone where I lose all sense of time and place and self.

Thank you for checking this post out, and I will post the painting again once it's completed.

Haines original art landscape paintings oil on canvas mount Elbert Colorado mountains fall foliage aspen trees paths

Mount Elbert is a 9x12 oil on linen canvas attached to masonite. This piece was done plein air.

Thrice I've tried to climb this 14er!  Each time we were forced to turn around and beat a hasty retreat. At one point we were a mere 30 minutes from the peak.  One day, perhaps. (although this ole body is starting to kick back against things like 14ers.....)

Tracy Haines original oil paintings on linen canvas plain air trees streams light Colorado landscapes impressionism

Title:  O'Fallon Park Artist: Tracy Haines Medium: Oil on linen canvas on masonite Size : 9x12 Unframed This painting was done en plein air on a beautiful spring day in the mountains of Colorado.  It was delightful to paint on such a crisp, fresh morning to the music of a swiftly flowing stream!

Tracy Haines Art,fine art,paintings,colorful , Colorado landscapes, acrylics,original,modern contemporary art,

Winter Lake is a 5x7 acrylic painting on canvas panel.  Colorado skies are sublime. The sky this day cast a gorgeous array of subtle colors over the partly frozen lake and permeated the surrounding snow-covered land, trees and bushes. Some scenes paint themselves!

Tracy haines fine art, paintings, oils, acrylics, pastels Coloful, Colorado landscapes,rivers, streams,mountains,trees, snow, affordable, wall art

Blue Streams is a small 5x7 acrylic on canvas panel study from Lair of the Bear. I am reworking a similar scene as a very large painting.  This study was a re-working of the larger first attempt- changing a few shapes and structures for a better over all design.