I visited Flatford Mill last October. It is now in the care of the National Trust and seems little changed since Constable painted around there. My picture shows the exact spot that the Hay Wain stood in and I rather liked the "duck". It is interesting that the hay wain was actually standing there so that the moisture would help swell the wood in the wheels to help keep the rims tight - at least that's what they said.
David
Well it certainly has that painterly feel to it. The focus here seems to be the colours and textures - there is a lot going on within them, I feel this to be a good thing.
The problem for me is having mentioned the Constable painting, I had a quick look to remind me. While you may well have captured to scene accurately, Constable used to opportunity to present it differently. You might try to reduce the saturation of the greens and increase the saturation of other colours a little and it will have more impact. I think that you also need more of a focal point than the duck, perhaps a hay wain or?
Dave
I do like this, but for me, the very bright reflections at bottom right keep pulling my eye. I think it would also benefit from the swan being further back and slightly more centered to lead the eye more towards the darker area at the back.
Comments
I visited Flatford Mill last October. It is now in the care of the National Trust and seems little changed since Constable painted around there. My picture shows the exact spot that the Hay Wain stood in and I rather liked the "duck". It is interesting that the hay wain was actually standing there so that the moisture would help swell the wood in the wheels to help keep the rims tight - at least that's what they said.
David
Well it certainly has that painterly feel to it. The focus here seems to be the colours and textures - there is a lot going on within them, I feel this to be a good thing.
The problem for me is having mentioned the Constable painting, I had a quick look to remind me. While you may well have captured to scene accurately, Constable used to opportunity to present it differently. You might try to reduce the saturation of the greens and increase the saturation of other colours a little and it will have more impact. I think that you also need more of a focal point than the duck, perhaps a hay wain or?
Dave
I do like this, but for me, the very bright reflections at bottom right keep pulling my eye. I think it would also benefit from the swan being further back and slightly more centered to lead the eye more towards the darker area at the back.
Cheers, Des :-)