When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

acrylic painting

« Previous Entries Next Entries »

Sun Shower out again (04 that is)

Saturday, November 15th, 2008


 

Sun Shower #4, top left, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches Sun Shower #4, top central, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches Sun Shower #4, top right, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches

Sun Shower #4, bottom left, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches Sun Shower #4, bottom central, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches Sun Shower #4, bottom right, each detail approximately 36 x 24 inches

 Sun Shower #4, 45L x 85W x 3D inches, work in progress layering matte glaze and acrylic color washes, wrapped canvas

Nov. 15th above the largest thumbnail of the painting are 6 details of Sun Shower 04, 45H x 84W x 3D inches masking medium, acrylics, and matte glaze on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Last few days worth of layering glazes, work in progress. Started May 3rd.

Sun Shower #4, left area detail after mask medium peeled off, layering color November 10th – Left and right details, continuing to define leaves, not too much though and layering colors of rain and light. Low-light situation today, so the colors shown here are not as vibrant as they actually are.Sun Shower #4, right area detail after mask medium peeled off, layering color washes in progress

November 7th – Mask medium has all been peeled off and now layers of matte glazing medium/acrylics color washes gradually bring things to life and into focus.

Sun Shower #4, 49 x 84 x 3 inches, Acrylics on wrapped canvas, custom built stratcher frame, work in progressNovember 5th – Sun Shower 04 after 2nd application of masking medium, but before peeling it off, and a days worth of painting over top of that, changing the species to Oak..

 November 3rd – Sun Shower #4, 49 x 84 x 3 inches, Acrylics on wrapped canvas. About to undergo some noticable changes.Since Shadows Of Summer (recent, started after this one) is of a Maple tree, and similar ideas of looking up at the canopy will be much more suitable for paintings of the Giant Redwoods and Sequoia, and there will be no duplicates of tree species portrayed for The Majesty of Trees collection, the subject is being changed from Maple to Oak. Above left, Sun Shower #4 before 2nd application of masking medium (usually used for watercolors on paper). This painting started off as a full canvas of Maple Leaves, then changed to looking up at the canopy, and is now being changed again to the original inspiration, the Red Oak in our front yard during a sun shower. Paintings change until they’re done. What will not change here is the principle idea: rain and leaves in rays of light.

  Applying masking medium with a toothpick over first layers of color. Total canvas size 45L x 85W x 3D inches, here about 8 x 8 Masking medium details over first stages of painting.

Masking medium is being reapplied with a toothpick on top of the first version of this painting..has already had a layer of masking medium removed from earlier stages. When most of the contrasts are taken care of the medium will be removed, revealing raindrops of all the colors underneath.

Work on Sun Shower 04 posted earlier this year: * first entitled Maple Leaves  May 3rd   * May 8th   * May 9th   * May 17th  * May 23rd is when the name changed and I decided to experiment with the masking medium.  * June 17th

Rules, and Bridges to Your Own

Friday, October 31st, 2008


 
Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain, Chateau d\'Etchaux - 24 x 18 x 1 inch Acrylics on wrapped canvas, top left detailI think that a painting is more than the sum of its parts, but it’s the parts that have more to teach.
Some of the details in this painting are kind of groundbreaking for me, and new things I tried will be applied to future paintings, but with an honest and unbiased eye toward it, from a distance it looks like just another landscape. That seems to be the general opinion about most landscapes; being the most popular genre of painting, they are so common they need a second glance and closer study in order to be fully appreciated. Anyway, with this one I’m now pleased with the efforts, but when I started painting this one I had no intentions of posting it, mainly because it’s my interpretation of a postcard, commissioned by a neighbor.Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux - top central detail

The neighbors thoughtfully collect our mail and water the garden whenever we’re away, even when not asked, so when they requested a painting to be copied from a postcard of his home town in France I cringed (you know, about the copying thing), but then agreed. With no deadline demanded there was plenty of time to wrap my head around this project, and I took it. I still wanted to do a good job despite my strong convictions about copying, and waited for a time when I felt ready to do my best – because the first few strokes are as important as the last.

Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux - 24 x 18 x 1 inch Acrylics on wrapped canvas, central detailThere are decent arguments for and against a “right time” for things, and if a job needs doing immediately I have no problem doing it immediately, but I was thankful to have a little more time without the pressure to visualize this one.
I came to terms with the thing by finally just starting it, and the rest of this blog entry explains how that taught me more than my last five paintings all together.Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux - 24 x 18 x 1 inch Acrylics on wrapped canvas, top right detail

Once I let go of all the over-thinking about ethics and integrity, while resolving to make it my own I got lost in the most important part of anything you create: the work; that zone – we all want to get lost in The Zone! It turned into a really interesting, fun learning opportunity.

Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux, bottom left detailThere are a lot of slogans, terms, traditions, quotes and art-myths passed along through generations of artists. We absorb them over the years and they gradually play a part in forming our opinions and our work habits to some extent. Impulsively we set up walls that can get in the way of seeing and discovery.

We need assignments like this that challenge us to break free from rules, if only temporarily…rules that may be fine for others but may prevent us from exploring the avenues that lead to our own personal best.

Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux, bottom right detailThere’s a lot of competition in the Art Biz, a surplus of advice, group lessons, suggestions, and strong opinions about what art is and isn’t, what you should and shouldn’t do, and even a kind of unspoken underground rating system that some people have, pinpointing what style or motivational source is better than another.
Pays Basque, Saint Etienne de Baigorry, Le pont romain - Chateau d\'Etchaux - 24 x 18 x 1 inch Acrylics on wrapped canvas, giftThe point here is: whatever the initial source is that gets you painting or creating something, then use it. If it feels right for you then it is right for you. There are things in each painting, successful or not, that bridge all our efforts into the next. The act of working is valuable above all, whatever it is or however it’s done. The value you hold for yourself translates into your work that, if successful, may also become valuable to someone else.

The Fourth Of July – moving on

Saturday, October 18th, 2008


  The Fourth of July, 36H x 48W x 2D inches, acrylics on canvas

The Fourth of July, 36H x 48W x 2D inches, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Sold.

The Oxide Gallery in Denton had an open call today for Artists to bring in three paintings that best represented current work, to be judged for upcoming space openings.  Even though I didn’t think The Fourth of July was finished, I brought it in because it has the cheerful colors and bold marks that I’d like to inject more into future work. Usually there are lots of colors used, but they get layered over each other on the canvas and can become muted. The gallery owners informed me that it is finished! OK, great, I’ll take their advice. I’m quite happy to move on to another painting.

Especially toward the final stages when so much time and study has been invested, we can be so involved in the work we don’t see it with a fresh perspective the way others do. Other people’s eyes and opinions are so valuable.

 

Details

Monday, September 29th, 2008


 

The Fourth Of July, left lower central detail The Fourth Of July, right lower central detail

The Fourth of July, past the point of no return. Making one small change affects the whole piece. Rather than post another image of the painting as a whole, because there are already enough pictures of it, here are some details of changes made in the past few days from the lower central portion of the painting. To be continued…

The Fourth Of July finished

Saturday, September 27th, 2008


 

The Fourth of July, central detail

The Fourth of July, central detail of 36H x 48W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas

Yesterday as I added a few final brushstrokes a blue streak showed up unintentionally from some color left in the center of the brush. It was one of those rare details that happen accidentally to change the course of the entire painting. There are similar angular strokes that were starting to build up from color washes, but that tiny spark of blue brought all the others to attention, so today I added a few more in different colors. It was exactly what I was searching for. Over the course of time I may see areas where more tiny streaks need to be added to balance out the composition, but it’s otherwise finished. I am so excited about the sparks of color idea!

 

The Fourth of July work in progress

Thursday, September 25th, 2008


 

The Fourth of July work in progress, phase 01 36H x 48W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, custom built stretcher frame, wrapped sides painted

The Fourth of July - June 24, 2008 - in progress - 36 x 48 x 2 inches acrylics on canvas The Fourth of July - Sept 23, 2008 - in progress - 36 x 48 x 2 inches acrylics on canvas The Fourth of July - in progress - 36 x 48 x 2 inches acrylics on canvas, custom built stretcher frame. The Fourth of July - in progress - 36 x 48 x 2 inches acrylics on canvas, custom built stretcher frame.

The Fourth of July work in progress, 36H x 48W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, custom built stretcher frame, wrapped sides painted.

June 22, 23, Sept 23, 24: Adding mid-tones. The addition of a blue-white haze gel wash lightens areas that need to be rebuilt with brighter colors; in attempts to create contrasts, many areas have become too dark. Paintings always swing back and forth from too light to too dark or too defined to not defined enough, and just like a pendulum eventually come to rest between the two. I hope to bring the painting back toward the energy and explosive colors that it had after only one hour of work. Only the foreground flowers will have some detail; the rest will remain impressionistic in style.

Shadows of Summer update

Monday, September 22nd, 2008


 

Shadows Of Summer, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, narrow frame
Shadows of Summer, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas.

Shadows – work today

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008


 

Shadows of Summer - Phase 3 of work in progress 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvasShadows of Summer  work in progress, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, custom built stretcher frame. Since these photos were taken I’ve added a gel-wash of Ultramarine. The trunk colors need more contrast and background leaves need more depth.

 

 

 

 

Shadows of Summer – work in progress

Monday, September 15th, 2008


 

Shadows of Summer - Phase 2 of work in progress, top detail 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas  Shadows of Summer - Phase 2 of work in progress, lower detail 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas

Thumbnails: Shadows of Summer, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas Phase 2, top and lower detail

Shadows of Summer Phase 1 of work in progress, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvasLeft: Shadows of Summer Phase 1 in progress.

Tomorrow: plans are to create more flow and less of a hard line between background leaves and the trunk, plus add more reds and make this an early Autumn scene. Also I’d like this one to be less representational, so now that it’s mapped out will change to imply leaves and space more abstractly and play with subtle changes in planes.

 

 

 

Going for the magic every hour

Friday, August 15th, 2008


 

Magic Hour 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, sturdy home-built core stretcher frame, wrapped sides painted

Magic Hour finished (Gitxsan Totem Pole, Thunderbird Park, Victoria, BC Canada), 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, sturdy home-built stretcher frame, wrapped sides painted, narrow trim frame. Here is an earlier post with information about this totem pole.

Magic Hour, top detail of 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvasGreat moments in painting are addictive, when so completely immersed in the work that time becomes non-existent… The Zone! I’ve had a good week with this one, partly because of getting past the habit of trying to control the outcome. Things happen in every painting that are not planned, and the endless choices are part of the fun.

Magic Hour, bottom detail of 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas

Painting is considered to be a two-dimensional undertaking, but it’s so much more. While lost in the work process, all the dimensions of the subject are explored, including the deeper dimensions of ourselves. While painting we discover our convictions and the means to ask how far we are willing to go to stand up for them.

Work every day is about continually reevaluating decisions, taking responsibility for choices made, being honest about mistakes, shortcomings and limitations of media and self, and digging deep to find compromise between technical and intuitive solutions. It’s about control of all those elements, combined with easing up on trying to control too much. All this and more translates onto a flat surface as we hope to give the illusion of depth…if that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is!

Post-dated Note: When choosing this totem pole that is erected in Thunderbird Park at the RBC Museum in Victoria, I didn’t realize that it’s the same one that Emily Carr painted in 1928. More magic! Here is a link to more information about this totem and the Gitxsan Poles moved from Gitanyow (formerly Kitwankool) B.C.

A word here about artists’ representation of First nations or any other cultural/historic works: subjects are painted with the greatest honor and respect, with purpose to study and draw interest to the importance of appreciating our multi-cultural world and the unique characteristics of each and every culture. This is what artists do. Our differences as cultures are connected across time and place, as there are many common traits and themes expressed through Art everywhere.
Robert Genn and readers of The Painters’ Keys have some very interesting comments all around the board about this topic.

« Previous Entries Next Entries »