Sticking with it.

A couple of weeks ago I started a painting that, although the photo was quite unique, it didn't inspire me greatly. This also coincided with having to put our 17 year old Roxy down, so my mood wasn't about painting. The other day I came into my studio with a great need to paint and having nothing else on the go I put out my paints and went at it. The whole time telling myself it would be okay if I just turned it to the wall as a cast off. It is a landscape of sorts, I struggle with landscapes. It's mostly a bunch of greens, I struggle with greens. I started having fun with the shapes of green amongst the shadows and I am starting to like the painting and it looks quite promising. Still lots of time and room to ruin it but so far so good. Sometimes it is good to push through a painting that seems more like a task than a passion. It hones skill and demonstrates professionalism. Not all paintings need to be masterpieces but all paintings need to be painted. I will post a photo when the painting is closer to being finished.

Cheers

'Hamming It Up for the Camera'.

Happy with smile now. Maybe just a few low lights on the teeth when paint is dry and a few touch up on shadows. The likeness is pretty good. SO over all I am happy with this little practice portrait. I will be giving it to the family when I am done.

The Trouble With Smiles

About ten years ago I was doing watercolour portraits by commission. I did fairly well. Since returning to painting after my hiatus, during which I worked with fibre and did costumes, my focus has been mostly oil and some graphite. I would like to explore the possibility of once again doing portraits, but this time in oil. To brush up I thought I would work on one from a photo I have. It is being painted on a 12x12 canvas. Due to composition and design the face is slightly larger than life size. Herein lies my challenge, being slightly larger but not greatly bigger than life size my brain is constantly telling me the eye is too big or the nose.......A 10x10 would have been better. The young girl I am painting has a slightly asymmetrical smile. I had it beautifully painted but realized I had painted it too small. So out it came. Working with oil it is easier to take things and push things around out while wet than to paint over when dry. Bed came very late or early depending how you view it. All in all not bad for a days painting. I will leave it for a few days while I work on some other projects.

Stratum

24x30 oil on canvas

I am trying my hand at abstract. I am a realist painter so this turned out harder than I thought it would be. With realism one works from references, either from life or from photo. Composition,subject, colour and value can already be predetermined or adjusted prepainting. With abstract, the theory of painting and design must be decided solely by the artist before or during the painting process.

I chose to start out by applying a thin wash of red oxide to the canvas. I had no ideas where it would go. I would let the wash and values lead me. I seem to have a thing for circles and flowing lines. When I added colour it became more defined. But it looked like crap I wiped off alot of it and left my studio thinking How would I cover that mess up to reuse the canvas?

I came back and saw definite shapes and patterns in the mess on the canvas.

Over 3 painting sessions I worked colour and redefined the shapes, continually adjusting for values and cohesion of overall painting.

What a fun and growing experience, I want to do it again.

As much as I am happy with the results, I have no idea whether it is any good. Art and abstraction mean different things to all people. I would love to receive your comments, positive and negative. It looks great in my bathroom. Ha Ha Ha

My crow is sunburnt

It is turning into a very busy summer and I have not had much time in my studio. I have been playing with the bubbles and the falling water. I am happy and need to tell myself to leave it alone. I have just started the crow. I put a light glaze of cad red and burnt umber over the body. I chose to make a sunburnt glaze to give off red/orange tones in the bird after he is painted. This painting is predominantly blue so wanted to create areas or auras of it's compliment orange. I feel like I am sculpting with colour and value.

I feel that one more good painting session and I will have the crow and the scrub bushes (far left) will be done. Then let dry and small adjustments. Want to have this painting done by Mid August (we are busy for the next 3 weeks). My next painting is bursting to be let out.

Chris

bubbles

I had a very enjoyable weekend in Princeton followed by an incredibly busy week. I only had sporadic times to work on 'Morning Drink'. I have added some more definition in the submerged rock ledge and the fore water. I also went in and created the bubbles. These will later get shaped by darkening areas and glazes to push and pull them. Highlights will come later.

I added a bit of colour to the crows tail just to redefine it's shape.

I am loving the freedom I am gaining from having the confidence to move away from the reference materials and interpret the image through paint, colour, value and movement. It is my world, my reality after all.

Progress

So instead of packing I was painting. I started putting some opaque colour into the water and on the rock ledge.

Glazing Started

This morning I added a glaze of various blues with touches of red and yellow. By adding this first glaze the painting's depth increases. The crow was not glazed and therefore stands out. At this stage the painting looks like an old tin-type photo. I will let this glaze layer dry.

Frizzle Chickens

I just finished these 2 little paintings for a birthday gift. They are on 6x6 cradle panels using jo sonja acrylic paints. A cockerel and a hen frizzle chicken.

Slow progress

The underpainting took 3 days to dry. Complete canvas was toned with Oxide Red and oms. Painting will start in earnest when it is dry. I am travelling to see my son in Princeton BC, this weekend to enjoy Canada Day and see the play he is in, so I will be painting next week.

Morning Drink

This is the start. I drew directly on the canvas. I used graphite which I know is a no no with oils but I figured i would be doing an underpainting and layers so am not worried. Also the framework of a piece of art is necessary in its finished form so if it visible it adds depth to the image and statement.

Every painting/drawing I do I worry and fret about not being up to the task or starting right. So yet again I said shut up and just start stupid and let it come as it may.

This is the start, I painted a very preliminary underpainting. This will work as a map for structure and for value. I will let this dry a then give the whole paint a wash.

Cheers

A bigger project

I have not been painting as much as I have wanted. I have been busy with end ofyear preschool stuff and sewing costumes for theatre. I warmed up with my quick painting of Pathway Puzzle. I am now ready for a larger and more in depth challenge. The same morning I took the puzzle painting reference shot, I saw a crow having a morning drink in the little man made creek in the park. Long morning shadows and sunshine. I had to take a picture and now I want to paint it on a long and skinny canvas, 48x24. I know crows have been done and done again but this crow needs to be painted. I want to work big scale and with detail. I will be posting my progress.

Cheers

This is a quick paining I did this week. I had taken the photo in Beacon Hill Park one morning. This pruned and trimmed shrub very interesting. It created a puzzle affect on the scene behind. I was not trying to be too realistic. Once again I was using Cobra WMO. I find the colours to be of high chroma. A fun painting but non too serious.

Painting Again

After nearly a 2 months absence I finally put brush to canvas. This doesn't mean I haven't been creating. I have spent these months sewing for theatre and learning all sorts of new stuff. Elizabethan costuming. And as school was wrapping up life has been kind of crazy. But after the preschool's year end BBQ I put brush to canvas. It feels so good.

I am trying to venture away from the photorealism I have always done. Abstraction based on reality seems to be my focus. I have a lot of ideas and ways I want to paint. Some will work some will flop. But what fun!

Cobra Water Mixable Oil Paint Review #1 update

After my last painting session where I mixed Artisan Painting medium with Cobra and found the smell awful and nauseating, I sourced out some Cobra Painting Medium. So much better. Tonight I spent time just playing with the paints and the painting medium. I liked the way the paint moved and the medium mixed well. The painting I did was crap so I learned another thing about Cobra it wipes off with water and a rag.

During my painting session I had success dipping my brush in the medium and wiping it fairly clean. My next trial will be painting an actual painting. Now All I need is time.

Cobra Water Mixable Oil Paint Review #1

I bought some Cobra Water Mixable Oil Paints to tryout. I am not sensitive to regular oils or the mediums but thought these might be less smelly for the others in the house. Cobra WMO are very creamy when they come out of the tube and mix beautifully. Colours are rich and true.

I first started with thinning with a little bit of water. They can achieve some watercolour-like effects and in this thinness dry fairly quickly. Some cool effects of lifting with a clean wet brush creates some unique painting styles; something I want to explore in more depth. Painting directly from tube was luscious and was open for a long time. I am used to using an alkyd medium and OMS mix along with paints which dry to the touch in 24 hours. I found Cobra WMO straight from the tube takes several days to dry to the touch. This could be frustrating for my painting style.....

I briefly tried the Cobra WMO glazing medium, which must be thinned with water. Seemed a bit draggy but will try it more extensively and report back. I liked the Cobra WMO painting paste, which is basically an unpigmentented oil paint which can be mixed to various degrees of transparency.

I was unable to purchase the Cobra WMO painting medium, tried Artisan with it. Don't know if this was a mistake of mixing the two types together or the resin smell of Artisan but the smell of the painting medium almost made me sick to my stomach. I would like to try the Cobra WMO painting medium to compare.

One thing I am not liking about CobraWMO is during painting session brush cleaning. I normally put used brushes into OMS, wipe clean and then into painting medium. Placing Cobra WMO painting brushes into water just makes them tacky and unusable. I found that I was always reaching for a clean brush.

Well thats all for now.