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.