Splash/plouf

So this is the third in the triplet. I will post the one in the middle next time. I like doing things differently. It drives the analysts around me mad. Again this image is a detail from the original photo in the opposite corner and all about light. As I progress in a painting it occurs on occasion that I discover something visually exciting that I had not planned. So it is with the trees in this piece. In the forest we can get away with anything…. The light filters through in unexpected places. The photograph gets left behind. I watched as the patterns formed; as I lay in the tissue paper shapes it moved me to awe. It was the light again, the contrast of dark branches against glowing sky. Purples against gold. Delicious. As I moved down the canvas I bumped into another reaction, not nearly so positive. There was something missing. Too much contrast among the trees and not enough among the rocks. Out came the paint as I toned down the bright cadmium yellows in the bushes and intensified them on the rocks. How about some burnt orange? Oh, yes! The sun is shining.

Splash

The paradox is:

power is in surrender.

Let us join forces.

Plouf

Si une goutte se joint

aux autres elle devient plus 

jusqu’à l’océan.

(Ps 111: 7-10)

Splish/ploc

It is all about light. Tissue paper lends itself to abstract shapes without detail, spaces and shapes, one against another. I am learning to lay it down and leave it alone. I so enjoyed doing all three in the triplet together. As I propped them up against the wall once the tissue paper was complete I was astounded to see how close to a triptych they were. Not planned. They look stunning together. I used one photograph as a reference and painted three paintings from it. Since my work is more about shapes, spaces and rhythms, though, I doubt if anyone would be able to pick it out unless I told him/her. The other medium I really enjoy is the graphite powder that I used to value check and texturise the rock patterns in the water. Everything shows through the layers. And when I laid the shadows in the birds began to sing.

Splish

Splish! Go with the flow.

Over, around, under, through.

Yes, there is a way.

Ploc

L’esprit suit la course

la plus facile mais des fois

elle prend la meilleure.

(Ps 111: 1-3)

The Eye of the Needle

Oh the adrenaline rush! Finishing four large paintings in twelve days. Yes! I did it! Of course there were some technical hitches….. I did pack up the paintings while the varnish was still drying. Then, the next day, I arrived at the studio with my pot of varnish and brush to fill in the spots I had missed. All in all the effort was well worth the result. I am excited about the reaction to the latest pieces too. Everyone loves the light. “The Eye of the Needle” is the third in a triplet. Well, it is really the second that was finished last… I like arranging them so that the largest piece is in the middle. Like a triptych only not. Am I confusing? Maybe I am confused! Life is fun! With this particular piece I knew I had succeeded with the drawing when a visitor to my studio took a step back and expressed his fear of heights. I did not paint the guardrail in. I prefer to fly like a bird. With that in mind I wonder what sights I might see today.

Revamped

This one again…. Sometimes it takes a long time to finish a painting. This one has been finished I do not remember how many times. Something was bugging me. So I fixed one little thing. Then I fixed another. I got sick of it walked away and did something else. I did several something elses. Was it done? No. I took it to a group of artists to discuss the problem. They made several suggestions. Slowly the painting improved. Again I declared it done. I put it away and turned my attention to other tasks. Here it is March and the opening is on the 11^th. Do I need this painting? Yes. Is it done? No. Again, no. At this point a machete comes to mind. However, instead of destroying the canvas or beginning all over, I asked for help once more. This time I made some significant changes. Much better. Then I noticed something that had not been there before…. the head of a dinosaur. It was a friendly dinosaur complete with eyes, nostrils and a great big grin. I had to laugh. Out came my palette knife and the facelift began. He had to go and he did. It is done. Maybe.

My Very Busy Studio

Little bits of paper everywhere. Pots of paint, brushes at the ready. Where is the artist? Well, she slept in this morning. Midnight comes too quickly and too often these days. The pressure is on. My opening reception is ten days away, March 11^th. The colour sketch of the mural is due March 7^th. It snowed again and the books need doing. April 30^th will be here in no time. The March 1^st deadline came and went. Missed that one. I will make April 1^st. Chaos.  Some people work better under pressure. I suppose I do too. I do not really know. I tend to leave certain things to the last minute. Or was it the moving? However as I get older I have noticed that the midnight routine followed by the 5:30am early rise does not work so well for very long. The inevitable crash day is coming. I am getting smarter though. Essential pauses there and there during the day, prayer and meditation at dawn, eating, a glass of wine shared with my ever supportive husband, eliminating these is no longer viable. I take care of me. After all, if I cannot hold the brush who will do the painting?

The Demo

Drawing is my first love. I so enjoy the connection between paper and mark maker. This past week has been exceptional in the amount of drawing I was able to do. First of all I discovered the deadline for a pencil sketch on a commission piece had passed. So I spent some time looking for the original references and notes which have somehow been temporarily lost with some other items requiring immediate attention. Moving has a tendency to disorganise things. One consolation is that when I find them, they will all be together and I will be able to proceed accordingly. In the meantime. I replaced my misplaced references with less than acceptable standard substitutes and spent the next two days in heaven with a large piece of paper and my 3B pencil. Glorious! The result? I think it is breathtaking; my customer will confirm that this week. Yesterday I taught a workshop on portraits beginning with drawing, charcoal and Stonehenge. Devine! Once everyone was doing well with their own drawings I took five minutes to do mine. I have a lovely daughter and she was irresistibly winsome. Today? It is back to the drawing…. no painting board. I have four paintings to finish in twelve days. Three days each. Ah, yes. Great fun. Be still my anxious nerves! Breathe. Yes, great fun.

Playing Around

One Done

Begin Another

Splish Splash

A major portion of my time is taken up with space gazing. I had just finished placing some pieces of light coloured tissue paper on my new triplet and I stood back to do some space gazing. The spaces in between need darker mixtures of patterning something like the happy accidents I am using on “The Eye of the Needle”. Yes. I gazed at my pile of folded colour. I assessed the area that needed covering on the three canvases. Ah,oh. No. There was definitely a shortage of material. Matching what has previously been done is next to impossible. For one thing I simply do not remember the order of sequence in which I placed the colours in the first batch, nor their intensity. I looked at the pieces carefully, examining the pigments closely to determine the selection of paints I would use. Identifying the colours is not the real problem. I use basically the same colours again and again. It was the sequence that bothered me. I assembled the necessary equipment: four inch house painting brushes, cheap inch bristle brushes, small plastic garbage bags that I have cut open and wrinkled excessively, tissue paper also wrinkled excessively and acrylics that have been liquefied in an abundance of water. The tissue paper becomes the binding for the paint. It would not hold together otherwise because too much water renders the binding in the paint useless. The other problem with matching is that the wrinkling is never the same. A third is the application of the paint is unique as well. A fourth is the quality of tissue paper. I looked at my colours. I was running out of burnt sienna. I meandered over to the shelf where I store those jars and chanced upon a new pigment: burnt orange. Mmmm. Let’s consider the possibilities. Matching is difficult if not impossible. Why match? Delightful shivers ran up and down my spine at the prospect of exploring new possibilities. Fun! Let’s play! Are you with me?