Juicy Strokes

Thirty-five strokes

Twelve strokes

Strokes are some of the distinguishable marks that separate painting from photography. Strokes allow the artist to interpret, to abstract, to simplify what is seen, or what is felt. Often when I am teaching I ask the students in what direction does the grass grow? Is it top down or bottom up? By flowing the paint in the same direction as the plant grows we have a better chance of creating a semblance of the object. Wild grass is a long way from manicured as well. By twisting the brush as we flow the paint in various directions the “grass” becomes more realistic in an abstract way. Length of stroke is another consideration. How long is the grass? The best method is to use juicy strokes. Juicy is full, fluid colour and body. Loading the brush with semi-mixed colours we get streaks that look like stems. Next time you are out for a walk in the country, or stop the car, take a look at the grass in the ditch before it has been mowed. The colours will amaze you. Enough about grass! The images are examples from the Cortez workshop as well. The exercise was using juicy strokes in a minimal matter. How few strokes can one use to create a painting? I managed twelve. How low can you go?

Hollyhock Beach

Disgruntled with some of the results of my painting and the fact that I had ruined a book, I went back to watercolours. I was not in a good mood. I was feeling frustrated and my painting was weak when the instructor suggested that it could not be improved because I was using watercolour. There is something deep inside my psyche that will not permit me to roll over and play dead. Just tell me I can’t do something and watch me find a way. I looked at the foreground again and I had to admit it was very poor. No balance, no depth, no contrast. Sigh. I looked around for a solution. There were some smaller trees just on the edge of the beach and the grassy knoll upon which I was standing. I looked at the pile of driftwood and decided that it needed some deeper hues. Taking my brush loaded with pigment I slapped in the tree carefully painting around the sprigs of grass that I had drawn. Much better. The light was too soft. Taking some more darks I developed the shadow areas within the wood. Before it dried I dropped in another strong colour and watched it mingle and pattern. Lovely. Who said watercolour cannot be fixed? I think I will go back to acrylics.

First Attempts

Wandering through my favorite store I spotted something I might need when I went on the acrylic workshop the following month. I made a note to buy it when the best sale of the year was on. Sale or no sale my bank account diminishes drastically when I make my purchases for the year. This item was a wet palette so the acrylic paint would not dry out as quickly. In the hot Cortez sun and dry wind it turned out to be the most useful tool I brought. Not knowing how to use it at first I put it away on the first day in my back pack. The lid is air tight, not water tight. Unfortunately I had paid little attention to the book I had sitting on the seat until the next morning when I spent some time separating pages with paper towel. Sigh. In any case what you see before you are the results of my first efforts at painting en plein air with acrylics. I can certainly understand the attraction to this type of paint. They dry almost as quickly as watercolours and they have far more capacity for changing unwanted passages of colour or drawing. They are a little more difficult to clean up and that is why I buy inexpensive brushes for acrylic painting. It was a delight to experiment and discover. There is no end to the possibilities.

First Impressions

Cortez Island was a new venue for me. I love the ocean and on any given day the west coast islands are truly breathtaking. I looked forward to smelling the salty air once more and just gazing out upon the ever changing water hues as the light shifted during the day. Hollyhock is a special place. It has a harmonious peace about it. There is a communion of souls here, a quiet understanding to which even the trees and the wildlife are privy. I was not expecting the heat wave. Usually the ocean keeps things cool. Not here. There were thirty-one other artists seeking the necessary shade in which to carry out their craft. Shade not only provided some shelter from the burning sun but made it possible to see the pigments more clearly as we applied them to canvas. Oh, that was another thing. I choose to paint watercolours on location. They are portable, convenient, easy to clean up and do not cause problems in airports. I could see that I would eventually decide to move into acrylics for this workshop. Another challenge. Staying in my comfort zone does not appeal to me at the best of times anyway. In the meantime, being stubborn, I created my first painting in watercolours. Since we were to be pushing towards abstract I was less careful than usual. A view of the beach, full of colour and contrast. Fun if nothing else.

Invitaion to Listen

My watercolour series has taken a new curve. It so goes against my grain to leave something “unfinished”, yet is it really? The question is open. Are the trees and the figure in the past or in the future? Are they always present? Are they beyond time? Our world is connected in ways we barely understand and in ways of which we are not even cognizant. Past and present pertain only to this lifetime. There are worlds in which timelessness is the norm. The creative space is timeless. Anyone who creates is aware of this phenomenon. I wonder if the next life is timeless. I suspect so. Irrelevant, perhaps, as I am living in the here and now. Which brings me to the question of being present. In our world of clamour and noise we are inundated with useless information and propaganda aimed at derailing us from the time-honoured art of listening. Are we listening to each other? Am I listening to myself? My body can keep me healthy if I listen to its wisdom. There is much the forest can tell us, or the stars at night. How often do I stop to hug a tree or go to a place, away from the artificial lighting, to gaze at the heavens at night? Am I listening? Am I taking the time to listen to the children and the elderly? Wisdom can also be found in these places. Today I will take a walk, smell the flowers, hug a tree and listen to the water flowing over the rocks. Today I will listen.

Transformed

Lately I have been spending my time with a different kind of paint: latex! I enjoy any kind of paint! The first item on the agenda was the bathroom. I did not think to take before pictures which is unfortunate, however, the transformation is dramatic. There have been some amusing moments in all this such as the spots missed in the ceiling only show up when the lights are turned off. That limits the time for touchup during the daylight. Three days of work just about did me in though. My muscles were pleading for respite. Each night I eased myself into an Epsom salt bath and faithfully followed my exercise routine to avoid complete seizure. One day was spent in my studio this week. The last painting I will do there for a while. I loaded a few boxes with some items I will not need immediately, reference books for example. I am all packed into the car for my trip to Cortez Island. Four glorious days of nothing but creatively covering canvas. I leave tomorrow. While I am away I will not think about the packing, the dismantling, the reinstalling and reorganizing. Sigh. While I am away I will concentrate on transforming canvases, visiting family and generally having fun. In the meantime, more latex.

Deprived

I have two lovely watercolours on the way. It is always exciting to see a painting develop. I love the contemplation time, just gazing into space, allowing the creative juices to flow. I am also working on a mixed media that is also gloriously opening like a blossom in sunlight. Then there are the six panels in incubation. I will grab my camera one day and find six interesting female faces to adorn their surfaces, a new mixed media series “Mother Earth”. Abundance. I am a little fearful of the future though. I will be studio deprived for a month or more. A few extracurricular activities have tempted me beyond my seclusion and I have chosen to participate. The van is loaded with the elements of a different kind of painting….wall painting. My daughter and her new husband are moving into new accommodations with his parents and their present home needs readying for sale, the sooner the better. Tomorrow we begin. The following week I am away. True, I will still be studio deprived but I do not think I will be suffering as I will be participating in a workshop with Robert Genn and his lovely daughter Sara on Cortez Island. I so look forward to that. Upon my return I will be packing. My daughter has invited me to set up my studio in their garage and we hope to move most of our belongings as well as my studio into this space by the end of the month. My studio would be closer. I would have ready access to water and a place to clean my brushes. As for open space, well, that remains to be seen. I am very good at packing. It is one of my extraordinary talents. Comes with practice I think.