A weeks worth of paint and canvas

WOW! A truly full week - a new sidekick "Rusty", a Friday night opening at Crossroads and construction started on my studio renovation. So my studio is a cluttered mess. I'm working in one small end during construction. 

 Table is set for hungry Friday night art grazers

My new sidekick "Rusty" arrived from Tuscon, Arizona last Sunday. He's a deep red apricot miniature poodle from Redscape If you're looking for a gorgeous healthy puppy, Sherry and Rick have em. He's in the toy box stage and teething...razor sharp!

My temporary work station with my jury rigged LED lighting. I Found an old school desk in the loft and converted it to a rolling palette by adding casters and a paper towel holder - it already had a glass top I was using as a palette......and a pullout shelf. I'm keeping this thing...

So why the construction? I have a new wall hung easel coming and my studio ceiling had to be modified to accept it. My new easel will actually handle a 96" high canvas...a bit more than needed. Since I prefer standing while painting, my studios 8-foot ceiling is problematic for anything over 48" high and not able to handle much more than a 60" high canvas without a step stool or an occasional 72" by crawling on the floor....then I stand a chance of extra help from puppy paws.

Currently I have a nice counterweight Paint Master easel from Jerry's I like very much; until I found the Hughes easel....check this thing out (watch video). It's truly a smooth counterweight easel with effortless finger touch action....mine is not.

I had to put my designer hat on to figure a way of getting my cake and eating it too and more importantly affordable. The solution in our case was to open up a 6' section of the ceiling at the end of my studio going into the roof crawl space - easy with our existing truss system. It allowed me to have skylights on the North and South roof slope that will wash the face of my canvas. My canvas will go up between the trusses an additional 3 or 4 feet - my 8' ceiling just turned into 11' or 12'. Now I can reach the bottom of my canvas, however not the top without a ladder....all the ceiling height in the world won't solve that.  The only feasible solution was to go down which we could do because of an existing crawl space.  We will also recess a 30" pocket into the floor allowing me to reach the top of an 96" canvas without a stool. 

A simple pocket running between the truss system would have sufficed with or without skylights or solar light tubes. 

The real jewel of this solution is the floor pocket because I would have given up ceiling height to put the top of my canvas at eye level and not use a step stool.  If painting large, it's critical being able to continually step back.....problem solved!

Before

The original idea was to open only the first slot at windows and a corresponding slot in the floor allowing my canvas to go up or down. The second slot was included for the skylights to evenly wash my canvas face and the front work space (only place good light is needed) also supplemented with LED track lighting 

Opened up

Some days later - ready for mud & tape

 Long view shown with my existing easel about 4:00 in afternoon...essentially North light

 MY ONE PAINTING OF THE WEEK

This one went though a number of sun changes - never could get exactly what I wanted...except one I got by fooling with it in Photoshop. I like the mood and my sun is large and very defined - more of what I wanted. 

Too late for this one - better to close it up and start fresh.

Photoshop version - day 2

 

FINAL VERSION

 #817 HOP 40x44 oil on linen (5-22-13)
Full sun shot 

DETAILS

I added some work boats to my composition (not in original reference)

Later....

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

This week was a downer. We unexpectedly lost Cooper one our family members of 8 years. Cooper was my sidekick for the last 6 or 7 years. Especially the last four years. He was always within reach while I painted - I'm sure patiently waiting to play ball or sit in my lap if I a took a break....he was just always there and will be missed.

Cooper  

10-31-04 to 5-7-13 

INTERESTING PAINTING

This is a London view I like painting. The possibilities are endless when it comes to painting atmosphere. It almost looks as though Parliament is on fire as it was once in Turners time.

 

816 HOP 44x40 3rd day

I had real transparency in my water and at this point should only have worked the building line and left my water alone. Perhaps some minor adjustments but certainly nothing I couldn't remove.

861 HOP 44x40 - 4th day

Kinda messed up my water trying to reduce the amount of blue in my reflection....live and learn

816 HOP 44x40 - 5th day

I added a lot of subtle enhancements....and got back on the merry-go-round with my water....needed that blue back in...LOL

 

816 HOP 44x40 oil on line (5-14-13) 
7th day frame test

The 7th is the last day I will work on any painting - no one wants an 8-day painting from me....except the trash man.  I got the water to work, I even got the visual water depth I needed but not at the level I could have on the 3rd day. None the less I like my results.

SOLD THIS WEEK

 589 Koi & Lilies 40x44 oil on linen (9-5-11)

This particular painting marked a benchmark - I was still in the learning curve on how to paint "Big" and of course make it work in representational format; but more importantly, keeping the confident nature in my paint application without becoming fussy and over worked... one of the challenges of working large formats. I managed the seamless look in this painting I was after. I could get in smaller work but more elusive on large scale and it all has to do with edges and completing each movement in on session and perhaps subtle enhancement on the last session of the painting. In this painting I broke the "code" I understood the "why and the how" of it.

With regret - "Congratulation Rich Timmons!"

As shown in the Rich Timmons Gallery

Later...

Painting inspiration

The new owner of this painting below made a request of the gallery; a small artist statement as to what my inspiration was...for this daily painter a silly but tough question. 

After thinking about it, I still didn't have a clear answer, other than I needed a painting to fill a certain wall space at my Crossroads gallery. It had to be size appropriate, in this case at least a 60x48 with a 5" frame.....I also have a big round red ottoman in front, so I needed a colour connection - red, and finally a subject. 

Oddly, many of the same basic reasons why it might be sought out and purchased....it fills a visual need.

But, is there something else I'm not seeing others do, after the fact, that leads them to ask the question "What was your inspiration?"

#783 Koi & Lotus 60x48 oil on linen (2-16-13)

 

Here's the painting that came from my need to fill an important wall space. As you can see I chose Koi because I know it's a subject I can take large. The Koi are colourful, graceful creatures and most important reflect light....my passion and reason to paint them in the first place.

Once I start a painting it takes on a life of it's own - basic decisions are made, things are added and colour shifts cause a movement to happen - basically I'm following light, colour and form to a conclusion; using all my technical and visual skills as a painter to tell a story.....convincing enough to make a viewer linger - perhaps be memorized and become part of a shared experience. In this case it was strong enough to be claimed.

My inspiration is to always make these things happen.

later...

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Looks like I'm on a bit of a Swan roll, but I really wanted to paint this birds wings - the translucent light effects on his wings are stunning.

FIRST PAINTING

#814 Prussian Swan 48x44 oil on linen (4-29-13)

DETAIL

 

SECOND PAINTING

Every once in awhile one these little buggers gets stubborn! We either cave in or take control and make it work!!

My problem started with a long vertical composition with a clear plan, which I thought was under control, until my choice of Koi got in the way on the second day. I went to the Koi pond and took some new Koi photos with intresting light effects on the waters surface that I wanted to paint. In hindsight, at that moment it became a learning exercise and not what I would call a finished gallery painting.  

DAY 3

#815 Koi 72x48 oil on linen (5-3-13)

Notice, I signed off, but after studying it I had concerns about the top portion merging properly with the lower section.

Originally the painting had lily pads to control the paintings flow and establish my perspective; but on the 3rd day I took em out.....basically threw the baby out with the bathwater and inadvertently it became more about the Koi than one cohesive composition...it was so bad on the 4th day it could actually be cut into (3) separate 24x48 paintings. Now it became a serious design challenge....now what?  Declutter of course!

DAY 4 - decluttered

#815 Koi 72x48 oil on linen (5-4-13)

With a fresh look on the 5th day I still had issues with the top yellow Koi. My only solution was to try reconnecting vignettes or cut it up....well, I do like a challenge:=)

DAY 5 - frame test 

 #815 Koi 72x48 oil on linen (5-5-13)

I ended up putting much of the original concept back in from day 3- when this merry-go-round started, but expanded it more and made a very simple detail change to the yellow Koi - I made it deeper in the water and changed the tail swing to the left, remedying my chief concerns.....somehow the yin and yang was in place.

A SIMPLE DETAIL CHANGE

 

SOLD this week!

 #689 Golden Vermillion Koi 8x10 oil on linen (7-12-12)

Congratulations Rich Timmons Fine Art Gallery!
 

#667 Chincoteague Sunrise 24x20 oil on linen (6-6-12)

 #537 Koi & Lily 30x30 oil on linen (6-7-11)

Congratulations Richard Stravitz Fine Art Gallery - sold two! 

Later...