U-Tube Vacation

My last painting was more than a month ago.... because I turned to watching British detective mysteries on U-Tube. I wasn't expecting to get hooked tho. In my defense, I also had to deliver a solo exhibit at a local Cultural Arts Center plus reload a gallery......really not much time to paint as it turned out. Now all that's over until next year.......more U-Tube? Perhaps, perhaps not!

Click on image to see slide show on U-tube - was not able to load it on blogger

I had a nice surprise, I received an email from art critic Brian Sherwin telling me I was on FASO Featured Artist by Carrie Turner, editor of  FineArtViews. Thank you Carrie and Brian!

http://faso.com/fineartviews/84060/faso-featured-artists-artist-chuck-larivey

FASO hosts my website and in my opinion is the best one out there. You will not be disappointed at the level of their service, and it's very affordable too. A good starting point at whatever level you are in the game of art!

I was hoping while writing this post I would have a new painting to share......alas, not to happen, so the next best thing is the last one.

936 Above 20x20 oil on linen (10-26-14)

Simplicity and size

The last one was a fun painting but far afield from my main focus....... I want to work more with layering transparent colour - diminishing the original image as I go. The idea of inner glow with simplicity the end object.

 CANVAS 934 - 48x44

I started out with simple blended composition - my brushwork was a constant smooth horizontal movement - then blended vertically......

Second session, I couldn't resist connecting the sun with the bar reflections at the bottom - which lead to a filtering of air and light downwards. If you looked hard enough perhaps visions of a harbor or Grand Canal - still, not exactly what I was after.

 934 Air Shaft 48x44 oil on linen (10-22-14)

Third session, I strengthened the vertical design, cooled down the sides containing the heat. Now it feels better with a stronger focus on the sun.

I think size matters with a simple design like this....48x44 isn't a bad size, but in the flesh seems too small. Although I'm not sure at this point it could have worked as seamlessly on anything larger.

The painting below, 457 Venetian Sun, is a good comparison of change. It is basically the same concept...... perhaps even the same subject as 934 Air Shaft but more literal and at 30x30 in a frame worked well.......suggesting simplicity is helped along by size. 

457 Venetian Sun 30x30 oil on linen (3-29-11)

Expressive fantasy

Well, this puppy was an odd ball. Looks like a winter vortex or the inside of an eye looking out with flashing floaters about.

My last painting 932 got a bit too stayed. I expected it to be more abstract but these things move along at their own pace like this one did. Depending on the mood, one colour suggests another and before you know it there's a line in the sand. In this case a bit of expressive fantasy.

933 Inside Out 56x48 oil on linen (10-18-14)

I like being at ground zero again!

I like painting more these days at ground Zero again because the good work happens when no one is looking....... One of those "ground zero perks", when the competitive aspect is suppressed... all the pressures removed and time is your own again!  Every once in awhile it has to be reclaimed to move forward.

At the front end the rules are obvious, easy to follow, and the sands not quite so deep until you move along. The art rules become hazy to nonexistent...... art quicksand! Perhaps true....perhaps not!

929 AIR above of below 36x30 Oil on linen (10-6-14)

930 Slow Dance 36x30 Oil on linen (10-7-14)

 931 Incognito 62x48 Oil on linen (10-13-14)

932 Blue Skies 62x48 Oil on linen (10-16-14)

In the end you gotta like what you're doing, otherwise, whats the point?

Canvases 927 and 928 with known intent!

I had these 36x30 canvases collecting dust and honestly knew they would never get used but as studies perhaps; and a good size because they are small enough to complete an idea in one session. With any luck one of these can be a spring board to something of scale.

When I don't have any one thing to paint but in the mood, I found it easier to do something known well as a warmup. I'm a lot more open when this happens too.

CANVAS 927

927 Reflection and Separation 36x30 oil on linen (10-4-14)

 Detail

CANVAS 928

928 AIR 36x30 oil on linen (10-5-14)

Detail

My dusty 36x30 canvases are the first using a clear verbal intent, mood and intimacy as the main reference! Every time I step up to my easel now all I have to do is paint. Which means for me painting is no longer about raising a technical bar on paint quality, colour or process but painting preference like mood and intimacy. One might say.....school is out! Get to it! Or my preference, Ground Zero..

Once I embraced the idea of a verbal description as my goal, technical uncertainty was removed from the equation. All I would have to do is accomplish my verbal intent as shown above, where I used the green Koi approach on the first - a bit more obvious then moved across the table to less definition and more possibilities..... When that happens, mood and intimacy become more intent.

Diminished light steps up further intensifying my intent.

 Diminished light

Diminished light

Light is always important to a painting, but can, as shown above, intensify mood and intimacy as it's reduced. So lighting gives a painting more range than at the easel and becomes an important part of the equation. It's a very dramatic thing and Rathko understood it well. The obvious to anyone who studies a days work for hours as light recedes.....as he did and so many others do.

How our work is presented is as important as the painting itself - humans respond accordingly to their environment....which includes their art.

I suppose if the viewer wants, by getting up close and personal, intimacy can be entered even at 36x30. Although harder at this size but imagine it at a heroic scale......

Ground Zero Again!

I see where this is going and most likely I'm at ground zero again! 

When I decided to shift gears, I was curious or concerned how it would affect my representational side. Was it possible to do both or would they merge? The last months I've been bouncing back and forth, each time with a clearer view of things to come. Although from this process I gained a working concept and for lack of a better description by me coined "transitional abstraction".

I'm just following my nose like everyone else hoping for something more substantial than a concept. I want a plan, a path with finish or a goal line! Because, I know it's easy to get there with one. Not a concept but a solid plan that can be adjusted as needed. The distance to a finish line is shortened and becomes a soft wave as opposed to an erratic heart beat.....

I like U-Tube....I didn't want to paint yesterday so I entertained myself by watching videos about different modern art movements. One particular video, Painters Painting, I've seen before and wanted another go at it. It's a seriously old documentary and not well done but gives the flavor of the time. I was curious if I would have a different take on it. I also looked at a few newer ones, including Lucian Freud....perhaps more relevant to our time.

They all confirmed size, scale and possibilities, as expected, however two words struck home. Heroic for size and Intimacy for intent. I don't believe used together when describing Mark Rathko dark canvases commissioned for the Seagram Building. They were never hung at the Four Seasons because he detested the idea of people eating under his work and some are now appropriately residing at Tate Modern. I instantly thought of those two words as one and my missing link. "Heroic Intimacy" no question describes Rathko's paintings especially with diminished light as he expressly wanted, but also describes where I'm heading. Heroic (as in scale) Intimacy (as in intent) with diminished light (as in visual) perhaps slowly changing or moving to music (as in sound). Hope there's a program out there to make it happen...LOL

Here's what I know as a mood painter.... I can do the deed; as designer... I can do the rest! I really am hoping there is a program for the lighting and music tho..........

Another kind of air - Canvas 926

Oxygenated water is another form of AIR I wanted to explore. The sun drenched water with sunlight on the waters surface as seen from below plus an alternative reflecting off the bottom.

At certain points while painting I did flip the canvas to work on it....not looking for flaws, but looking for fresh possibilities and assumed each time it was right-side-up......next session that might change.

Ultimately a final choice will be made by me if I sign it on the front or by someone else if I don't. I would like to leave that open by signing it on the back or discretely on a side edge.

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

I had something bolder in mind!

STAGE 3

 Flipped and a major coverup - now it works for me.

FINAL STAGE 4

The sunlight reflecting off the bottom - I had what I wanted!

Could it make any sense vertical?

Oddly enough likable but fresh and interesting as a check for weaknesses in my colour transitions!

926 AIR 48x72 oil on linen (9-30-14)

Mission accomplished, I have both options in place by simply turning it up-side-down......will it never end:=)

I need some fresh ideas so off to the other-side with the next few canvases.......perhaps a little cross pollinating like the green Koi rework below.

This experimental painting in it's original form was to never see the light of day after it's short sprint at my Crossroads gallery. Today and to my surprise it is fast becoming one of my favorites of 2014. It just needed a fresh eye, a little attention, a nice frame and a second chance back on the wall to show its stuff. Perhaps it's the intimacy of another worlds moment that has me captivated but my money is also on seeing something I would like to repeat......diminished light.

No question a painting done with one mindset and completed with another and is no longer one or the other but both. No matter, like a good junky I want more, only now hoping it wasn't a one-off as they say.

I'm starting to get the bigger picture as to where all this is going and most likely I'm at ground zero again! Well, that was a possibility too! I guess one has to hope your galleries and collectors move with you.

Canvas cartwheels

Energized by Crossroads opening last Friday night, I dove back into AIR with 925 a 60x72 canvas wrap.

It's amazing how some fresh energy can move remarkably fast and on top of it, this puppy was finished upside down.......mmmmm! I wonder how you sign that one? I guess the question that does come to mind, is there a right side other than my original intent?

A Photoshop cartwheel might shed some light on that possibility.....

925 AIR 60x72 oil on linen (9-23-14)

Traffic and rain comes to mind:=)

Kinda works..... it shows options and versatility. However, I have a critical decision to make which could impact its future as a painting..........where to sign it - if at all!

It's a canvas wrap so I'm thinking any return edge will do just fine......next up, an underwater approach with sunlight reflecting off the bottom....a different kind of air.

Stepping over the line to endless possibilities

If I didn't know it before, I know it now, I'm on the other side......that mysterious area of art, where "obvious" leaves the room and "endless possibilities" becomes reality.

Friday nights opening festivities were not exciting because of  red wine, beer or the vast numbers of visitors who attended the various exhibits and activities typical of a Crossroads openings but because of the few and what they said or how they reacted as they passed through my little piece of the Crossroads pie.

The obvious star was my final version of pesky canvas 899 , the Chihuly Red Reeds......or was it? As the center piece absolutely! You could hardly miss it!

To my delight visitors were drawn across the board, the whole collection not exclusive to the obvious but the endless possibilities of art as in the AIR paintings below. I may have intended it one way but they frequently saw it differently. Did I scratch the surface of something unexpected with the AIR paintings, something I didn't consider before?  Seeing possibilities beyond my own interpretation or intent..... certainly sounded like it.

Endless possibilities in painting......how is that achieved on demand? 

I can say with certainty, other than change, endless possibilities was not or is not an objective while painting. I do think of paint quality, movement, mood and subject sensitivity tho......but, possibilities for others?  A good question, I can't answer for myself.

Something to ponder going forward but not while painting! In the real world my easel is lonely but not out of sight! It's only company over the last 11 days is a visibly nagging white canvas of size.

The one thing I am sure of getting right, is SIZE!!

I know size rules because without the impact of scale nothing would have held them in place more than a moment as they flew by to the next.

Gallery season - getting it right!

We're in the Fall Art Season, Galas and art openings beyond reason......not much time for painting. It is an opportunity to see how new work will be received. Well....most will never tell you what they really think so body language rules:=)

I'm looking for the jump factor. This time it requires the designer to emerge a bit for  presentation purposes. We only have 3 or 4 days to pull off repainting walls, graphics and narrative if it's appropriate. It started with moving yards of painted canvas to my Crossroads gallery....chaotic comes to mind because the old is leaving and the new is scattered about.  

DEPARTURES & ARRIVALS

I'm already getting some idea who the stars will be; but those are early returns.

 DAY 2 - SELECTION & PLACEMENT

I wanted to find out how the two sides of the ping-pong table looked together. Would they be compatible as in good partners or fight each other and stay in separate camps. I already knew with some editing they worked well together as thumbnails. However, scale is important to some of these paintings and not something that comes across on a computer image without references... like the gallery photos here. The first setup did not have the other side, perhaps because of traditional framing, but I didn't have a problem there so much. In the end I was more interested in showing the process..... the back and forth of how it worked or came about. 

DAY 3 - ALMOST READY

Once on the walls, it showed an overall cohesive look and the impact of size on the viewer is enormous.

All that's left is some fluffing, labeling and a new slideshow for my wall monitor.

DAY 4 - DONE!

Gallery is all set and ready to go for this evenings festivities - a bit of nibbles, a few flowers and visitors is all that's needed to complete the picture.

Later.....

Stepping back

2014 is to be my breakaway year from my norm. We're in the 4th quarter.... might be a good idea to step back and review my progress.....if any! The truth of the matter, I need some indication I'm on the right track. My last painting, 924 (not a repaint), did reach a mark and I would say a departure point.

924 AIR 72x56 oil on linen (9-6-14)

The last few days find me varnishing and framing 3 months work... 26 paintings done over the summer. Nice thing about varnishing, it gives you a fresh look.

• I started the year with the idea of adding figures, as in nudes, to my playbook that ended with 899 and a jar of gesso!
• February thru March was interrupted by some commission work plus back to norm paintings
• April and May, Migration, a large 3-panel representational painting about size. However representational + size = mural....perhaps!
• End of May, back on track with gessoed canvas 899 and less is more thinking - simple compositions and some gold leaf and a little Photoshop help for other works.
• July 2nd, modification canvas 899 and retreated back to safe haven, my norm....but was it? I think it was better than norm, because less-is-more was applied?
• August 3rd, and last modification of canvas 899 and my retreat ended with a Lily painting... 919...all about light.
•  Canvas 899 was, as it turned out, experimental and a pivotal painting. I knew after the 3rd modification of 899, the 2nd modification had something that worked....just had to remove a silly Koi which messed it up....thank my stars for good record keeping with images, it was not totally lost.
• End of August, the start of AIR; the idea formed with 899 and my retreats which I think produced some very strong works. 
• September, within 2 weeks I produced (7) AIR paintings; (2) were studies and (2) repaints (not necessarily AIR paintings) - what this suggested to me.......I had a plan!

Nine months of history was available for study and it revealed (again) a natural process working, chipping away at an idea that had no defined boundaries other than change itself. Imagine yourself a ping pong ball bouncing from side to side by the same player....you! Taking new information to the other side each time and applying it and returning new information back. This could be a fast game or slow game. I was looking at the ball as a retreat play and the return, just that, another swing at change. I now believe it was the wrong way to look at it. It was actually inter-related positive moves on each side. In the past it was always about raising the bar, getting better.... not literally a direction change I had in mind. My mechanism was always changing subjects....stopping only when I got a good one. I had no idea this would also happen with "change", nor that it would also improve each side in the process... but it did. It was obvious in my review bullets above and my thumbnail history. I was progressing on two fronts. There seems to be a correlation here to quantum physics or something like it. All I have to do going forward is stop when I hit a good one! That simply means I took it as far as I could and I needed a break and more energy on the return ball.

I want to know how all this looks on walls.... how they visually work together as a group......that's what I'm doing now at my Crossroads gallery; putting it all together for a little look see...:=)