One Thousand what does that mean?

Pondering canvas 1000 is giving me a headache, like a commission might. I'm not in the mood for a grand canvas as I supposed it should be......but then I haven't really started yet. Right now, a good one session painting would make me happy enough. Yet, I know nothing is certain until the first piece of paint hits the canvas.

The next canvas could mark my last or the beginning of a new phase....perhaps a better way to think about it. Benchmarks are weighted towards reflection on the past than the future... I certainly don't want another 1000 like the last. It would be like tasting the same meal over and over again. Not to mention the storage requirements and more numbers.

I also think if this was not one of those special numbers the next painting would be just that, the next painting with a number. All this made me wonder what others thought about one thousand.

So I Googled it, and since I understand images better than words I found myself in images.

MONEY - Everyone gets this one

 IN A SIMPLE FORM

THOUSAND MILES + = POUNDING STIMULATION

AN ARCHITECT & 1000 MUSEUM MIAMI ADDRESS

A PICTURE = A 1000 WORDS

ON THE CHEAP PENNY STACKS

HUMOR

Might be fun to summarize these Google images down to a few meaningful words other than Websters lame definition only a bean counter would get off on. 

Art costs big money, project our aspirations, a certain simplicity with pounding force, good structure and design executed on the cheap with a bit of humor thrown in......works for me:=)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A CLEVER IDEA - SMALL AFFORDABLE WORKS

All my Crossroads Gallery chores are done.......  I'm just two canvases away from my first milestone of 1000 works. Red Reeds & Blue Air giclee is on the wall at the Crossroads Art Center to be picked up by its new owner.........to celebrate, it even has a red dot for fun.

Red Reeds was a big hit at the Crossroads bi-monthly Art Walk last night. Of course anyone from Richmond or whoever visited the Virginia Museum of Fine Art recognizes the Chullily "Red Reeds" installation in the Koi pond adjacent to the The Best Cafe.  Red Reeds new owner "T" was there and excited to get it hung. Lots of picture taking....and I have none to share. Perhaps our mugs will show up elsewhere.

An artist friend, Betsy Kellum did something rather clever with regards to presentation and I guess marketing too. Kellum started a new series called "PIECES". PIECES are well framed small 5x7 crop details of her larger paintings. She is doing these little jewels primarily as daily warm ups. Kellum as shown below placed them adjacent to the larger originals. The small paintings look very smart as a whole on the wall. Kellum's PIECES gives the two main paintings shown below welcome separation and presence while offering a taste of her main work. What I like most is the intelligent flow she mastered effortlessly for her audience here. PIECES are well priced for a budding collector and easily acquired separately or with her larger painting.

A FEW PHOTOS OF BETSY'S EXHIBIT

Monkey business 11 7x5 oil on linen by Betsy Kellum

TWO HAPPY ROSES

Dee Justin and Holly Markhoff  both are very talented artists

Photographer Bill Gilmore was giving the ladies a rose if they stopped to look at his work. He has a wonderful Paris shot I like and of course his Red Reeds from another view. I always enjoy chatting with Bill during Art Walk.

OTHER NEWS

BOLDBRUSH - October 2015 entry

 Garden Flowers 24x24 oil on linen (10-30-15)

Judge, Phil Couture slipped by this little jewel but Boldbrush jury managed a 15% green frame nod. Garden Flowers is hanging at Crossroads until the end of the month and then off to the Richard Stravitz Gallery. I'll have a limited edition Giclee available to replace it at Crossroads before it leaves.

Time to paint again.......need a new entry!

PS. Found a new favorite artist while sliding through Boldbrush 15%, Nancy Bass - the lady has a way with farm animals. Check her out:=)

GICLEE ENHANCEMENT TO ORIGINALS

One of the things I find myself doing lately between paintings is enhancing fine art canvas reproductions. The original Red Reeds and Blue air shown here was proportionately too large for the intended space so we made a 3/4 reproduction from a 106 mb digital capture created in Photoshop using the merge tool (post). The process required 16 individual high resolution shots merged together into a single seamless image. The custom Hughes wall easel, tripod and Nikon 5200 camera were necessary equipment in order to successfully merge so many photos.......and a lot of experimentation. However once you figure photo merge out its a remarkable asset for any artist.

SET UP

The original 964 60x48 canvas (left) and 50x40 canvas print (right) 

Oil paint used to enhance printed colour

Obviously the real key with embellishment is getting the surface treatment right when light hits the canvas from any source or direction. I found working on the canvas side-by-side along with some experimentation works well. I'm not sure there is a quick and easy approach to this. It's kind of like noodling with an almost finished canvas; it requires the same finesse as the original did.

Detail showing enhancement and overhead glare

If there is anything that will quickly throw water on a sale is size proportionate to space! It's kind of a shame because everything else was right - certainly another version could be made if you're into it. I suppose this was a common studio practice before printing. Today we have at our disposal state of the art high resolution digital capturing and printing capabilities that will reproduce results like mine above. Perhaps not the investment original art would be but a strong alternative for both the artist and a patron drawn to the original. Mine, when I do any enhancement beyond surface embellishment, are limited editions of 25 with 3 proofs.

Artists, like all other problem solvers, won't take long before messing with it as in artist enhancement like me!  I don't mind a day or so at the easel to make it happen either. I also selfishly get a chance to correct or add anything in the process and occasionally do. Which of course can lead quickly into experimental works using printed canvas as a baseline. Could be a fun project... after all. pure oil painting is not the only way to the finish line.

 SOME GALLERY SET UP PHOTOS OF THE NOVEMBER ART WALK 

Enhance Framed  Giclees

From a display standpoint, both originals and reproductions work well together and not only that there is a wide  price range able to accommodate any patron who walks in. 

Because things change, any framed Giclee purchased from this artist and gallery will be exchanged at full value and credited against an original of equal or greater value.  Perhaps helping a budding collector in the transition from just an art enthusiast to collector of original works.

I suppose these could also be classified as disposable art, and perhaps are, and perhaps only the limited editions add some collector value over time. Of course how well they were executed will determine even that out come. However for me it's a workable solution to lost sales due to size and budget requirements.... And more importantly seeing the delight of an art enthusiast acquiring a work otherwise out of reach........good enough reason for me:=)

A weeks worth of paint and canvas - canvas 998

Last week I plowed into gold leaf and oil with a rework on canvas 931 and a new a concept piece 997 also using gold leaf. Canvas 998 is a 30x30 linen (not gallery wrap) meant for a frame. Like the last two, I'll employ the use of metal leaf in my design.

CANVAS 998

998-1a

998-1b

998-1c

998-1d

I covered my canvas completely with wet-in-wet paint using both a brush and knife. The paint application was thick, full bodied using medium for easy flow. Then as my last step, I carefully add gold on top with a clean brush and a little clear medium (only enough to capture the gold and hold it for placement). Using the same brush I worked the gold into the wet oil where necessary, enough to block out the design element. At any point I can add more or bury any part in paint as needed. Keeping the brush clean before adding more, helps. Heavy paint will bury it, where thin washes will  enhance the metal by allowing the gold to show through.

COMPLETED CANVAS

 998 Gold Oak Leaves 30x30 oil on linen (11-10-15)

998 frame test

DETAILS

The details show clearly how abstract the spontaneous brushwork really is; just enough to to get the concept across. My main painting objective was about shadow and light reflections on a waters surface.... while at the same time introducing metal leaf into my oil medium as a separate design element.

This is kind of a busy week outside my studio. My gallery space at Crossroads is due for a major change out for the November 20th art walk opening. It happens every 2 months and something I've done for the last 4 or 5 years.......lots of art enthusiasts always show up too. 

Gallery entrance with all new originals, including 995 Jitters as the lead in and 998 the new Koi above has found it's first wall

Two more new works made the cut too - however the big 931 Modified Koi is about to be bumped opening night in favor of an enhanced Giclee. The original was the last lead painting from the September Art Walk.  The gallery is now shared with THE PRIVATE COLLECTION GICLEE  something I started earlier this year as an alternative to my original paintings. The Private Collection is very much a work-in-process.

A weeks worth of paint and canvas - gold leaf & finish of canvas 931

Last week I modified canvas 931 with the idea of adding some gold leaf details - kind of a warm up I can mess with a bit and remove if I don't like the results. I started a new 44x40 canvas 997 while it dries.

CANVAS 997

997-1 44X40 (11-3-15)

I used both brush and a palette knife - a knife to break up things up and a brush to hide the fact I did. Its a rather effective way of making cool looking edges. As you can see I have a composition using strong separation of  light and shadow. I also sized my photo reference to the canvas size and divided it and the canvas up into 4 quarters. I want to maintain my proportions and this is an easy solution. Since I apply paint direct there is no drawing involved. The segments keep things in proper scale so all I do is apply paint (shapes and colours) until it feels right. Eventually as the area closes up the details are refined.

997-2 (11-3-15)

Now the light (sky reflection) is clearly established. A very stylized painting developed rather quickly. Really all that remains is refining details like deepening shadows and highlights, improving shapes and most important; do I add gold leaf?  

If I do, only how and where has to be determined... This is where I wish I had 3 or 4 throw away canvases to play with - printed canvas comes to mind as a workable solution but I don't have that luxury at the moment. Don't lose that thought because its valid. So the old fashion way is the only way, do it and hope it works. The way I want to use gold is discreetly as a subtle controlled highlight......we'll see

MY SET UP

I decided to experiment and use a clear acrylic paste by Golden as my size, wet and straight from the jar. My gold leaf is standard metal leaf because I'm not ready for the real stuff yet. With a brush I dip in the paste, apply a dab to the area, then pick up a bit of metal with it and work it to a textural shape like a nugget, highlights and surface debris. Edges are real important here and it has to look right as though it were meant to be....part of the oil.

FINISHED PAINTING

997-3 Untitled with Gold Leaf 44x40 oil on linen (11-5-15)

DETAILS

I wasn't totally happy with the Golden paste by itself. The golden paste did dry reasonably fast and I could tell where it was unlike size. However it required two operations with time in between to complete my thought - so I lost a bit of energy re-emerging my oil paint into the gold.

Nice experiment but I'm going back to just adding my gold on top of my wet oil and work it in and add more until it feels right. One operation, one move to complete my thought....which is how I work. Those were my most successful first attempts last year.

With that in mind I want to return to modified canvas 931, which is dry enough to precede with gold leaf details.

CANVAS 931 HISTORY

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

931 Koi added (11-2-15)

GOLD LEAF DETAILS

 931-1 Gold leaf details (11-6-15)

Nature gave me a helping hand via my overhead skylight and dropped a few well placed afternoon sun beams on my canvas....only a fool would have ignored. This is the glow I was trying to capture in my painting in the first place.

WELL PLACED SUN BEAMS

As much as I like the effect I'll save it for another time

BACK TO IT WITHOUT NATURES HELP

931-2 Gold leaf details (11-7-15)

COMPLETED CANVAS

931Untitled with Gold leaf details (11-8-15)

All I need is a new title, a bit of vanish, and canvas 931 is ready to be introduced again. The modifications required (6) complete sessions and was well worth the extra time.

DETAILS