Canvas 924

My plan is to continue along the same line of thought as my last AIR paintings. Only now, I'm looking for more expressive brushwork, stylized with closer colour harmony. Canvas 924 will be another large one at 72x56 using the other AIR BIT study 921 (below) as my colour chip.

921 AIR 20x20 oil on linen ( 8-30-14)

One of the things I always want in my work is touchable depth... not flat looking, but depth of field as in a 3d feel. When achieved, it's a very cool effect in a painting but powerful at scale.

PROGRESS 924

My first move in cadmium yellow quickly established my light pattern and a basic design movement throughout the canvas.

Easel view - I mixed up small pots of colour in a diluted medium. It allowed me the freedom to move very fast and not change my brush size (1" wide bright or filbert). Using the pot system I can load it with paint allowing much more background interest to happen quickly.

The cleaned up image presents a stronger design from the start and it only took a few hours to establish as opposed to days.

I started with a bold look; but as in my small study I'm interested in exploring more subtle combinations of textured colour against scrubbed down neutral surfaces.....a process of refinement. It's a continual give and take. Some parts are working and others still need attention. Sometimes it looks like a lot of colour scribbling which it actually is. In the end it has to be strong enough to entice and then captivate.

I think it looks better in the flesh and size does make a difference in how it's perceived......but it's not done.

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

Do I have a process or something that might work as transitional middle ground to the commentary art world? Fun to speculate a bit;=)

Later.....

AIR 923

I'm always the last to know where I'm heading! First, I'm generally surprised, that is until I follow the dust trail.....then DUH!

When I look at the bigger picture, AIR most likely has it's roots in those first 15-minute sunrise paintings back in 2009. Then it was about the sun, but now about what I was really seeing those early mornings and how it affected the air. Chilled or humid air.... sometimes so heavy with saturated colour going well beyond what could ever be produced from a paint tube......the quest!

STUDY

921 AIR 20x20 oil on linen (8-30-14)

PROGRESS 923

 

Like my AIR BITS study above, I'm in the fluid blockout stage. I mixed large piles of paint making this process more efficient than normal. During this stage I use up tubes of scrap paint as fillers. So far, I'm not changing my tools or making my brushes larger....could be why these are working well close up and personal.

In today's session I completed the blockout which allowed me to start adding the textural and scrub layers. Currently, because of the paintings strong colour banding it holds up at a distance.

923 AIR 66x72 oil on linen (9-2-14)

The landscape and cropping is allowing me greater freedom to explore.....liked it so much I signed it!

Later....

More AIR - canvas 921 & 922

Yesterday, I thought doing some quick 20x20 colour studies before each large AIR painting would be valuable as possible reference points. When I put a 20x20 on the easel.....IT LOOKED LIKE A POSTAGE STAMP! This morning it still did! I'm not so sure I want to waste energy on stamps! However one interesting thought comes to mind.... they could be colour bits and arranged as one major piece. 

 I can call them BITS of AIR.......nice to sleep on it sometimes:=)

BITS OF AIR

 

921 AIR 20x20 oil on linen (8-20-14)

 922 AIR 20x20 oil on linen (8-30-14)

I rather enjoyed doing these.... they were quick and to the point. The only question left; can I actually use them as possible guides for my next? My 66x72 canvas is on the easel and ready to go in the morning. Can't wait..:=)

Later.....

Oops! 920 sprung ideas

Seems a larger canvas can do that I suspect, because there is more elbow room... therefore bigger ideas.

So far, except once, I really haven't applied atmospheric landscapes to bigger is better, or the bigger picture.

I may have been on the right track back in 2012. This is a 40x72 and sold rather fast, which is why I forgot it existed.

A friend  sent an interesting blog just as I was starting 920 that rings true. If you want more presence in your art, check this link out. He's a very clean read.  Nicholas Wilton presents and says it better with fewer words and links than I ever could.

I found in art/design there is a natural order of things. When you need something it miraculously shows up. In truth, it's always there. We just ignore it until the time is right or we push it to make the time right! The latter fits me better:=)

Back to 920... it's a 60x48 gallery wrap.  Over the last month I've been messing with atmosphere, but on the small - keeping in mind less-is-more. After a little deviation I'm back at it, only a bit larger.

I do know some things. I know what this painting will be, its title, AIR and what this series will be about....more AIR. Perhaps this one is about humidity.... 

SANTA ANNA COMES TO MIND

 End of session 2 - questionable last minute moves

CROP DETAIL

Love this movement! If I lose it, I don't want to forget it! Would this not be great huge? Bigger brushes:=)

GIVE AND TAKE

End of 3rd session - I got carried away

NOT A CHANCE! Editing and adjusting focus needs to be applied here.

Basically I lost my ORIGINAL INTENT. The painting and my water sparkle will make more sense and be more powerful if I defuse the middle ground. No question, it was fun playing with the fog line but it has to go. Sometimes, things that work close up don't at a distance, like here.

It is a give and take operation although it seems I remove more than I leave!

 AIR

920 Air 60x48 oil on linen (8-29-14)

My small crop detail gave me some clues.... more ideas I can't wait to try out on a larger scale. 

Later......

Back in the studio canvas 919

Friday really was a nice plein air morning. I think it carried over into the studio the following day. I started 919, a 44x40 canvas, only wanting reflecting sunlight, soft tones, brighter colours, nothing dark. There won't be any Koi in this one, however I did start with the idea of Vermillion Koi......really in the mood for reds too. I saw some saturated red/orange flowers against green I wanted to paint yesterday, but my legs said no!

THE START AND LAST 15-MINUTES

LAST 15-MINUTES

919 Sunlight and Lily Pads 44x40 oil on linen (8-25-14)

Amazing how fast these things can go sometimes.

Later....

Plein air - Libby Terrace

Taking a bit of fresh air with Virginia Plein Air Painters (VPAP). Friday was a nice plein air break, pleasant grey day, not ominous or threatening. This time we were at one of my favorite painting perches, Libby Terrace. It sits high with a stellar 190 degree east, south and west view of Richmond and the James River.

Normally, I paint the river view, but this time went for one of the wonderful rim homes overlooking the park and river. There is a 3-tier fountain to the left with some rose crape myrtles.  I wanted more of it, but ran out of canvas......happens with a square canvas sometimes.

PLEIN AIR

918 Libby Terrace in August 16x16 oil on linen (8-22-14)

Later....

Canvas 917

Well here I am again studying a blank 48x44 canvas on my easel, wondering what it will become. I also have a stack of photos I'm shuffling about. It's down to Venice, some beach figures or a very handsome flamingo.

It's 9:25 am and Venice won out over the flamingo....however he could be next!

DAY 1

WOW! I got into this one, spent the whole day, not just the morning, but the afternoon too! Hope it holds tomorrow !

DETAILS

 

 

DAY 2

Another good day at the easel. The sun is there but high above the fog line. I always knew it would be. To accommodate it I made some very subtle colour shifts in the upper fog. Today, I'll beef that up a bit more so the eye will follow down to my water reflection.

DETAIL

I imagine him to be a retired gondolier, remembering....

It'll be curious how he plays out in the final painting. Given the vast spacial volume in relation to this figure, will he command singular focus.....even over the suns hot reflection?  If he does, then my mission was accomplished.

DAY 3

917 Remembering... 48x44 oil on linen (8-21-14)

DETAIL

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. My heavy use of white with neutral greys is a different palette for me. It does have an interesting aspect when light hits it; whites become warm and it brightens up the sunlight feel, as though it was about to clear up very fast.

Did my little figure hold singularity?  Asked an artist friend where his eye landed.....he didn't mention it, until I brought it to his attention.

"The old man on the dock is in my first eye move along that triangulation path - my eye first goes to the highlight on the water, and then the pink red makes my eye move from the water to that area. Plus, the angled gondolas do that shift also."

I don't know if that qualifies, so I used a title that might help it along.......we'll see:=)

Later....

Much about nothing and the start of canvas 916

One of those days/mornings, thinking about whats next and #916, a fresh 48x44 canvas. Nice really; my last one is off the easel and soon will enter a life of its own as a painting. I like it better off the easel too, because I'm no longer looking for things that need noodling but enjoying the result and wondering about its future.

September is just a few weeks away.....WOW! Where did this year go? Galleries are waking up from a sleepy summer, thinking about their fall schedule and wondering if there is any new work?  It's also the last opportunity for a canvas to find a new home. So, the next few months will be more about that, than actual painting. The only thing certain, I'm not ready for the Fall season or all the pickup and delivery tasks that lay ahead. Of course opening nights will make up for it.... always fun to sip wine, see what's new and hear about exciting summer trips. 

It's 9:15am and I know what #916 will be about.....something I'm not finished with yet, a sunrise and a solo sculler and this little study from early 2010.

232 Sculler 8x10 oil on panel (1-23-10)

DAY 1

DAY 2

DETAIL

916 is signed, but not quite finished. I have a few punctuations left. Hopefully it will be dry enough in the morning so I can knock those out. I don't have a title yet... funny how sometimes that's as important as the painting itself. Until one pops up it will be Soloist or 916.

His projecting oar was a challenge. I finally added a bit of green to white - it was the only way I could get it to pop against all the warm background. Once it's dry I can play with those highlights more....perhaps increase my shadows some in the process. 

DAY 3

916 Soloist 48x44 oil on linen (8-18-14)

DETAIL

 Using cool whites worked well for my scull highlights - basically reflecting the clear morning sky above.

 

In this series of paintings I seem to be trending sun and fog effects, so it looks like my "new directions" search left the room with canvas 899 for a "less-is-more" position; a position I'm good with.  Messing with gold leaf didn't hang around much either... although I did have fun with that. I still think if there ever is a new direction, it will be on a large canvas like 899. I got closer there than anywhere....especially the 2nd version without the fish (below)

899 Pond Reflections 2nd version 72x96 oil on linen

I have a feeling my roll is still intact...:=)

Later......

A weeks worth of paint and canvas - 899 3rd rework!

This blog post was written and deleted daily as I would type my frustrations, bitch and mumble profanities (not printable). All having to do with the 3rd modification of an existing work. Every morning I woke up with my "Chuck it now"! This is crap! Move on plan!

Then without notice each morning I would pick up my brush and go another round with #899, a 72x96 canvas. This time it took (13) days to cross the finish line and it wasn't a straight line either. It took (8) days to let go of the original work; difficult, but once I did, the painting started making sense.

INSPIRATION, ORIGINAL STARTING POINT & 13 DAY MERRY-GO-ROUND
 Red Chihuly Pond Reeds at - Virginia Museum of Fine Art

 "Chuck it now"! This is crap! Move on plan!

Clearly my thinking on day 8, as an artist friend of mine would say, "Gutted", with the only hope left, a "crop job". Not a great outcome, however while playing with it in Photoshop, I could see possibilities again; one of my favorite passages had to go! Then without warning picked up my brush and destroyed it.....LOL!

TURNING POINT

Day 8 saw a breakthrough, because on day 9, I didn't wake up with my "Chuck it now"! This is crap! Move on plan!

DAY 8

DAY 9

DAY 10

 Sun drenching iris tips for more foreground glow
DAY 11

During late evening study time I wiped out some of the left iris - seemed to be competing with my main light focus. It may need more editing. I'm also losing an important perspective angle; plus, a few equal spacing issues at the bottom need attention. 

DAY 12

 Day 13

899 Red Pond Reeds 72x96 oil on linen (8-12-14)

After day (8) my repaint moved back into the fun column. I was very careful only using my fresh morning hours as the baseline for the days session. Most of my attention was on the foreground and some hash marks I originally used to break up vertical massing. Inadvertently, they turned into some sort of red iris flowers; a device that allowed sunlight to move forward through the red reeds, slowly establishing a touchable dimension........fairly powerful on a large canvas.

later....

Canvas 915 has a life to live.

Yes alive, to live, and more importantly, on the off chance, immortality.  What makes that happen? What makes art survive history's misfortunes? Something to ponder when thinking about art.....

THE END OF MY ROLL!

I know, because I shifted gears and it got a bit sticky; matter of fact, I'm still stuck in it! But, not canvas 915, it's good to go!

 915 Morning Training 44x40 oil on linen (7-29-14)

When I paint, I'm after a believable illusion; when I get it, I stop. I work fast, decisions are made fast and moved on equally as fast. When done successfully, I find light and movement for me comes off best....even touchable. 

I want a viewer to walk up and put their fingers in it! The future of canvas 915 depends on it!

Morning Training has to hold them or stop them in their tracks. If they walk by quickly......well what can I say. Sometimes it jumps out and nothing more is needed to get their attention. Time will tell if this painting works for someone else..... in my mind, the second stage of a paintings life. As an artist, I only control the first stage, the one I'm most concerned about. The rest I leave to the painting and it's future life - will it be lucky or will it go badly? What an incredible parallel to life and that of a painting....how cool is that!

A worthy "less is more" quote from Phil Levine news letter

"SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION" 

Leonardo Da Vinci

Later.....