Old Dog / New Tricks

Took a two evening advanced course in acrylic abstract painting, with emphasis on landscape rendering. I went with a water theme, probably because I'd been listening to The Odyssey audio book all afternoon...

Although that style of painting does not especially interest me, the techniques presented did, and the instructor did a fine job of explaining them.

My canvas was, sadly, too small to try them all out at once, as most of them rely on allowing thin layers of paint dry between applications. Obviously this is tough with a small canvas! You can only get so far away from what you've just painted. Everyone else in the class was working with one or more canvasses in the 2'x3' size range, for the most part.

Here is the canvas I painted during class. Currently I have a couple of watercolors in progress, but when I have finished those, I am going to start some acrylic paintings. It seems that having a couple of canvasses going simultaneously is the cure for waiting, and I love trying new stuff. I did come out of the classes feeling pretty inspired to try these techniques, and full of ideas about how to put them to good use.

I admit it was hard not to giggle when several of the other course participants extended sincere sympathy to me, as an apparently obvious total beginner to painting. I took the small canvas (about a foot square) because I've not been feeling well lately, and didn't have a lot of energy for a large painting -- and I *hate* unfinished paintings. Also, carrying it to class and back home in the freezing damn cold on foot kinda sucks. $5 says everyone else in the class came in a car. Since I'd been doing watercolors during the day both days, I ended up painting the acrylic left-handed to give my right a break. Didn't really get into any of that with the other people in the class, though. I was just happy to be there.

There is a summer course, 3 days somewhere north of here, that I will probably sign up for, if I can work out transportation, and get registered before all the spots fill. It does look like fun.

coming out of cold storage

The design on the right will eventually emerge from the collection of swirls on the left. And you will be amazed.

AMAZED, I say!

Aww, crap.

Whoops. I made a picture of this last week, and didn't realize I hadn't posted it. Until now, when I just posted the update to it, only I was updating something I hadn't posted. Anyway, this one is older than the other one. And, yes, it is in some ways better.

You know there is an expression, it takes two people to finish a painting.... one to paint it, and another to shoot the sumbitch before he f's it up...

Just sayin'.

A Painting

Another picture of this thing. I learned a lot about how I should have done this, if I wanted it to look cooler. Enough that it has become difficult for me to be excited about finishing it.

The lighting is weird in this (there is a fluorescent tube above it, so the top really pops and the bottom seems dull), but the color actually is funky in the middle (the sections that seem too-blue actually ARE too blue).

However, in the interest of science, and having a better painting next time, I'm going to finish this one. The knot is monochrome, but it's going to get some highlights and low lights. The background will probably get some of the same. But... different.

"It's Art, you wouldn't understand...." (ha!)

And, I'm on the fence about outlining the knot with black. That was the original plan and I probably will do it because of that. But I figured out how to make it super cool without that. Next canvas, I guess. I picked up 6 of these 50cmX50cm squares on Very Discount last week, they were €3/each. I had been thinking of doing a set of 4 related paintings (Diptych, Triptych... Quadratych?) But I can decide about that after I've done the next one in this flavor, but will all the learning experiences applied. One of the things I'm learning about is effective use of low relief with acrylic paint. Most of my other paintings have been very flat (no relief) which robs them of depth, even if I painted some shading/depth modeling into the composition. This one has much more texture – I'm still getting the hang of that – and is a better painting for it.

the death march of progress

I had to take it off the easel and put it back on the wall to start liking it again. There is something about staring at a painting very close up that ruins it. Unless it's a Persian miniature watercolor, which this categorically is not.

starshines & rainbows...

Here's the point where I am most likely to lose the plot. Because it has gone from a crisp B&W composition to some kind of schizoid clown barf, with little islands of crispness. And because I'm so drawn to and compelled by those islands, I start to loathe the color swirls just a little bit. Even though I love them. Even though I have the power to bring back the crisp with a few swipes of white paint.

Although I don't really feel 'at home' with acrylic paint just yet, I do love the fact that laying down this much paint has used so little paint. I know a lot of painters like to apply acrylic with a shovel, but I'm more a fan of having just enough paint to cover the canvas with the colors I want. Also, this entire painting has been done with red, yellow ocher, green, and white. I am unreasonably amused to be able to make purple and blue out of that combination.

so now there's a liquor store!

It's always so nice at the beginning.

As always, click for bigger.

This is the canvas I've just started a few days ago. It's not going to be B&W, I haven't even started painting yet. It's going to be acrylic paint. I really like the design, though. This is why I filled sketch book after sketch book, for years, with black line drawings, and consumed countless black Sharpies along the way... I'd start something like this, intending to color it in, and then fall in love with the B&W, and not be able to bear adding color. What if I didn't love it?!

Then I learned about photocopying...

This won't photocopy, though. It's 30cm x 150cm.

Really? More than a month?

It hardly seems possible, but the numbers don't lie. More than a month has gone by since my last post here. I have been kind of busy with making things, since then. I've developed a (possibly unhealthy) obsession with putting moss on things. I've carved in plaster. I've painted, and drawn, and consumed lots of tea and coffee--a critical part of the creative process. And I've taken uncountably many pictures of my cat, which is my version of practicing portrait photography.

This picture is a smallish oil painting that I have started, but not yet completed. It's partly on hold because I'm not 100% sure how to proceed technically. The good news is, it is so far pretty much exactly what I had in mind, as far as composition and execution. This pleases me. I expect it will please me even more when it's finished.

Today's Eyeful

This is the current in-progress painting. It's about 1'x3' or so, acrylic. I don't think it is anywhere near done, but this is the general idea. There will be a lot of detail in the spheres, if all goes according to plan.

Unfinished Business

The hiatus here has been long and unwarranted, but I figured it was better to stress about not creating, than about not blogging about not creating. In any event, I finally got back in the saddle about 2 months ago, and have been trying to learn a bit of oil technique. Having just come off watercolors, it's been challenging, to say the least. However, I'm starting to get a better feel for it. Still not sure this is the right medium for me (in fact, pretty sure it's not) but it can be somewhat satisfying nonetheless.

Perhaps the hardest thing for me is the long open time of the paint. I've got all these unfinished paintings around. Some are, truthfully, unstarted. Don't be fooled by how much paint is already on the canvas. It might be good for me to have to look at my unfinished work every day, though. Although I'd like to have a studio space separate from my living space, I also like to live in the work. This is not an office job.

I'm posting these unfinished images without comment, without editing, and in some cases, apparently without even focusing the camera. When the things are complete, I'll get more pictures. Please feel free to comment, all feedback is welcome, even if it's the basic like/don't like reaction.