Afternoon Lines, 20 x 20 inches, oil on linenDamn it's hot!
Last weekend we got up to 107F. As my garage / studio has no AC, and it gets direct sunlight, it's like an oven in there. I feel like a pig on a spit. At least the paint dries really fast, eh? I'd bring my easel inside the house except that I have a destructive two-year old. And the smell of paint and solvents would get me kicked out anyway.
The painting above is a part of my cityscape investigation. This one, being a facade has no perspective issues. Well, a little bit, but nothing that requires mapping out vanishing points and such. That means that I have a whole lot of freedom to push paint around and play within two dimensional space. Just shapes. Makes for an ideal playground for abstraction, methinks.
After the first round, I had a lot more color in the shadows than what you see now. I had painted it more or less with natural light in mind, with blues and violets in the raking shadows. It looked good, but when I set it down next to some of my more tonal cityscapes, it stuck out. I wanted more consistency among my pieces, so I gave it a glaze and proceeded to work back into it, making it more tonal and moody.
Often, it takes some courage and faith to work over something that's already "correct". But once I get passed the initial timid strokes, I find it liberating to just go at it aggressively and even obliterate passages that took me a long time get it right the first time. This is where I finally let go of my left brain thinking, and really have fun with intuitive brush wielding. This is where magic happens. When it comes down to it, you have to put aside your fears and dive in with both feet in order for magic to happen.
Kinda like life, huh?
Last weekend we got up to 107F. As my garage / studio has no AC, and it gets direct sunlight, it's like an oven in there. I feel like a pig on a spit. At least the paint dries really fast, eh? I'd bring my easel inside the house except that I have a destructive two-year old. And the smell of paint and solvents would get me kicked out anyway.
The painting above is a part of my cityscape investigation. This one, being a facade has no perspective issues. Well, a little bit, but nothing that requires mapping out vanishing points and such. That means that I have a whole lot of freedom to push paint around and play within two dimensional space. Just shapes. Makes for an ideal playground for abstraction, methinks.
After the first round, I had a lot more color in the shadows than what you see now. I had painted it more or less with natural light in mind, with blues and violets in the raking shadows. It looked good, but when I set it down next to some of my more tonal cityscapes, it stuck out. I wanted more consistency among my pieces, so I gave it a glaze and proceeded to work back into it, making it more tonal and moody.
Often, it takes some courage and faith to work over something that's already "correct". But once I get passed the initial timid strokes, I find it liberating to just go at it aggressively and even obliterate passages that took me a long time get it right the first time. This is where I finally let go of my left brain thinking, and really have fun with intuitive brush wielding. This is where magic happens. When it comes down to it, you have to put aside your fears and dive in with both feet in order for magic to happen.
Kinda like life, huh?
11 comments:
Really like this painting...wow! It is so complicated and interesting...wow!
Hey, I invested in a portable air conditioner for my garage...errr, I mean studio. It also has the added bonus of exhusting the fumes out the window and it really works great...extends my working time on these over 100 degree days.
I've enjoyed seeing all the cityscapes you've been doing for this show, but this one is by far my favorite. Beautiful!!!
Janette, that's exactly what I need!! If you don't mind my asking, what brand/model is your unit? I'm so tired painting in the oven!
Thanks Stacey~ This one's my favorite, too. I like that it's so 2D. I'm really an abstract artist trapped inside a realist, I think.
Holly shit Batman! Look at those raking shadows, rich awning and the one way sign with the dude going the other way, and the artist working over a perfectly good painting that I know I would have really liked and coming up with this tonal style painting that I really like! One of his best, Batman!
David, so.... what you're suggesting is, that you wish to be referred to as "Robin"!? You're not into tights, are you!?? Please say it ain't so :-p
It is a Everstar Portable Room Air conditioner, Model # MPMI-10CR-BB6. It actually gets the studio colder than my house! I love it...can't think when you are fryin like bacon!!!!
I do NOT wear tights! Well...OK, yes, when I'm at my easel. But that's the only time!
I have no idea what that Batman sh-t was all about except that this is one of my favorite paintings of yours and I got carried away!
Thanks Janette! My credit card is ready to shop!
LOL David. I'd suggest a self portrait - with tights, but no. don't do it. It's ok. really. I mean it...
I think I got it at Home Depot...
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