Thursday, October 27, 2011

Seeing the light better with "Yellow" 8" x 8" oil on panel


What a dreary day outside. Cold, rain, wind. So I was drawn to the color yellow this morning. This little pitcher was, in the 60's, a promotional giveaway at Phillips 66 gas stations with a fill-up. I love painting pool balls, especially my Number 1. Since I've been away from painting for some time, I've, over the weeks, tried to figure out how I might see the color better in my set ups. What was I missing? Well, I bought some clip on lights to illuminate my palette that was looking more and more like mud as my painting progressed. Today I noticed, despite the dark weather, that I could see my colors as I mixed with a bit more clarity. But the truth of this solution will reveal itself throughout my next few paintings.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

"Snuggled" 8" x 8" oil on Ampersand panel


Long time no paint!
With all the apples available this time of the year, I couldn't resist my urges to work with my "to the applesauce" stash. I would like to focus more on painting folds in fabric, which is really like foreign territory to me. Another artist once told me there were 7 kinds of folds... possible angles and light variations to look for when painting. One would guess if one understands the anatomy of the folds, the language of interpreted light would be easier to understand. I guess this is when I need to "paint what I see and not what I know, but know what I see when I begin to paint". Huh? Makes sense to me. But exhausting when actually practiced. But practice is what painting is all about for me. I just need to get back to the everyday ritual. When working, a lot of times I get lost in thought. But maybe that's because it's unfamiliar territory.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

"Reflecting Orange"


I know it has been awhile since I've posted...and painted. I went to Germany to visit my daughter, son-in-law and babu, Max. Also, we all went to Octoberfest in Munich. What a scene! I like a beer occasionally during the hot weather, but wouldn't consider myself a fan of the brew. But the beer was great. A little sweet and light to taste. My little grandson was the main attraction, though, and I just couldn't get enough of him. I took a sketchbook thinking I might do a few gestural drawings, but that didn't happen. I was too busy playing. 
So, I'm back to the daily routine of this and that and finally got a few hours to paint today. I've painted this little orange pitcher only once before and find it a little challenging. The setup is resting on a sheet of foil for some interesting reflections, but then I excluded most of the foreground. Duh! I'm going to work with this again with just switching the pitcher for a pink plastic cup. We'll see how it goes.
By the way, I have a ton of new things to paint if I can just get past the difficult task of doing a setup. Definitely the most difficult task of painting is doing a creative setup, for me. Anyone else feel that way?