Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't
Sometimes I am really happy with the way a painting comes together ... and sometimes I'm not! Today's painting just didn't really fall in to place. I could have spent longer with it and pushed it to a place that works but nah, this was an exercise on a practice sheet of canvas paper. It's done.
Really the note to self from this painting is to take more time working with the shape of the flower and giving myself a reminder to go back and get it right before I continue ... and also to remember that practice is practice and a painting that doesn't work is as good a teacher as one that came together.
I did like adding the pastels as an after drawing. That is something I think I will use again ... maybe. I like the look of overdrawing but I'm undecided about whether I like the pastels themselves. They are pretty but smudgy. I wonder if I can get coloured pencils to do the job instead? Hmmm ... more painting and experimenting and learning is in order!
And some more flowers
I am using flowers as my inspiration for my paintings this semester. Well, flowers or images that vaguely identify with flowers ;-) ... A challenge to find ways to make a subject that is very common in paintings my own.
I am really focusing on learning about composition - what works and what doesn't. This painting isn't totally completed but I like where it is headed. The "flowers" are just part of the design and not really intended to be read as flowers but more as shapes and colour in the painting. This was painted on my trusty MDF board - so not intended to be a finished piece but rather an exercise.
I have a few more MDF paintings to go before I commit to using better quality wood panels and canvases as my substrates.
Negative painting over collage
Exercises continued today. This time we started with a collage - simply covering the substrate with scraps of paper. I used some lovely origami papers as part of the collage. Once the entire piece was covered in paper ... and a coffee was had ... it was time to paint the collage. Once again, we used the idea of negative space to draw the picture from the collage. It really is my favourite approach.
The more I look at this painting, the more I like it. It was driving me a bit crazy as I was painting it. The blues and greens were blending more than I liked. Still, a great way to harness some creative thinking and as always, the absolute best way to start off the week!
Back to class
Hooray. After a break of 5 weeks, I finally got back to art class today. Starting a week with 3 hours of painting time has to be the best way to set yourself up for a great week.
In those 3 hours, I paint, I chat, I paint some more, I drink a coffee and I inhale happiness. Love it.
The first few weeks of class each semester is devoted to exercises and activities - something new to add to the learning. This week we were challenged to paint a still life (a world globe and a pink ukulele) - but the still life was moved 3 times. Hmmm. A challenge. How to capture that change in frame of reference?
It did take me a little while to get my mind open to the challenge ... In the end I am happy with my solution (which in part was simply to just add a hint of pink ukulele!).
Yes indeed, so very glad to be back at class.
Conversing
It is easy to let time just slip away and to get caught up in the busy-ness of the everyday. The last few weeks have been very busy - in a good way - with lots of family activities and commitments mixed in with work as well.
What I didn't;t do in that time is carve out some moments for creativity ... and I need creativity to keep me balanced. Thankfully, I got wiser and dug out my journal and just created. Maybe the guys in the painting are also pondering the joys of just stopping, contemplating and creating ... or maybe they are just chatting about sport!
This was a mixed media exercise - acrylic paints, India ink pens and coloured pencils.Super fun. I'm ready to do some more.
evolution
The best part about acrylic paint is being able to paint, walk away, look at the painting, roll your eyes and paint over what you just painted ... and repeat :-)
It is very rare that I start a painting with an end point in mind. I much prefer the creativity of finding the finished painting from what is already there. Sometimes that works brilliantly ... and sometimes it is an abject fail. So I paint again and again, enjoying the process and the evolution.
This painting is no exception. It is about at its mid-point I think. It is going somewhere but I don't know how it will end. Right at the moment I'm thinking it needs texture and some gel medium or molding paste ... or maybe glazing ... maybe ...
And with holidays comes painting
Woohoo! The school term has ended. That very long, very trying school term has finally come to a close. Admittedly I am still working but the stress level in the house has definitely stepped down a notch or two.
The weather is nice. The house is quiet ... it must be time to paint. I'm juggling work and family commitments so this might be a slow painting effort - but it was great to be able to get started on a new painting. I have an idea of where this is going but I am not entirely sure the execution will match the imagination. Ah, but that is half the fun! For now, I have finished with the underpainting ...
Fellows
Meet two strange, quirky fellows!
This painting took a little while to find itself - which in the end gave the painting a certain depth. I am fond of the two "fellows" and love how they emerged from the canvas.
This is only a small painting - 20cm x 20cm and it was an exercise in mixed media - acrylic paints, India ink and pencils.
Creature on the run
Ah yes. There is a strange creature with purple ears and a purple nose running away from a fairly stern looking group. Uhuh. That's what I saw when I started working on this painting. It's not finished yet. To be honest I'm not quite sure where I'm going with it. No matter. I have paint, pencils, pens and imagination - how can this be bad?
Maybe I should go back to slightly less imagined paintings? But where would the fun begin that? It's the challenge of seeing the images, the creatures, the people in the paintings that inspires my creativity ... or at least let's the world see inside my somewhat crazy head ;-)
A work in progress ...
Alrighty then ... I'm not sure what say about this painting ... except that it is a work progress. I have been challenging myself to paint whimsy using negative space as my guide. These two guys are a definitely different! Goodness knows what conversation they might be having ...
I still have a way to go before I can call this painting finished - it will be fun to see where it ends (at any rate, I think the lime green plume needs to stay!).