In the garden are the creatures
I'm working on whimsy. You would think creating a painting that is whimsical would be a simple enough objective but, no. It is surprisingly difficult. There is a fine line between whimsy and childish. Ugh. I think the challenge is that I know generally the look and style I am trying to get to but not the actual painting itself.
This one goes close. I'm sure it is not a painting for everyone but I am rather fond of this one. There are whimsical creatures in your garden and this is a glimpse of them ...
Say hello to number 3
I like working in a series. It somehow makes each painting in itself less important but together the whole is better that the parts. At least that is the way I view it ... that and the fact that I just like painting more paintings!
Painting number 3 in this series is not yet finished - but as you can see - the initial layer is done. This is my meditative series - primarily black and white - with only hints (or tints) of colour added at the end. I like doing these paintings when I want to turn inwards and reflect rather than create.
Painting small and with minimal colours was just what I needed after a series of very busy weeks. I have had lots of time watching kids' sport and chatting with parents and friends. But now, I need to regroup. The introverted me just craved some time to paint tiny mushrooms and flowers and bendy vines. Ah, so therapeutic!
Black and white and square
What is the natural progression from the series I have been working on? Simple - there are two ways to go. First up, let's shrink the images and make them black and white and fill every part of the square panel. The other option is to completely ignore the control and just make the paintings bolder and more colourful.
In this case I decided on the first option. (I am also working on the second option at the same time but that is for another post!).
I really enjoy creating in this style. It is very meditative. In one of the paintings I have added a light colour wash. I think the other painting might need the same finishing touches. I think it is going to be fun exploring where this style can go to ... larger scale, tighter drawings, different colours ... hmmm bring on the challenges!
These are the two paintings so far:
Tree whimsy | Diane Culhane
One painting leads to another and slowly I get closer to the paintings I have in my mind ... I am not quite there yet but painting whimsical trees (thanks to Diane Culhane for her inspiration) is moving me in the right direction. I am inspired by artists like Diane and also Elke Trittel - their work is whimsical and interesting and surprisingly complex. I love it.
It is a bit of a slow process - I find I need to start by trying to draw directly from the work of an artist that inspires me - learning how they produce the work they do and then incorporate that learning into my own art. Hopefully the process brings a depth and interest to my paintings. I am always very conscious at the beginning of the process that I am relying on the work of the artist to inform my paintings.
I have been alternating between painting on canvas and painting on board and I have to say that board wins! I love the texture from a brush stroke but I am not such a fan of the texture from the canvas. Purely a personal choice.
And so, bring on some more whimsical trees painted on boards ... let's see where this takes me!
Series #2
Well hello Series #2! I wasn't sure what I was going to paint as I set out to work on a series of paintings. Admittedly I am still working away on Series #1 but I think I'm done with Series #2.
The paintings have been through a number of changes - underpainted in the blues/greens before a layer of the reds and then a layer of whites. Some sgraffito for good measure and glazing with transparent paints to bring it all together. I must admit there were points in the this series where I didn't think it would come together but I'm pretty happy with the final result.
I painted on wood panels rather than canvas substrates and I loved it. I loved the smoothness of the panels; definitely worked better for me than the textured canvas. I will be using wood panels agin!
Here are some photos of the individual pieces:
Setting the scene
I am not too far away from beginning a series of paintings. The ideas have been mulling around in my head ... faces, hands, abstract ... . In the end I decided on - none of the above. :-)
For as long as I can remember I have drawn and doodled in meetings and while I'm on the phone and while I wait for a meeting and after the meeting ... my little drawings are just images that comes to mind at that point in time. So, I figure why not use those images as the basis for some paintings. I have done a few preliminary paintings in my journal. As you can seen they are probably less random than you'd expect but they did create a great bridge between painting what I think I want and painting what is inside my head. I'm looking forward to (and a little scared about) embarking on a series of larger scale paintings but that's a challenge for next-week me!
Bring a big stick ...
Okay ... when your art class is required to bring a big stick with them for the lesson you do have to wonder what the plan is ...
Actually, it was fun. We taped our paintbrushes to the end of the stick and did both the sketching and the actual painting of the still life standing about a metre or so away from the canvas. Such a lack of precision and control and I loved it!
For so many parts of my day and my world I am a rule follower and very fond of being in control (or at least aiming to do so). So trying to paint a menorah and a bunch of flowers while clutching on to what is in effect a VERY long handled part brush was great fun and very liberating. Admittedly I did have an crisis early in the project whereby I misjudged the whole sketching in (so tricky to do using only a long-handled paintbrush) and managed to have 8 candle holders ... luckily a little blue paint and a little more burnt sienna and voila back to 7!
I am not naturally drawn to painting still life style paintings but I do love doing them. If that makes sense? I would never choose a still life as a subject if I had my own way but the challenge of having to paint what is presented - the composition, the objects and the colour scheme - is such an excellent exercise - challenging and rewarding.
Negative not positive
Looking for the spaces and the shadows - that is the joy of negative painting.
The exercise today was to paint the space around the chair - not to paint the image of the chair - just the spaces around the chair. I enjoy approaching a painting this way. There is a challenge to see shapes in the negative space that I really enjoy ... maybe it is just a reflection of how I look at the world ;-)
I had the time to do two different studies of the chair - different angles, different spaces and different shadows. So much more enjoyable than just painting the chair itself!
Here are the two paintings:
Hands up!
I'm continuing my (slight) fixation with hands. Having finally decided it was time to tackle painting and drawing hands, I have been thoroughly enjoying the process.
I have been using a combination of acrylic paint and coloured pencils and just experimenting with different ideas and styles. Here are 3 in my series of hands:
And the hands have it ...
The prompt for Jessica Swift's Campfire this week was "hands" ... it was a good challenge to get me thinking about creating a pattern based on a prompt by someone else. I am still figuring out how to really incorporate my own artwork into my patterns in a style that works for me and then how to make the patterns work beyond a basic grid. Still, it's all about practice and more practice ... if you can call thoroughly enjoying being creative "practice".
Actually "hands" was a timely prompt - I am busily trying to learn to draw and paint hands anyway. Hmmm, I still have a long way to go in this particular area. I suspect it will take me years to finally master that particular skill ... but again, hey, years of painting and drawing ... I'm all for that!
Here is a first attempt (just so I know what to look back on as I keep practicing ...):
