Meet Davo | Canvas #4
I am so pleased I decided to take the BIA art class this semester. I wasn't sure if Painting 1 was going to be something that I would enjoy. Previously I have used a small journal for my art - drawing, collaging, writing - but all in a very small scale. This class has stretched me and my art - both literally and metaphorically.
I have just about finished Canvas #4 - I'm calling him Davo. He's morphed from a background of colour into a blue guy who bears a resemblance to a statue. I still have some work to do to finish the background but I think he's pretty much done.
The canvas is pretty big - over a metre in width and that has been the fun. I love working on a large scale. Who knew that would be the case? Each canvas takes hours of work, although admittedly the time just evaporates ...
I have only a week left in the class for this semester. I need to finish the background for Davo and finish up Canvas #5 ... could be a very busy week!
And yet more colour | Canvas #5
Out of your comfort zone; sometimes you just need to go out of your comfort zone. Well at least that is what I keep telling myself. With canvas #5 I decided to paint intuitively rather than try to paint with an end point in mind. Ok, I admit, I thought it would be easier than it is ...
Yes, the actual adding of paint to the canvas is particularly enjoyable. Blue paint, green paint, mix in black, stir it all around ... I'm not concerned with painting anything representational but there is where it gets harder than it looks.
Where am I taking my painting? What colours am I using? What message am I conveying?
Maybe the answer to all of those questions is: don't know, doesn't matter ...
I'm sure this canvas will continue to evolve. I'm thinking darker, moodier with splashes of white and green and pink ... or not ... :-)
And she is done | Canvas #3
Looking nothing like the original painting, Canvas #3 is finally done. This painting was an exercise in glazing - building layers of transparent paint to reach the final point.
I completely appreciate the technique ... and at the same time it was definitely not a technique that I would choose first over others. I love getting lost in the painting process. I love splashing paint around the canvas; painting more intuitively than with an end point in mind. Glazing works best slowly and methodically. Building layer on layer until the story is told.
My very serious friend here took me quite a few weeks to finish. I thought working in a square would be interesting but actually in many ways the shape challenged my plans for composition.
I learned quite a bit by completing this painting and that is really what it is all about: learning, creating, learning and creating more.
This is the evolution of canvas #3 (from original painting, then overpainted and turned into my serious friend):
Splashes of colour
Big, bold splashes of colour and lines of acrylic ink ... yeah.
After spending the morning working on two detailed paintings, it was nice to just splash colour onto a canvas. Ultimately this part of the painting will never be seen; I am planning to cover up most of the canvas with a somewhat less abstract painting. Still, it was great fun to just move paint and ink around the canvas in whatever patterns appealed to me in the moment.
I'll do some more work on this canvas this week. I'm tempted to make it brighter and more textured as I continue to work on the underpainting. I have absolutely no idea of where I am going with the painting ... and that is what makes it so much fun. Some more warm colours next perhaps?
Layer 1:
Layer 2:
A rainy afternoon and Christmas houses
It's been raining ... and raining and raining (or so it seems at least). Actually it probably isn't been that bad; it just feels that way.
The rain meant our weekend full of sport became a weekend with absolutely no sport being played at all. It did mean I found myself with more free time than I expected. So what to do?
Start some Christmas projects of course. I enjoyed making the little Halloween manor houses and so I was looking for a reason to make some more. Hello Christmas village! Actually hello Christmas-advent-calendar-village ...
I'm working on a way of weaving my Christmas village together with my love of advent calendars. I think I have figured out how to combine them ... it just means, of course, I need to get started on making quite a few houses ... an excellent plan for a rainy Saturday afternoon that was originally going to be spent watching multiple games of baseball ...
Blue man | Canvas #4
He's blue. Well, more of a blue tint than completely blue but still, at the moment I am thinking of him as blue.
I don't know whether to keep him blue or go with a more lifelike colour. There is something interesting about the blue. Maybe I'll keep working on the shading a bit more and I might come to a decision about his colouring. I'm getting braver with painting figures and torsos and moving away from just a face. (I will always love just a face but a guess variety is a good thing ... you never know one day I might just paint flowers instead ;-)
Complete transformation | Canvas #3
Gesso is marvellous. The painting I started last week was a challenge. I didn't like the composition; it was off-balance and I wasn't sure how to fix it. Aaah, but there is always the magic of gesso. Sunday morning, a few coats of gesso and I'm on my way again. Still grappling with the idea of how to make glazing work to my advantage but at least I am happier with the overall composition of the painting.
Painting is challenging. I have an idea in my mind of how I would like the painting to go ... but it mostly doesn't end up looking like I imagine. That's where it gets fun. How do I make it work? How do I fix things? In this case, how can I use glazing to make the painting better ...
This painting still has a long way to go but I am enjoying the process. It will be interesting to see how it finishes up ...
She wonders | Canvas #3
My painting class continues into Term 4. This week we learned a new technique - glazing. I understand the idea behind the technique but I'm struggling with the application! I rather like splashing paint on in opaque layers and taking comfort that my "mistakes" can be covered with an opaque layer of paint.
Glazing builds on the layers underneath - building transparent layer upon transparent layer. I think I will need a fair bit of practice to get this technique right ... or even close to right.
Part of the problem with this particular canvas is that I haven't got the initial drawing right. Her shoulders and head aren't proportionate. Ugh. I think I'm off to find some gesso and start again ...
Wanderlust 2017 Week 31
I have been working away on my Wanderlust classes. Some I like ... some, not so much!
This was my version of the Week 31 lesson. The lesson intended the work to be completed as a 3D piece ... I preferred to keep it in my art journal. I'm not actually sure if it has all that much of a resemblance to the Wanderlust project :-) ... This was a quick splash of colour in my art journal but sometimes that is all it takes to refocus my creativity and get me moving on other projects.
I love the orange and green playing off against the grey and white background. A colour combination I think I will need to use again.
Canvas #2
Woohoo - he's finished! I am have working away on a new canvas. He has morphed through a few stages; colour added and modifications made.
I rather like him. He is bold and colourful and the canvas is very large. What fun.
I'm not sure if my family is entirely convinced but he is going to be hung on our wall. (I have a wall for my paintings and he is going to be a big part of it!).
Here he is in stages:
