Monday, February 27, 2012

pressure

9x9 pastel and watercolor
Before a solo show there is always a breakdown (at least for me.) This time it comes around the postcard image. I am frantic. Not one painting is remotely good enough nor does anything say what I want to say. I am normally a good-natured, optimistic person, but this brings me to a puddle of mess on the kitchen floor.  Arghhhhh! Is this the same for everyone?
I try to tell myself,"this too will pass, go back to the studio."

On another note, on Friday I was at the river painting. There was a tumultuous sky. At any given moment it could be sun or drenching rain. This was the moment of hope (a little piece I needed.) I walked home in the drizzle. I turned my board upside-down to protect it. When I arrived home it looked like this-
Uninteresting. Some working on it made the top image. Sorry can't write more. Have to work in the studio.
PS Thank you to all the folks who contacted me about the summer workshop. News soon....

Monday, February 20, 2012

make light: not white

pastel 8x9 (studio study)

underpainting for large oil 40x48
When I was teaching I noticed that sometimes my young students mistake light in a color to mean -more pale or a tint. But light must be made by color rather than just altering the color with more white. It may not be "exactly" what you see but instead it is a choice you make to create the feel of the light and the concept. Making value changes can get the painting to read space and distance, but making the light, takes color.
To me, the best way to learn to see and feel color is to paint the same landscape every day. It is then you notice the ways light works, her nuances.
And now for one of this week's plein air studies.
How many do I have of this view? Let me guess. The number must be at least around 200. I love the fact that learning is boundless and will happen each day I am there. 


Monday, February 13, 2012

jasper johns' wisdom

Jasper Johns would write in his sketch book as we all do. He wrote "commands" to himself in order to help himself "focus on the making."
Jasper Johns, target
Once he wrote," it may be that focusing on the making diminishes thinking about what one intends the work to mean, leaves the unconscious with room in which to operate, allows meaning to accrue without interference."

Those are the best words I have read in a long time.
Jasper Johns, 0-9 on aluminum
After the idea has been formed, as I did in the  twilight painting (below)  I need to let it go. The next step will come. Focus on the making, not the idea. I remember when I made all those pastels in my bed(during recovery) the interference was gone. I think it may have been my hyper-unaware drugged state that allowed me to visit the unknown. (heh) I still like that group of pastels. They tell me the direction I need to go. While my work is inspired by the landscape it longs to find a different space that is not about the landscape at all.
50x40 oil on wood, unfinished
 This is my latest struggle. I know the land mass should be much darker and the sky much grayer, but can't figure out how much. So I move incrementally towards the goal.I walk each night at twilight and just watch.



By the way, the Waverly Street Gallery has a wonderful show called 23 plus 23.  In it I have a nine of my tiny paintings tightly displayed together- salon style. Some are oil, some are pastel. I like the way they look all together. At the reception one attendee said, "They are like little bites of sweets. You can't just have one, you need to bite again and again. "  Come on by and have a little taste.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

before snow glow and upcoming pastel workshop

pastel and watercolor on Uart 8x10
The challenge today was to make the glow on the water. There was very overcast sky since there is snow on the way. (sidebar- we have had spring up to now-cherry blossoms in bloom, every the creeping flocks and quince have flowers!) Snow sounds exciting to see again.

I have been asked many times to talk about the process of my  paintings. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but still I will provide a written account. 
Since all landscapes have a warm undertone I used quid burnt sienna and quid burnt gold watercolor paint to paint the value in the large masses.  Very simplified.
 Observing and not painting I watch. Finally, I take off the gloves and settle down with my precious pastels.
My thinking :When you look at water it has a color of its own that is more prominent in the foreground and reflections. This water had a greenish tone. The sky color effects the whole tenor of everything and that was a pink gray violet.  That determined, almost all my selected pastels came from the gray section of the palette. The purer tones were added at the very end. The pastel is thicker in the sky thus more matte. The water has thin rubbed applications.
The main dance (the diva) has more marks and more contrast in  color. I hold back mark making in other areas.
It is an intuitive thing that is good to sometimes put in words.

I will be teaching a workshop this summer. Email me to let me know if you are interested. I like to teach small groups so the class size is limited to 5. Toodles for now......

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

the pond

48x34 oil on wood
There is a small pond nearby. It obsesses me.
One evening I was there is was magic. That is the vision in my head. A violet layer by the horizon and orange/gold rising. The thing is nature is perfect. If you look closely, just look you see how the grays she makes mimic the violets she makes. There is always a relationship between the different areas in the sky to each other and to the land mass. You only need a handful of tubes to mix and you can make a array of color., without stepping away from the feel.
I can't seem to get  this painting to convey that feel. Maybe I need to change the format.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

purple in the landscape and Wolf Kahn

pastel on watercolor, 10x10

I went to the lake just to observe, not to paint. Just look. But I can never resist...at least I just observed the lake. This small field was at my back. heh.
One note...my pastel box has a row of purples and a row of violet like grays. Every landscape has them in one way or another. I can't keep away from them. Side bar note: I painted both my bedroom, living room and bathroom in different shades of purple and gray purple. Purple keeps appearing in my clothes.

I close with another quote from Wolf Kahn-
For the artist, purple has special qualities. The small- est variation in density of tone is significant. Purple can be made to appear airy or heavy.  It can describe a wide range of psychological meanings, from celebratory to tragic.”