what mood do you want to create?

22x36 pastel on marble dust

detail

I once read somewhere to allow motion to equal emotion. It seems to be true. A calm surface produces a more tranquil feeling and a surface full of "happy dance marks" makes one feel warm, good. The mood of the painting is in direct correlation to the mood of the painter. For example the painting (above) is named Hope and Longing. It was to be called just Longing for it was begun on what should have been my Mom's birthday. She had died 8 years prior so I was thinking about her a lot, as I do each July 29th. After returning from my annual trip to Washington State I was filled with ideas about my favorite field, a place filled with daisies and love. I returned home to the studio and played my Mom's favorite arias and painted. It was one of those times when the painting spoke to me and the course of it was altered. A bright spot of diffuse sunlight appeared in the distance- alas, hope was here. My Mom left too early and I still miss her now, but that painting was a turning point for me. The surface is made up of a combination of scratched and smooth marks.

 This one, a painting from another favorite field on Orcas Island was all about happiness. The mark is like a dance.
Another component to creating mood is carefully choosing your color scheme. Does it reflect the mood you want to create?  To me, Rothko was a the create creator of mood with his exquisite choice of color. Oftentimes I feel warm deep down to my stomach when I view a Rothko.
When painting a mood you have to really feel that emotion and use every tool necessary including:  music, writings, smells,whatever you have in your toolbag, The viewer wont's see it if you don't feel it.
There is more to creating mood in paintings. Please share your ideas in the comment section. Ciao for now!

choosing color to convey mood:painting and cooking

10x10 oil on linen (probably unfinished)
How can color be used effectively to convey mood in a painting? Think about the emotions you want to express and then decide which colors do it. (It really is ALL up to you.) This painting was done from a study I made after my visit to the Ding Darling Refuge in Florida. The study was a memory piece done 5 days after I was there. It is vibrant and intense (see below, pastel.) I took that idea and created a one color underpainting, with small changes in composition. I chose to make a quiet, early autumn painting (very different from the saturated intensity of Florida). Aiming for a more Tonalist, restrainted feel, I restricted my palette. I have no photos, it simply comes from my feel of autumn. One of the biggest problem folks have is relying on their photographs. Yes, I know the top small oil is not as effective as the bottom pastel. But for better or worse both came from inside of me. I still feel my biggest struggle is to get the oils to do what I know I want. Again it's like cooking. I am still working on my rosemary walnut biscotti recipe. Each try I get a little closer to the taste I want. Patience is my key word. I know I need to simply keep asking myself...what will happen if I try this...or this and soon I will figure out how to get the effect I desire.... it's a quest. Painting and cooking...both  are quests of a sort. Enjoy the hunt, the struggle and the elusive, fruitful, discovery.

7x9 pastel on paper