I’m not entirely happy with the final color choices, although, like always, it looks a lot better in person. The gold tracing looked really good in my head, just not so good on the canvas. Still, overall, I’m pretty happy with it.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Monday, May 08, 2006
Hawaii
I started with the sky, mixing orange, yellow, red, crimson and a little bit of titanium white. I then layered in the ocean and the mountain / volcano.
The end result is not entirely what I wanted. On the other hand, since I started with no real idea of what to paint, I guess I can't complain too much.
This was done on an A3 canvas with oils, in about two hours.
The end result is not entirely what I wanted. On the other hand, since I started with no real idea of what to paint, I guess I can't complain too much.
This was done on an A3 canvas with oils, in about two hours.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Volcano
After the last painting, I wanted to do something easy and quick and I wanted to try out that masking technique again.
So, I took an old canvas that had been mostly covered with Lamp Black and then abandoned after the original idea didn't work out, and started laying tape out in lines until I came up with this design.
I thought this one would be fairly simple and be easy to spot, but my wife took one look and said, with complete certainty, that I had painted the Luxor, in Las Vegas. When I explained that it was actually a volcano, she asked if I was sure. Again.
I'm not sure abstracts are my forte. But it was fun and quick and easy to do, occupying a rainy afternoon and I'm mostly pleased with it. What I don't like is that it looks like a background to me. Like I need an animation cell or something in front of it to give it some sort of story or reason for being. I may go back and add to it someday, but for now it's on the wall and out of my head.
I was quite pleased with the way the masking worked out on this one and plan at least two more paintings using the technique, also using acrylics.
So, I took an old canvas that had been mostly covered with Lamp Black and then abandoned after the original idea didn't work out, and started laying tape out in lines until I came up with this design.
I thought this one would be fairly simple and be easy to spot, but my wife took one look and said, with complete certainty, that I had painted the Luxor, in Las Vegas. When I explained that it was actually a volcano, she asked if I was sure. Again.
I'm not sure abstracts are my forte. But it was fun and quick and easy to do, occupying a rainy afternoon and I'm mostly pleased with it. What I don't like is that it looks like a background to me. Like I need an animation cell or something in front of it to give it some sort of story or reason for being. I may go back and add to it someday, but for now it's on the wall and out of my head.
I was quite pleased with the way the masking worked out on this one and plan at least two more paintings using the technique, also using acrylics.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Confetti
The canvas for N'Orleans had been sitting in the stack waiting to be covered over ever since I got frustrated with my inability to put the image down the way I wanted. However, it managed to sit out of sight for so long that inspiration returned and I was able to get out the oils tonight and lay down two new layers that completely changed the look of the painting and, I think, make it work much better.
I began by adding in the light / street signs as a balancing element and then, completely by accident, I'll admit, I found that I liked the look of the multi-colored daubs around the light and thought that look might work well for the whole painting. So I mixed the colors very lightly on the wood and used a medium flat brush to just gently lay colors on the canvas.
I am fairly pleased with the finished result, although I think the girl in the window needs a lot of work, and am particularly happy with the lamp itself. In my own, ever-so-humble opinion, the overall brightness mixed with sloppy patterns works well and fits the name "confetti" better than it does "N'Orleans", hence the change.
(The streets, for the record, are Bienvielle and Chartern, and are real streets in the city of New Orleans.)
I can see where I've improved on my technique since some other paintings (it's been just over a year since I started painting) but I can also see where I have got a very long way to go. But it feels really good to take an idea I thought I had failed at completely and get something down that I like; something that I think is a bright and positive image that makes for a good representation of how I feel about the city of New Orleans.
(One last note, this is a crappy, crappy photo. I need to take some time and photograph these things properly, but I do not feel like putting in the time needed at close to midnight on a Sunday! Also, for scale, this measures about two feet horizontally by three feet vertically; it is one of the bigger canvases I have tackled thus far.)
I began by adding in the light / street signs as a balancing element and then, completely by accident, I'll admit, I found that I liked the look of the multi-colored daubs around the light and thought that look might work well for the whole painting. So I mixed the colors very lightly on the wood and used a medium flat brush to just gently lay colors on the canvas.
I am fairly pleased with the finished result, although I think the girl in the window needs a lot of work, and am particularly happy with the lamp itself. In my own, ever-so-humble opinion, the overall brightness mixed with sloppy patterns works well and fits the name "confetti" better than it does "N'Orleans", hence the change.
(The streets, for the record, are Bienvielle and Chartern, and are real streets in the city of New Orleans.)
I can see where I've improved on my technique since some other paintings (it's been just over a year since I started painting) but I can also see where I have got a very long way to go. But it feels really good to take an idea I thought I had failed at completely and get something down that I like; something that I think is a bright and positive image that makes for a good representation of how I feel about the city of New Orleans.
(One last note, this is a crappy, crappy photo. I need to take some time and photograph these things properly, but I do not feel like putting in the time needed at close to midnight on a Sunday! Also, for scale, this measures about two feet horizontally by three feet vertically; it is one of the bigger canvases I have tackled thus far.)
Snow
Here’s the latest. This one’s a bit smaller than I have been working with recently. I’m not thrilled with it, but, at the same time, this was the idea in my head. They match. Which is a good thing.
I’ve been feeling pretty frustrated with painting recently and nothing I’ve been trying has been working. I’m not sure what to do or where to go for here. I kinda feel like I lack inspiration at the moment. I want to go outside and paint again someday soon. That might put some fun back into it.
I’ve been feeling pretty frustrated with painting recently and nothing I’ve been trying has been working. I’m not sure what to do or where to go for here. I kinda feel like I lack inspiration at the moment. I want to go outside and paint again someday soon. That might put some fun back into it.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Flower Rise
My wife got home from work shortly after I finished this painting. I rushed her into the room I often use as a studio and asked "What do you think?"She answered, rather hesitantly, "I like it."
"Great!" I said, "What do you think it is?"
"Hmm. Maybe sunrise or sunset?"
"Oh. Actually, it's a flower."
"Are you sure?"
Which is why I decided to call the painting Flower Rise. Anyway. It's oils on canvas and it's a bigger one, somewhere around 40 centimeters by 50, I think.
Mainly, with this one, I wanted to try one new technique and practice another. I wanted to try using masking tape to create clean, siimple lines and I wanted to do the entire painting with the large brush that I had used for the previous painting. (The brush is shaped like a traditional house-painting brush and has longer bristles bound into a wooden handle. Someday I'll learn what it's called.)
I started by laying a very thin layer of zinc white mixed with linseed oil over the entire canvas. I gave that a day to dry a bit, then used architect's masking tape to create thin pinstripes wherever I wanted to seperate the colors. I used a technique I'd seen used on tv shows about customizing car paint jobs. I took a section of tape and ran it onto the canvas using my fingers to push it into place. Not a very clean technique but effective.
Once I had the tape on the canvas I applied very small amounts of color to the brush using a palette and then brushing it on in long, even strokes, making sure to pull the paint along the canvas, rather than applying tons of paint. I also took pains to pull the paint down from the edges of the tape so that all the colors are darker along the tops and lighter along the bottoms of their respective areas.
This painting was a bit of a departure for me as I had no reference photo or sketch and no clear idea of what I wanted before I began. I only knew that I wanted a white base, light colors and masked off lines.
I'm pretty pleased with the way this one turned out. I'm sure I'll be using the masking tape technique many more times as well as sticking with the large brush. Right now I'm very tempted to re-do "Bugs" and "Norwegian Wood" using these techniques. We'll have to see if this feeling holds or if I decide to go with something new.
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