Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Transitional Piece

Salt water grass, 12 X 24" oil on canvas

This painting was inspired by the salt water grasses I photographed while visiting Les Iles de Madeleine (Magadelen Islands). The colours really were this spectacular as was just about everything else we saw on these inspiring islands perched in the gulf of the St. Lawrence. This piece is still quite objective but I was starting to "loosen up" on my brush work. Sometime soon I'm going to try another version of this same subject but even looser and of course more abstract - as I am on the journey to abstraction...
Lately I feel like I am on the journey to distraction as nothing is going right in the studio! When I was doing narrative work I could tell when something was done, when it was good, when it was bad. Now with the looser approach it ALL looks bad! I wonder if abstract artists are more prone to neuroses than their more objective colleagues?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice collers Hennie.
You can almost feel the smooth wind go by,,,,,,

Linda Blondheim said...

Hennie,
This one is a real beauty. I think we are all pretty neurotic, whether we paint realism or abstracts.
Love,
Linda
www.lindablondheimartnotes.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I like this one a lot Hennie. It's easy to see your love of the subject in it.

Silverbear said...

This is a delicious piece. The subtle textures, which are characteristic of your style bring this painting to life. It truly breathes. I can feel the wind moving through the grass and along the surface of the water emphasized by the brushstrokes and the very imaginative variation of your blending of colour and light.
I love this piece!

Silverbear