Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Behold


Behold 20" X 40" acrylic on canvas
Here's a new painting I've been working on, rather controlled and not as loose as my last abstract piece.
Seems to be done? I'll give it a rest and look at it with fresh eyes in a few days...


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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fish flashback

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It's a flashback painting because I'm back to my early representational phase for this painting. I chose the fish as I had taken some photos of him (her?) in the fish tank at the interpretive centre in Mallorytown, St Lawrence Islands National Park. The park is sponsoring a call to artists and I'll submit this when done. Needs some more work on the background and then some glazing to settle everything in.

I am reminded how relaxing painting like this can be, no abstraction, no open ended soul searching angst! Just paint a nice picture. Like baking a cake you've baked many times before. You know what to do, how to do it and how it should turn out. Maybe a little bit of manipulation of brush stroke and composition but it's all brain work. Heart and soul take a back seat.

Nice little fish, "Pumpkinseed" or sunfish as we called it when I was a kid. We'd catch these little guys and toss them back in, too small and too prickly to eat.

Monday, August 3, 2009

A glazing fiesta


"80F- hot, dry and clear"












"90F - hot, hazy and humid"



These are 2 little pieces (part of 6 paintings called the "Weather Series") that I sold at the eee show. Each is 5" X 7" . Working this small is new for me but the small size really allows me to focus and explore working with very wet acrylics.

This weekend I started on 12 more minis, working on all of them simultaneously. After many many glazes there are 6 that are close to being done, 3 that I will likely sand off, re-gesso and start over. Three more still need a lot of work before they sing.

Here are a couple that are starting to hum: