"A Bigger Picture"

($40.00...6" x 6"...Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Brokenness is part of a bigger picture." Visually, this quote is referring to the broken bits of color in the painting. In life, it is referring to the painful times that must come in order to have a richer, deeper life.

It takes quite a range of different color notes to create a successful painting. If all of the color notes are bright and joyful, there is no depth. The deep, less intense colors with a somber tone are also needed to create rich texture. 

This is a Split Complementary Color Scheme with the inclusion of a range of greens complemented by a range of oranges. There is also a range of purples that are not quite as noticeable, but they give the painting a lot of life. The trees, limbs, and rocks all have a dominant tint of "grayed" down purple. In fact, this tint was applied to the entire painting first so that I could use a sgraffito effect to carve out the trees, limbs, and quote. 

The one thing that gave me the passion to paint this piece was the division created by the trees, the position of the trees, and the diagonals created by the hillside, tree limbs, and also the paint strokes. It is so important to really connect with something in the plein air setting or the reference photo in order to put your total focus and heart into the creation.  In fact, it is wise to actually identify and name the particular thing that moves you emotionally in the image.  I never do my best work on an image or scene that I have a "ho hum" attitude towards. You probably won't either. So the big "take away" for today is to paint or create things you have a passion for. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Created Form" ($60.00)

(adjusted price.....$60.00.....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Created form emerges from the ground in color that reveals the season." Fall has always been my favorite season and painting images that emerge from the ground in autumn brings me tremendous joy. The minute small decorative gourds appeared in the store, a bag of them came home with me...so there may be a few more postings before I get over this obsession. Of course, I hope it brightens your day!

The first layer of this piece was created in the color workshop this past weekend as I demonstrated Liquitex Pouring Medium. By allowing the results of the medium to speak to you without predetermining what you want to do is another way to achieve spontaneity. What I have been learning about spontaneous creating is that the process itself must be spontaneous. It is very difficult to achieve a look that flows without effort by predetermining everything in advance.

On the other hand, knowing what to do with the elements and principles of design (and color) will also help. So actually, it is a matter of beginning with a process that almost creates itself and then, putting on your "design" hat to figure out what to do next.

If lettering is involved, it also helps to be able to write something that goes with the piece after the piece has been created rather than designing a piece to go with the quote. And if you don't like writing....then you will need an arsenal of quotes at your fingertips (alphabetized, of course) so you can find just the right one.

For those who were in the class, this is an analagous color scheme with a bit of violet on the gourd and in the shadow. And, of course, violet is a direct complement of yellow and a split complement to the yellow-green. The violet used is Perylene Violet (WN)gouache. If you don't have that in your gouache supply....it is a good one. Also, the pouring medium resists gouache, so you will need to brush the surface with (2) parts water to (1) part gel matte medium before painting an image or doing lettering.

Just something to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Mood Lifter" ($60.00)

(adjusted price....$60.00....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Simple and beautiful form is a mood lifter." The power of artwork to comfort and bring joy is the best motivation for spending the time, effort, and energy it takes to create it and to continue improving skill levels. When people are in pain, they do not need the "bizarre" that is often seen in the art world. They need beautiful form that communicates...everything will be all right in my life again. It's a stabilizer.

Color is a powerful communicator. And a person does not need to understand it to enjoy its power to transform a mood or living space.

The artist, however, needs to make it a life long study. Even when you do that, there will be deeper levels of understanding on the horizon. In this piece, I had a good background of analogous colors.(next to each other on the color wheel) By using my knowledge of color, I was able to make it more compelling by adding purple which is the complement to yellow. You might be looking closely to even see purple, but it's there. The reason it is not obvious is because it was painted over yellow which "grays" it down into a rich neutral. It is in the darker parts of the background as well as the gourd. The lettering is also done in purple (Perylene Violet Gouache...WN)

This type of color sense is learned by doing . Even if you make a decision to simply paint a color on blank dry paper...allow to dry...glaze over with other diluted color, it is a valuable exercise to expand your knowledge of that particular color. Just something to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.