"Edges and Boundaries"

(unavailable....Water Soluble Oils)

"Edges and boundaries define everything." This is not only true in art, but also in life. Without edges in art, nothing would be distinguishable. Without boundaries in life, priorities are meaningless and nothing gets done.

For those of you who faithfully follow, thank you for your patience as I continue to experiment. Today's piece was painted using water soluble oils. The most prominent brand out there is Winsor Newton which is readily available and a bit cheaper than the prominent brands of regular oil paints. The paint has more body than regular oils and feels better using palette knife techniques. (In case you are wondering, the large white image is either a pumpkin or gourd and very prominent in North Carolina.)

For those who are into mixed media, if you have the patience to endure the drying time, the images created with printing techniques using water soluble oils is wonderful. And the important point with this paint is the fact that you can wash off your stamps, brushes, and palette knives with water. Travel by air is also easier,especially when traveling overseas, since Gamsol and other oderless turpentines are prohibited. 

I did use a stamp to create a contrast with my edges since most of the edges in this piece were soft. By changing the value slightly, the stamped lines show up without overpowering the piece. The Gessobord was also primed with black gesso before painting so that I could have the black revealed when writing with a mechanical pencil into the paint. Pointed pens can also be used, but I could not find my pen this morning! (Imagine that) And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Chaotic Beauty"

(unavailalbe.....acrylics with retarder)

"Chaotic beauty is found in the dried up corn stalk." I thought I had better identify what I was trying to paint in the quote just in case you were wondering. It's all about the texture and the essence of the image. Even the lettering was severely deconstructed to fit in.

Believe it or not, I really do have a vision of where I'm going, but I will readily admit it can be a "bumpy" ride. I really do like the texture of the corn stalk, but also feel like the piece as a whole could be better integrated. And since process is so important, I want you to share in my process so you can see that when learning new techniques and a new direction, it can take some time and lots of practice to get there.

One of the things that I think will help is drawing the gesture of a particular image before painting it so that the muscle memory is there. Another thing that helped in this piece was doing an underpainting of the cornstalk color first and drying that first coat before painting wet into wet with the rest of the painting. It also helps to allow enough time to have some things dry before moving on, but also blending some of the edges.

I did write the quote with a pointed pen and acryl gouache. The paint was not totally set up, but that actually worked to achieve my objective of allowing the lettering to be textural rather than totally readable. Because the pen dug into the paint and revealed the base color, I smoothed it out a bit by dabbing alcohol over it. And so the thing I took away from today's painting is that alcohol, once again, can be a hugh assist in the deconstruction of surface tension. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Fall Gesture"

($40.00.....6" x 6".....Acrylics on Gessobord)

"Fall is a gesture in color." Fall and spring seem to be the best times to enjoy an explosion of color. Because the fall is a transition for trees and plants going dormant, any color in the landscape looks spectacular amidst all of the neutrals. Enjoy the fall!

This piece was inspired by a photo I took in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There was a hugh display of pumpkins, gourds, and flowers sitting in piles of hay. And as you can plainly see, I did not choose to go with realism, but "wet into wet" with gestural strokes done with a palette knife. These types of paintings can fall in the category of an "agony and an ecstasy", but the success comes with much practice. I'm feeling small measures of success and totally enjoy the process, but have many visions in my head of where I want to go with this.

The unfortunate thing about spontaneous techniques is that there are exactly that...spontaneous. It is quite impossible to predict outcomes and if the goal is to show energy and freedom of the stroke, then it becomes counter productive to keep "fussing" with it for more than a nano second. And even if you have no desire whatsoever to paint an image, I highly recommend simply playing around with the textures and perhaps some interesting divisions of space on a gessobord just to learn what can be done with a palette knife and paint. It's a wonderful way to experiment with color and create some interesting backgrounds.

This piece was painted with acrylics mixed with "retarder" to extend the drying time. As in "pouring medium" pieces or any other acrylic work, the surface can be prepared for lettering. I did use an automatic pen to write the quote in the wet paint and then I decided to "deconstruct" it by running lines through the hay color area as well as a palette knife to break up the surface tension. If you are one of my friends who also create kiln formed glass, many of these same techniques with a palette knife can be created with Glassline Paint on glass and then fired. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Hay and Stubble"

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

"Hay and stubble is contrasted by pumpkins and gourds." All across the "Smokies", there is a prominent display of pumpkins, gourds, hay, and corn stubble. So this is a "Happy Fall" piece.

As those of you know who have followed my blog for a long time, I am trying to hone my techniques and try new things all the time. In this piece, you are at a slight disadvantage because it is overcast here in Gatlinburg and my photograph is not showing the true color of the hay. And even apart from the photography issues, hay is a difficult thing to portray. 

I began with a very dark background so that the dark areas in the hay would show through when the lighter color was applied on top. The quote was written into that area of the painting to add even more texture. I have no doubt it would have been a bit easier with a brush, but I am quite determined to use only a palette knife. Never the less, it looks convincing from across the room. 

So the lesson in this piece is to keep pressing on, even when there are issues. And it always helps to take and break and set the piece on an easel across the room. It is always advisable to stand back from the painting during various points. What I can't see a foot in front of the piece seems to always be seen from across the room. 

One compositional decision I did make early on was to have the pumpkins and gourds form an overlapping shape from edge to edge. This is generally a better option than making them really small and placing them in the middle. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.