acrylic painting
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Friday, May 9th, 2008
Maple Leaves, details after a few more hours working today - 48 x 84 x 3 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. Changes may be subtle from here on; time to set it against a wall and study for a while before adding more. It’s a good time to start another painting.
Work in progress
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Maple Leaves - 48 x 84 x 3 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. Work in progress.
On paintings with such large surfaces I start out using Acrylics like watercolors, gradually building thin layers. Soon after this stage as I become more familiar with the subject and confident, paint is applied with thicker strokes.
Painting large again
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
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This morning I started painting Maple Leaves on one of the large frames we made last week, trying to think of a catchier title as I work. 48 x 84 x 3 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. It will include all colors, but be a good study of the color green.
… sneaking in yet another photo of one of the Anoles running around in the back yard this morning - I love watching these little guys!
Techniques
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Artini, 24 x 24 inches Acrylics on canvas. Rubbing white with a damp cloth over the textured surface, I can apply this technique to the next painting. This is serious play! The painting Artini and another recent one, Myrtle At The Zoo illustrate that: whether seasoned or just beginning, an Artist needs to stay open all the time to media-exploration and self-discovery. Even if it’s been tried many times before, there are a lot of little tricks that are easier to try out on less serious paintings, enabling more confidence when trying them out on work with higher cost of materials and time-investment. Experimenting and exploration result in knowledge and experience of the properties of various media; learning about yours and the media’s potential and limitations.
Artini, Shaken Not Stirred
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Left: detail of Artini - I Like My Art Shaken Not Stirred - 24 x 24 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. Work in progress. The cream-colored background here is not part of the painting - the square canvas is hung sideways as a diamond shape on the wall.
Bearded Iris, plein air painting
Sunday, April 20th, 2008
Bearded Iris - painted plein air - 44 x 18 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas.
Plein air, progression of Bearded Iris.
I could no longer avoid the subject of Iris - have always thought the subject to be too cliche - but they are blooming crazily in our garden this week, and I have taken far too many photos of them that don’t quite satisfy me. This variety actually blooms an unprecidented 3 times a year here! Some of the flower stalks grow well over three feet tall, with six or seven large five and a half inch blooms.
I started with a moody dark against light high-contrast painting in mind, but noticed after the 3rd stage (see above) how restricted I started feeling, and likewise, it showed as pretentious in the work. I realized there are a lot of limitations I impose subconsciously and consciously, (like do paint this, don’t paint that), preventing me from having a really great time painting.
White Pine Bows
Friday, April 18th, 2008
White Pine Bows, 20 x 34 x 1.5 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. This was started and finished today; sensing I need to quit while I’m ahead.
Rocky Mountain Vista finished
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Above: Rocky Mountain Vista detail images, each portion approx 14 x 24 inches
Left: Complete, 48 x 24 inches, Acrylics on stretched canvas. Paintings that are proportionately longer than wider don’t photograph well or show impressively on screen, so I split Rocky Mountain Vista into four seperate detail images.
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
Rocky Mountain Vista 48 x 24 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas after one more day of work, still in progress and almost finished.
Rocky Mountain Vista
Monday, April 7th, 2008
Started last night, work in progress: Rocky Mountain Vista 48 x 24 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas.
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