Photo by Timothy McBride
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Here’s an old favorite that I sold during the Phinney/Greenwood artwalk in 2004. I liked it so much that I decided to do another version, slightly larger. Now, instead of working on canvas board, I’m using a canvas that I stretched myself (26″x40″) I find that the first gestures of a painting are the most fun and exciting… the challenge is to keep working on it and preserve that initial energy. Here’s the start:
What I love about this image is the laughter in it– the memories it conjures up of friends cuttin loose at the beach, forgetting everything else and just enjoying each other’s company
Heaven came and kissed the earth tonight– I was frustrated that my camera couldn’t quite capture the surround sound of the sky.
While some may gasp in horror at the idea, I like being able to recycle old paintings, usually school projects, that I’m tired of looking at. I’ve found they provide a good underpainting and interesting texture to the piece. Here’s a still life that I had done in class, basically trying to make a pile of crap look as interesting as possible. (I guess I’m not really into still life).
… and now in the process of turning it into an ocean scene:
If you imagine the original image rotated clockwise, you might be able to pick out elements of the red pillow in the upper left cloud mass! heh heh…
UPDATE on 8/14/08: So, been working more on it this week, and taking it in the direction I mentioned I’m interested in exploring. I’m inspired by stained glass windows, Tiffany glass, mosaics, and just generally the idea of beautiful fragments coming together to form a whole….
Getting closer to being done, but still a couple parts I want to work on….
UPDATE 8/23/08:
Okay, so been working on the thing all week, going a little mad, but here’s what I believe to be the finished product. (this is a 36″x36″ piece):
Some people wonder at the purpose of attending school for fine art. They might argue that if you’ve got a natural talent, there’s no reason to spend all that money… just keep doing it, get better on your own. While I have much respect for self-taught artists and agree that they can arrive at work that is just as good as those who are professionally taught, I have to say I’m glad I took the plunge into academia. One of the more important lessons that I’ve been putting into practice is to stick with each painting a little longer than I normally would have. Now, knowing when to stop is an art in itself, but what I’ve found is that I’ve been in the habit of stopping too soon. Case in point example is a painting I’ve been working on sporadically for the past few weeks. An image that began as an underpainting for something else went off on its own track to become the ocean at twilight. I thought it was done here:
…but for some reason it kept bugging me. I kept looking at it and feeling nothing. It needed more… it was too dark and boring, but was off to an interesting start, especially in the top half with the clouds. I decided to bring a little light into the scene to add the complimentary orange/peach hue, as well as develop the waves further. I’m satisfied with it now… I think!
Revisiting a style from an earlier series, this piece is painted on a wood panel (approx. 10″x10″). I’m still drawn to photos I find from the 1930’s-60’s, specifically finding those moments that resonate because of the emotion in them. These tiny photos are beautiful gems, I get the same thrill finding them as I do an agate on the beach. I want to take the moment captured and reflect the heart of what I’m seeing, accentuate the mood… that is the purpose of painting them– to give them a new kind of life.
