Poetic energy of underpainting

In pastel, my comfort in painting leans toward what I would term "ultra-realism" . I typically work spatially completing section by section, piecing together lines and shapes, that when completed, works as a whole.

Challenging myself for a looser interpretation (as I often see a landscape), I wanted, instead, to respond to the poetry of the underpainting, the poetry of shapes and mingled color. I began on white (which I almost never do) ampersand pastelbord that can handle alot of water, pigment, and pastel. Considering the harmony color, temperature, and with the goal of creating luminous contrasts of blue and gold, I began to add color...no worries about mess, details or representation, simply looking for a response to the energy of the landscape.

The watercolor "underpainting"

As a watercolorist, I found myself tempted to approach this underpainting as I would a finished watercolor, working light to dark, wet-into-wet, glazing layers...but then this will be a pastel, on pastelbord. The underpainting will only serve to create a base (mostly covered with pastel) of warmth and value and give direction to the pastel that will come later... hopefully a loosely interpreted poetic landscape.

The "later"... untitled

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

9X12

The curious world of Iris

There have been many "starts and stops" to this painting over the past few months. Each time returning to work, I find myself re-evaluating my intention..what is it I see here?...what is it about this painting that keeps me returning? After all, a new day, brings new perspective (both in life and in art)...new interpretations, new insights.

So I have to ask myself...can my intention be the same each time I return..what I see in the image be the same...when I have changed from day to day? I don't believe it can..exactly; the mood, aesthetic, and way of seeing have changed. I notice these subtle difference in the way I have approached different areas each time following a pause in work. The challenge is in finding harmony among the various "intentions" within the painting and exploring the curiosity that attracted me in the beginning.

So, what is the intention here? Of course, most will see "flowers"; the iris a symbol for hope, faith and wisdom. But today I see energy, curious wonder in the flow of line, lost and found shapes, and the statement of color.

The curious world of Iris

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16X20

On Exhibit October 4th-November 8th

@

The Workhouse Arts Center, Gallery 16

Lorton Arts Foundation

Anticipating Spring

Some days it seems the winter will last all year, the chill and drear, but not today...sunny and sixty (degrees)...and a few signs of spring...buds of crocus...and hope for warm sun and color soon to come.

Signs of Spring

Watercolor on Aquabord

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them."

Henry Matisse

First steps: Lights and Glazing

Painting with watercolor is simply applying a sequence of layers or "glazes" to build value, develop form, and create the illusion of light and depth. My process begins with recognizing the various "lights" in a painting (warm vs cool intense white light). For a painting in which the "light" is mostly a cool, white light (like the Iris below), the white of surface serves as the "light" and I will begin to build subsequent values around that white, beginning with the lightest values. I apply paint "wet-into-wet" for a given area typically using "glazing" pigments for this step. Glazing pigments when diluted with water are transparent, liftable, usually non-staining, and will not appear "heavy" or "muddy" over the course of adding layers. (Below: cobalt blue, viridian, permanent rose, aureolin yellow, and dioxazine violet) The challenge in watercolor...preserve the light and not cover these areas with paint...look first, then paint.

For yellow-warm or combinations of light, my first step in the layering sequence is to paint in the warm "light" with the appropriate yellow (usually Aureolin or Hansa Yellow Light), but still using the surface to reflect the white, intense light. See previous demonstrations.



My method for applying paint to aquabord: Wet-Into-Wet. Wet the surface of the area you want to work. I will often work in "compartments" (i.e. one pedal at a time). Saturate the area until the water stands on top of the surface. Drop in paint toward the edges where you want the most color, leaving the white areas. Drag your brush toward areas that you want value. Drop in more color as needed. Lift and tilt the board to allow the water to mingle the paint until you are happy with where the paint will settle. Let the water do the work. You will see subtle changes in graded value that will begin to describe the form. Once the paint has set on the surface, you can move to an adjacent area. Continue the process until you have covered all areas as needed for this initial step.

Happy Painting

Art and Life

I am considering a number of titles that seem fitting for this painting: wild perseverance, solidarity, resolve, fortitude... Just as a subject for a painting is chosen from moments in my immediate world, so is the interpretation- of challenges, triumphs, struggles, and lessons- some stated, some silent. Art does not happen independent from life.
Did you know- a little sunflower trivia? Wild sunflower seeds are adapted for living and can remain viable for as long as 10 years. Sunflowers are also eager to cross species and form hybrids. A bee transferring pollen from one species of sunflower to another could be unwittingly creating a new hybrid by swapping genes. Forming these unions is how sunflowers can spread and thrive in extreme environments, like salt marshes and sand dunes. Ornamental and industrial breeders take advantage of this pliant attitude to create new colors, sizes, oil content and seed size. A domestic sunflower is also known to sometimes bend to make contact with its own pollen, where it self-pollinates.

"just stop the art"

Seriously, how does one go about "stopping the art"? Painting has been my addiction for the past 6 years or so. Though despite my addiction, I have been able to maintain a job, some healthy relationships and find joy in many other things. However, when I am not creating art, I am often thinking about art. The thinking about art has always been there ever since I can remember, only the "doing" began about 6 years ago. So, how now, after a daily commitment to creating, can I just stop...? The concept saddens me. Finding "balance" in life is such an illusive quest.
the poppy
(and dark places)
8X10
Watercolor on Aquabord

Aftermath

I am still reeling a little from the opening at Bistro Bethem on Monday. Mirinda and I hung the show that morning into the afternoon and hosted the reception later that evening. Below are a few pictures from the day.

Wine well deserved.

Thank you to all the art patrons in Fredericksburg (and Stafford) for your support! Now onto art camp for eleven 6-8 year olds, Yikes! Did I really plan both of these activities in the same week?

One more for the show...

After contributing so much time to the poppies, I just couldn't let this one go. A few days ago, I pulled it off the shelf. With fresh eyes it was easier for me to see what small changes I needed to make and did. Funny how just a few touches can make such a difference in a painting (or maybe it was the fresh look). I am much happier with it now and am reminding myself... the process is more important than the product and I am always learning. Thank you all for your kind comments and encouragement.
Full Glory
22X30
Watercolor on Aquabord

"Light in Spring"

Light in Spring

Soft Pastel on Pastelbord

16X20

A light exists in spring

Not present on the year

At any other period.

When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad

On solitary hills

That silence cannot overtake,

But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;

It shows the furthest tree

Upon the furthest slope we know;

It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,

Or noons report away,

Without the formula of sound,

It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss

Affecting our content,

As trade had suddenly encroached

Upon a sacrament.

Emily Dickinson

Settling In...Tulips

Toward the end of a painting (before I start the next one), I am the most unsettled in my life in art. For so long I suppressed the creative spark I felt since childhood. Life just happens and we become so focused on our daily responsibilities. I guess I still hold a little fear that a lag in creativity will stifle that energy. So I am usually about 2-3 (sometimes 5 or 8) paintings behind (at least in my mind). Though reason says I should really take a break after such a long stretch of painting, I am eager to begin and settle into the comfort of the next painting. A little fear of idleness pushes me on.

Progressing

Making progress... This should be my last painting to complete before the show in August. I can see the light...

A Fresh Start

One for the shelf

One purpose for my life in blog-dom is to help keep me honest. Therefore, I must admit I have been delaying this post for almost 5 days. Despite my good intentions, preparation with small study sketching and color planning, I have not quite been able to make this painting work. There are parts that I really enjoy (some reds luscious and well placed, others flat lacking harmony with the other colors in the painting), and I am finding myself working and reworking the pedals on the forward flower. I almost never do this. Usually, if a painting isn't working, I just quit, shelf it and move on. A painting will pull together easily, or it won't. That's it, no fussing. A watercolor "fussed" over will almost always look overworked. Though I am facing a deadline, struggling to complete enough paintings to exhibit, and have committed so much time and energy into this large painting, I am taking a break from it (at least for now hoping to return with a little courage and clarity). This declaration feels liberating and now I am free to move on to a little more control and predictability....pastel (and hopefully one more painting for the show at Bistro Bethem in August).

Poppies, In Progress

Reds are in, centers started. Now, what to do with the background? I have painted a few ideas in a sketchbook. I want a background that will maintain the integrity of the painting and contribute to the "mood" of the subject. A little history about the poppy...

The poppy, by nature, is a wildflower. It’s seed will lie stagnant in the ground until it is disturbed. During times of war, soldiers would, inadvertently, churn ground as they marched though fields. The result was a beautiful and overabundant growth of poppy flowers found to flourish in conditions where most other flowers would die.

Poppies

First glazes of warm and cool reds. Using water and gravity to push the paint around, creates movement with the pigment as it dries on the clay surface. I use these controlled "blossoms" create the form and curves of the pedals.

First the Yellow

I have begun the final painting for my show at the Bistro coming up in August. These poppies were growing in my neighbor's yard and at full bloom were stunning. I love their simplicity in shape and form: only 4 pedals to paint. These poppies will be larger-than-life and in full glory on 22X30 aquabord. First, I put in the yellow underpainting, which will be the foundation for a variety of warm and cool reds.

Tulip Triptych

Tulip Triptych
12x12 (3)
Watercolor on Aquabord by Ampersand

"Pink and Red DO match"

I am dedicating this entry to my Kindergarten Art Teacher who crushed my creative spirit when she declared that my construction paper flower with alternating pink and red pedals "did not match". I have never forgotten the disappointment I felt as a 5 year-old who was so proud of the work she had created. Now, pink and red is one of my favorite color combinations. I only wish I could go back and tell her... "Oh yes, pink and red DO match!"

Painting "light"

In most of my paintings, my goal is to achieve a sense of "light" that will add spirit to the subject. For me, good "light" grabs your attention and brings energy into the painting. I am drawn to paintings that use contrast and light to create a mood. In watercolor, the illusion of light is captured by painting around the light. That sense of light comes from achieving a contrast of values within the painting (the lightest value being the white of the surface). Using a range of color temperature contributes to this illusion as well. I also like to paint in a little light using touches of cool yellow (Hansa Yellow Lt) hinting at the idea of sun. I am at the midpoint for building the values in the above triptych (each section 12x12 on Ampersand Aquabord).

My Smallest Fan

How can I be expected to work under these conditions? Hee,hee...

...amazing I can get any work done.