Ambiguity

Beginning the new year, my satisfaction has waned with the ultra-real paintings...those in which all the information is given. Where else in life is all the information detailed perfectly in order for you to exactly see the situation, draw the right conclusions and make the right decisions, and predict the future responses?...almost never...Similarly to the ambiguity in life situations and the excitement of not always knowing the outcome, curiosity and intrigue is created through an abstract arrangement of elements...visual elements in a painting that allow for exploration and personal interpretation.

For me, however, there is a point where patience is lost to the vague ambiguity, as is the case with completely abstracted paintings. Visually, I prefer some representation, allowing for degrees of abstraction in shape, color and edges. I need a few answers, some plan...some information...but not everything.

Untitled (for now), Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16x20

And so, I find myself drawn to these pastel landscapes, responding to the watercolor foundation; those accidents that occur naturally when water and pigment react to the dry, pumiced surface of clay. Subjects still 'representative' but not quite fully developed, interpreted...standing just outside the rows of vines...seeing the vines, but not every leaf...appreciating the balance between the order and disorder of things...given just enough information to draw my own conclusions.

Uniquely Fredericksburg

Sweaty palms, heart pounding, nervous conversation...what is this, the first day of high school? Not quite, though the symptoms feel the same...just another drop-off for a juried competition, Uniquely Fredericksburg, a biennial art show celebrating the unique Fredericksburg experience.

Carl's Ice Cream (an iconic stop in Fredericksburg for over 50 years) has been masterfully painted countless times. It is probably the most painted recognizable image in Fredericksburg. They are open February through the heat of summer serving frozen custard to a line of visitors that often wraps around the parking lot. Who doesn't love a good frozen custard (aka: ice cream to the non-locals)?

Anyway, my goal was to present Carl's in a way no one had done it before...something more than a perfect portrait or whimsical, predictable building-scape (is that the right word?). Below is one of my favorite images (my in-laws), though maybe some would consider, less than flattering. I, however, love the casual, yet attentive attitude of the participants that so fits the personality and eccentricity of the residents and tourists in Fredericksburg.

I will be the first to admit I am not a "portrait" painter, just as I am not a "water-in-glass-vase" painter. I am, however, a shape and value painter in search of an unique, simplified perspective, whose subject this time happens to be people. This painting pulls together what I love most in watercolor...textures, blooms and glazes that create shapes of varied values and color mingling; shapes that alone would appear abstract, but when viewed together add up to a realistic (or should I say representational) image. I have heard from jurors that sometimes their decisions will vary depending on their breakfast. I hope this juror has a bland, boring breakfast...leaving her wanting for something more...maybe a curious painting of Carl's "thugs".

Afternoon Thugs

Watercolor on Ampersand Aquabord

16x20

Uniquely Fredericksburg

Opening Reception and Awards

Today!

(August 5th, 5-7p)

CRRL Headquarters Library

1201 Caroline St, Fredericksburg

Simplifying Mass Shapes

Before focussing on the details and extra "stuff" in a painting, I first try to focus on the mass shapes and values...the simple [or not so simple] elements that make up the structure of the composition. As noted from my previous post, I have divided my landscape into 3 mass shapes of light (sky), middle (foreground pavement), and dark (mid-ground treeline) value. Breaking down the scene into abstract shapes, I am assigning color to those mass value shapes, disregarding (attempting to anyway) the smaller value and color accents.

These value masses, serve as a reference to relate other values in the painting. Now I can expand on the mass shapes, adding subtle value, color, and temperature accents. Supporting the value structure (and perspective) identified in my thumbnail sketch, will enhance the paintings overall "readability."

"The most important ally in the study of painting is the art of thinking."

Edgar Payne's Composition of Outdoor Painting

Funky Pigeon Facts

Finishing up the couple of pigeon paintings I had started last week, I thought I should research a little about the birds. Never really thought twice about them, until I put the painting together. Now I have a new respect for the birds and their position in the world. I can't exactly say why I chose to do these little paintings other than I really enjoy the simplicity and structure of the compositions.

Circle of Friends 11X14, watercolor on Ampersand aquabord (above)

Pecking Order 11X14, watercolor on Ampersand aquabord(below)

1. Homing Pigeons have been known to fly 700 miles in a day. A 10 year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and freeways to navigate, in some cases changing direction at freeway junctions.

2. Pigeons achieved a 98% success rate in the missions flown in WW II, despite enemy fire, and often with mortal injuries to themselves.

3. Pigeons are still used today by the French, Swiss, Israeli, Iraqi and Chinese Armies.

4. Noah's Dove was most likely a homing pigeon.

5. They were used by the Greeks more than 5,000 years ago.

6. They are bred, raised and trained as good as Thoroughbred Horses (four million or so worldwide).

7. They have been known to see very well over a 26 mile distance.

8. Scientist believe they may hear wind blowing over mountains from hundreds of miles away. The ability to hear sounds 11 octaves below middle C allow the pigeons to detect earthquakes and electrical storms.

9. In the late 1800 the most heroic recorded flight was from a pigeon that was released in Africa and took 55 days to get home in England. Traveling over 7,000 miles.

10. Unless separated, pigeons mate for life. They have been known to live over 30 years. Both parents feed their young milk.

11. In the 17th century, King George I of England, decreed all pigeon droppings to be property of the Crown—and the “lofts” were policed to enforce the law! (Pigeon manure was used in making gunpowder)

12. The pigeon has the rare ability for a large bird to be able to fly nearly straight up.

13. Advanced studies at the University of Montana conclude: “Pound for pound, columba livia (the pigeon) is one of the smartest, most physically adept creatures in the animal kingdom.” The pigeon can pass a mirror test, recognizing it’s own reflection, and is only one of 6 species, and the only non-mammal, that has this ability. The pigeon can recognize all 26 letters of the English language as well differentiate between photographs and even between two different human beings in a photograph.

14. Pigeons are the only bird in the world that do not have to lift their head to swallow water.

15. When the pigeon is in long flight, it reaches back and holds on to the short tail feathers with its feet in order to save energy from holding its legs up.

16. During breeding season, when there are more than a few babies on the floor, all parents will feed all babies, even if they are not their own.

17. Why do you never see baby pigeons? Pigeons lay only 2 eggs at a time, and then spoil those babies shamefully. The parents feed the babies until they’re totally fat, happy, and freathered out. By the time they leave the nests, they are the same size as adults.

Beyond Brown

Recently, in one of my "Beginning Watercolor" sessions, one of my students asked "How do you make brown?" Without thinking a response, I replied..."I never try to make brown". Which isn't exactly true, once I put some thought into it. When painting a subject that will include "browns," I'm not really thinking "brown", but rather, "warm" neutrals (as opposed to grey, "cool" neutrals).

My "browns" are usually mixed using the other colors from my primary palette, providing a color harmony and unity in a painting, but yet enough variety to maintain visual interest. Notice in the two paintings [in progress] how the warm and cool neutrals play a supporting role to the star colors in the birds. Though I have not intentionally painted any of my birds brown, the viewer will see "brown".

So, finally, the simple answer to the question...How do you make brown?

1. Mix 3 primaries.

2. Mix warm compliments.

3. Add a manufactured neutral to another color with higher chroma. I usually use Burnt Sienna or Brown Madder. Just a little, neutralizes most colors.

Virginia Watercolor Society & Salon De Refuse

I entered this year's Virginia Watercolor Society (VWS) Annual Competition with one goal in mind...to get rejected...let me explain...

I love watercolor...painting with it, watching others paint, reading about it, viewing other's work, talking about it, etc. So I paint, teach, read the books, the magazines, attend shows, everything short of dreaming about watercolor. Though viewing other's work in watercolor and seeing what other artists are doing with the media is important for creative exploration and growth, I have been reluctant to join a regional or national society. My disillusionment came when I discovered the groups exclude watercolor done on any other surface other than paper (i.e. watercolor on canvas, yupo, and MY favorite surface, claybord), but yet will accept acrylic painted on paper as a watercolor medium...dashing my hopes of ever earning "signature" status. After all, they call themselves "Watercolor" societies not "Works on Paper" societies (doesn't quite roll off the tongue).

I digressed...

This year for those applicants who are rejected (ouch...that word comes with such feelings of despair and discouragement) into the "VWS" exhibit, there is the option to exhibit with other rogue works in the "Salon de Refuse." My hope...the works rejected from the juried show will feature contemporary (and hopefully exciting) paintings in watercolor and other various surfaces...and viewers will have the opportunity to see watercolor presented in new ways. It's a gamble...

...but I am proudly exhibiting

Secret Places

Watercolor on 22x30 Aquabord

The Virginia Watercolor Society's "Salon de Refuse"

Crossroads Art Center

Richmond, Virginia

May 14th-July 6th

All together

Four Buds on the 'Sil
Pastel
11X14
Rarely (if ever) can I say I have finished a painting in one day. After spending three weeks failing at an underpainting for a previous work, I finally gave it up and decided to start fresh. I'm not sure if it was the freedom of letting go of something that just wasn't working, moving in a new direction, or that I had done this painting in my head over the past 6 months, but it just all came together today. The hand and the eye working harmoniously. My intention for this painting...loose approach and contrasting elements of design; contrast of color temperatures with dominance of warms, contrast of organic and geometric shapes, and contrast of textures.

The Chair...take two

A few months ago I painted a small study, cropped version of a chair, junk out in "the yard". This week I am repainting that chair as a demonstration for a beginning watercolor class. For the "take two" larger version (16X20), I introduced an expanded palette of colors to include warmer tones in relation to what will be the "coolness" of the shadow. Placing warm intense color in front of cooler, less intense color will visually "push" the warmer shapes forward, creating an illusion of depth. "Chair" finale...coming soon.

Six Small Studies

This week I am helping a class of art students at Massaponax High School work through their first watercolor paintings. We began last week studying our subjects outside and working to develop an interesting arrangement and perspective, considering the design and composition of the shapes created from the cast shadows. We set objects in the sun to create a strong light source, good lights and darks and value contrast.
Having never done watercolor, it will be hard to see how each step will lead to a final painting. Using the images the students selected, I painted small color and composition studies that will serve as guides to working through their paintings. Not only for the class, but for studio paintings, I will often do a small study to "test" color selections, pigment mixes and properties.

Considering color harmony, I will choose pigments that represent each color family (yellow, red, blue) and vary in color temperature (warmness and coolness). Yellows: Aureolin yellow, New Gamboge Reds: Burnt Sienna, Brown Madder, Alizarin Blues: Cobalt, Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue are a few of my favorite "staple" pigments.

My goal is not color accuracy, but rather to give the color more life allowing colors to mingle on the surface. One aspect of color illusion, is making a color appear to be what it is not.

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.