a new collage on arches acid free watercolor paper containing bits of maps, drawings of rocks & water, calligraphic marks inspired by an 11th c. chinese artist and cut out bits from my vintage '90's animé book.
5/20/14
this morning it became clear this collage needed more work. my tendency is to make my re-works radical, and this is no exception. the eye, no longer confused by the multiple competing passages, is now directed from a suggested foreground comprised of marks indicating rocks and water, to an area of mystery, receding into the background through what appear to be two doors or window pillars, one red, the other blue.
today will be my first foray of 2014 to my beloved north crestone creek. the weather is ideal.
i'll bring my collapsable easel, a stretched linen canvas 16x16" and my oils & brushes. there is absolutely no predicting what will transpire, which i love. i choose a site in the moment, and will greet my old friends: the rocks and rushing water, whose wild and forceful decent down the steep mountain slopes is fueled by new snowmelt. these plein air paintings will continue until the mosquito season begins in mid june, and resume when it ends, about 5 weeks later.
5/20 later: on the second row is the first plein air of 2014. the easel is facing away from the creek to avoid direct afternoon sunlight on the canvas.
the next four or five days will be overcast & windy, so i'll resume after that. as we move towards summer, the snowmelt will subside, the creek will quiet down and my favorite rocks will reappear. i know them all intimately.
as expected, this is are quite different from the 2013 plein air (click on plein air on the menu bar). i didn't have my favorite portrait linen, so i wasn't thrilled with the way the brush moved on the linen or how it took the paint. too absorbent. so i'm working on new surfaces to use from here on.
