2:05 PM: i felt that the two figures on the left needed work, so, with some trepidatiopn, i went back into them; clothing, faces, hands, everything. not yet sure whether i should have left it as it was….
continuing work on "windows 3" /
windows 3, oil on linen, 17x21” as it looked at the end of my painting day today
today is a short day, so we can get to my doctors appointment at 3. i continued painting windows 3, to the central and right portions of the composition and adding a figure on the right.
i like how the white spaces allow the composition to breathe, so i may leave most of them alone. the urge to describe is always rearing it’s head & needs to be tamped down again & again.
i also like the dominant tans & greys punctuated by the blue of the ladder top & the new guy’s shirt, and the yellows. i think that one violet shadow is enough, and if i were to extend it to the other areas in shadow, it would lose it’s potency.
the new figure i added today
starting “windows 3" /
windows 3, 17x21” oil on linen at the end of my painting day
2:24 PM: this morning i began work on a new painting in this 17x21” series of oils on linen, titled windows 3. like it’s predecessors, it’s inspired by photos i shot recently of the crew installing our 12 new windows.
i decided to continue what i began with windows 2 & 1, as i felt incomplete with this series. it deserves more, especially since it rests so heavily on my passion for views from above, and most of the photos i shot are from our upper floor looking down. in looking at 1& 2, i felt like i could definitely take this series further.
this is, thus far, being borne out by this morning’s experience. i’m feeling more certainty; from mixing the colors i want to use, to the way i paint light & shadow, to my compositional decisions. but i do see now that i need to order more smaller oil brushes, which i’m about to do.
continued work on "japanese creek" & "july 7 creek." /
2:56 PM: this morning my first glance let me know that these 2 paintings were unresolved. so i set to work, switching between the two, as i love to do and which helps shift the energy and open new doorways.
collaging was part of the process, allowing me to cover busy areas in one fell swoop and, in the case of july 7 creek, to add the printed, cropped image of part of a flower.
my current feeling is that, after many decades of painting & drawing, i’m just now finding my groove. “realism” and “abstraction” are meaningless when talking about art. muzic and majik are more appropriate, i think.
BELOW: july 7 creek on the left, july 7 creek on the right. the language they speak has been evolving over a long period of time. it needs no translation. prehistoric cave painters would get it as well as generation alpha. the muzik & the majik.
DETAIL of collaged, cropped flower
more modifications to" july 7 creek" /
3:21 PM: today i focused my attention on july 7 creek. initially, my intention was the to somehow resolve the blankness of the white space on the upper left. soon however, mt attention shifted to the entire left half of the composition. i think it’s a more interesting series of marks and colors now, but still unresolved, and may have gotten too busy. more work is definitely needed tomorrow.
4:25 PM: at the last minute, before leaving the studio, i added this white semi-circle. as i gazed at it from 25 feet, i saw that the blue needed to be broken up. amazing what a relatively monor stroke can do to the entire composition!
BELOW: yesterdays state is on the left
DETAIL showing the white semi-circle i added at the very end
modifying everything! /
4:46 PM: i did a lot today, on all 3 paintings i’ve been working on the past few weeks. on japanese creek for example, i opened more white space, taking out the green trees on the upper left nad taking out the dark red swirl on the right. it’s just a better painting, period!
5:29 PM: what i did on july 7 creek was somewhat similar: more white space, less busyness.
the green on top ahs been reduced. and what was left of the large rock in the foreground has been divided up into a series of smaller rocks surrounded by a touch of creek water.
continuing work on "11-30-22 creek" after 3 days away from the studio /
2:02 PM: 3 days is a long time to be away form my studio, especially when i’m in the early stages of a new painting. how do you get back into that groove? i futzed around for a few hours, preparing my breakfast, reading about the new apple watch & going to the post office to pick up my shoes, which had been placed in a locker. turns out, the new shoes from rei were not in new condition, and had obviously been worn by someone before they were sent to me. i’ll call rei tomorrow & arrange to send them back.
so back to the painting. it’s one of a series i’m doing, all 17x21” oils, which will be included in my march, 2023 exhibition in athens. the most recent 3 all contain creek elements: rocks, water, branches, as well as areas inspired by 18th c. japanese prints. i’m finding it very natural to combine these two elements, allowing me to include colors, marks & forms you wouldn’t normally find in a creek-scape. or at least not in the creek paintings i’ve been making over the past few decades.
there are no short cuts to this evolution, and it’s very exciting for me to have reached this point in my development. in addition, as i’ve mentioned in recent blog posts, i’m learning when to stop for the day. took me long enough! it’s a combination of physical tiredness and listening for the buzzer in my head that lets me know i’ve run out of creative juice for the day.
11-30-22 creek on 11/30
11-30-22 creek at the end of my painting day today
starting "11-30-22 creek" /
2:08 PM: i felt complete with the two paintings i’d been working on over the past week, so i launched into a new one, having learned a lot along the way. and that’s what counts. my learning curve seems to have gotten steeper recently. i could be imagining this, but i feel that with each new painting, i take a leap. not forward, but upward!
so it will be interesting to have a 3 day break, when we have a series of doctors appointments, and then be back in the studio on sunday. if past experience is any guide, i will have digested what i’ve been learning and find myself on a new foooting with the painting i started today, which already contains new solutions, like the orange/yellow rock in the center of the composition, with it’s green shadows.
continued work on "japanese creek" and "july 7 creek" /
2:37 PM: lots of interruptions today, but i was able to get some work done on these two paintings, which i feel pretty good about. i’ve got to run now, so i’ll say more later this afternoon.
ok, i’m back. so i consider my two latest paintings breakthroughs. why?
all the previous creek inspired paintings i made were, to one degree or another, simplified, abstracted. these two go further, incorporating other, japanese inspired directions, resulting in a new personal language
japanese creek at the end of my painting day today
july 7 creek at the end of my painting day today
continued work on july 7 creek," / starting "japanese creek" /
3:47 PM: this morning i made some modifications to july 7 creek, focusing mainly on the lower left portion of the large rock in the foreground. i’m still not completely satisfied with it, and actually may go and rub out what i did this morning. it needs to be lighter. so i just now did that, and here’s what it looks like.
i’ll modify it when i’m fresh, tomorrow.
i started a new one mid day, titled japanese creek.
it’s inspired by a japanese work i discovered in my folder of recent photos. i was attracted to it’s wonderful patterns & colors, and felt an interesting connection to my creek-scapes. too early to tell….we’ll see where it goes next.
japanese creek in it’s infancy today