The Painting Process Continues....

A Week of Painting

has resulted in a good deal of progress.  I brought the same hues to the right side of the canvas that I had painted on the left side.

Working with bold strokes of the brush, the pigment was laid down and pushed around to create a blending of hues on the canvas resulting in the formation of the Bird of Paradise leaves.  The layering of the leaves was accomplished with inclusion of Pthalo Blue in those to the back and Buff Titanium White mixed in for those to the foreground.  

beginning the first layer of pigment on the hibiscus flowers.

Next I moved to the center of the canvas to begin layering pigment in the area that would become the hibiscus flowers. 

Hibiscus flowers with first layer of pigment.

Due to the black under painting the flowers required multiple layers of paint to take on the fleshy look I wanted.

Hibiscus flowers after second and third layer of pigment.

After the petals were near completion, the stamen and pistel were added.

This week the Birds will be painted and because I desire there be a whimsical feeling to this work, the plumes of the bird heads will bend, twist, and fold as if dancing.  Already, with the size difference between the two represented flowers there is a look of fantasy and/or whimsy...exactly what is needed with this painting!  

Check back next week to see read and see how I bring this painting to completion.

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The Process of Creating a New Painting

Showing The Process

The canvas is under painted with black gesso.

The composition is drawn on with pencil.

(I am not sure why, but some of the words in this post are high lighted in a color and double underlined.  It appears they link to advertisements I have not put into this post.  My apologies.  Please do not think I am leading you to these advertisements.  Preferably you should ignore them.)

 Many of you continue to ask me to show the process I go through when creating a painting. Last week you saw the blank canvas and sketches which were developed after completing a similar work and after spending time visiting the two different plants.  I find myself doing that, spending time looking at, thinking about, researching and sketching what ever it is I am going to use as subject matter.  In fact, when I am out on my bike or hiking or on the golf course, I find myself looking, looking, looking at everything around me, considering the shape, line, form, color of everything.  It's all part of my 'see where you are' philosophy.  And yes, that is the title of my book...See Where You Are.

In the case of the two flowers in the commission, hibiscus and bird of paradise, I can see them first hand and even bring some of them into my studio for sketching and inspiration because they grow in the yard where I am living for the winter.

Hibiscus petals and Bird of Paradise Flower.

After the composition is sketched onto the canvas the palette is selected.  Because I just completed a similar work, I will use the same palette.  These are acrylic paints, some from Liquitex, some from Dick Blick, some from Daniel Smith and some from Golden.  Typically my selection is limited to 5 or 6 hues, but for this work I have four greens, two blues, two reds, an orange, a yellow, three hues from the brown tones, and unbleached titanium white.  You can see I do some of my color mixing on the palette, but a great deal of it is accomplished directly on the canvas.

Palette for the painting.

I begin by painting in the background, which in this case is Phthalo Blue, Cobalt Blue and a bit of the Unbleached Titanium White.  It is my desire to have the deepest tone at the center of the canvas, lightening as the color spreads to the outer edges of the canvas.  

Next I lay in the veins of the leaves using most of the hues in the palette with emphasis on the use of the Cadmium Reds because I want the brightness and drama of red to appear in the painting.

Working from background forward, left to right, the leaves begin to take form.  All those greens, a bit of yellow, the Phthalo blue for shadow affect, and the Unbleached Titanium for high lights create the leaves.

After many hours at the easel this section of the painting has life, color and movement.  I will move to the right side of the canvas next to work in the leaves on that side.

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Floral Painting

Three Birds

Three Birds

Acrylic on Canvas

36" x 36"

3000.

Bird of Paradise and Hibiscus flowers flutter over this canvas.  It just came off my easel, so it's time to begin another painting, and a commission it is.  Another floral of birds and biscus, but this one is long and thin with horizontal format.  The palette will be similar, the composition quite different.  

I picked up the custom canvas about two weeks ago, so I have been staring at the blank whiteness of  20" x 62" wondering and planning the composition in my head.  Last night I started sketches and plan to place three hibiscus close to center with the birds flying around out to the sides.  

The selected sketch for composition.....more or less anyway.

Today I will under paint with black gesso and sketch the design on the canvas.  Then tomorrow I will begin to loose myself in the wonder of applying paint to brush to canvas.  These floral paintings are captivating for me with their stylized presentation just hinting at whimsy.  I hope you are enjoying them as well.

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Creating or Producing?

This is a Great Question!

If you are an artist, are you creating or are you Producing?

Last week I had the opportunity to see Yo Yo Ma perform.    Because he played typical classical as well as a few unusual pieces there were questions about what is expected from an artist.  On his web site, there is talk about how Yo Yo Ma is  multifaceted and searches for new ways to communicate with his audiences.  He has pushed himself in his search for artistic growth and renewal. These statements lead right into one of my on going discussions about how an artist needs to push, change and grow in order to continue to create rather than just produce. If an artist isn't experimenting, changing, and discovering are they truly creating?  If an artist is doing the same thing over and over and over again, are they producing and not creating?

Our galleries and buyers don't always want to see new and different work from an artist they represent and from whom they purchase. Sometimes we are stuck in a spot by others, which we may like, but what about the burning desire to try something new?  How do we handle that?

Four Cairns

A few weeks ago I reintroduced a fabulous piece of glass art into my home.  Having this work back in my environment inspired me to paint a couple rock cairns, which is part of my oeurve, those rock cairns.  

Glass Cairn

Artist:  Robert Madvin

While I was working on the first canvas I discovered my curiosity peaked by the negative space.  I completed the first painting focusing on color and movement.

I had a couple small canvases sitting in my studio so using the same palette and the same emphasis on movement I painted a couple cairns, or more precisely, I painted around what would be the rock cairns leaving the area that would have been the cairns a negative space.  

Some of you saw the use of negative space last week in the palm painting I posted and some of you reacted with very positive statements about that negative space.  By the time I received those comments I had painted in the space with a palm tree (that painting is currently on exhibit in the 15th Annual Palm Springs Juried Art Show at The Desert Art Center in Palm Springs).  I wonder if I might have considered leaving the negative space in that painting had I received those comments before moving forward with the work?  

What do you think?  Like Yo Yo Ma, should an artist push themselves to find new ways to communicate?  Is it too risky to seek artistic growth?  Is it only possible to create if you are  only moving forward with experimentation?  What do you think about creating vs. producing?

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Artists Are Unique

I Have Been Accused of Being Weird.

It's nothing new, just a repeat of words. I am told some variation of that now and then,  but aren't all artists a little bit different?  Our eyes and brains work in a particular way allowing us to process everything around us a little bit differently than others.  And we bring creativity into all areas of our lives, because we love to and are driven to create! 

So was it weird when I just wasn't pleased with the way the most recent palm painting was progressing and I painted out the palm so I could start over?

As you know, it is typical for me to post photos of my work here and on Facebook as it is created, as it is painted.  This painting was no exception.  However an interesting thing happened.  I posted a photo late in the afternoon and then during the early evening I picked up a brush and black gesso and covered the palm.  The next morning when taking a look at Facebook I noticed I had received a message from someone who wanted to see the painting before it left for the exhibition.  OOPS.  But not really oops, because I just was not pleased with how the painting was progressing and knew I needed to change it.  That person is not the one calling me weird...it came from another source because of this 'paint out' situation, and it was said with humor, but it just got me thinking about the other times I have been told the same.

Before

After the gesso paint out

Completed

There were many things that were just not right about the painting and I corrected them.  The painting is done and off  at judging for the exhibition.  Hopefully the judges will not think the painting weird.  They don't get to judge me however, so I will just continue on with my weirdness.

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More Palm Painting.

Time to Paint Another Palm.

75

Did I mention this is a crazy busy month?  I think I did.  And it has become even busier.  Almost the moment the palm painting, 75, was completed, it sold.  That's a good thing, but it means I must now paint another canvas to commemorate and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the City of Palm Springs.  So I find myself sitting in front of the easel with a new canvas, letters and numbers.  

work in progress

This new canvas is more linear and though I will use the same palette it is already different from 75.  The letters are a bit different, the location of the letters is a bit different and the palm is already shaping up to be different.  Back to the easel....  stay tuned.

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Palm Tree Painting

From Beginning To End

I spent hours and hours in front of the easel last week working on a palm tree painting to celebrate and commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the City of Palm Springs.  You saw some of the work in my post the beginning of last week.  And because of that post I had someone ask about the letters and numbers.  They are made from foam and attached to the canvas, so they are raised, and I paint over them.  These letters, along with the multiple layers of paint which are scored though, lend a wonderfully rich texture and dimension to the painting.

The trunk of the palm took quite a bit of detail time.

Laying in the fronds began in a general way with deep greens and blues.  Then it was more detail work to put in high and low lights with a fine brush to complete the fronds.  

While waiting for all of this to dry and living with the painting for a few hours to confirm completion, I painted a small canvas of palms I call 'The Dancing Girls'.  These 'girls' live on a local golf course, have captured my eye, are haunting me, so this was a great way to get in the mood for a larger work.  Depicted here, only three of the 6 or 7 girls....the larger canvas will hold all of them.  On this canvas they are only warming up...just wait until they get onto the larger dance floor!

Dancing Girls

7x5

Ok, back to the canvas '75' to glaze in shadows and deepen some of the background.

My signature is the final step.  The painting is complete.

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