|
Hello Everyone! The Pacific Northwest boasts colorful displays... and the warm sunny days declare summertime! I am happiest with lush beauty around me. As usual for me, I am in the studio creating, experimenting, and pushing myself in areas I have not tried before. Sometimes my work develops beautifully and I am satisfied with myself and talent. I don't post pieces that challenge or annoy me. I work on it until I reach a point where I am aware I am no longer making meaningful progress....and then I put it aside, take a break, and start on something new the next day. Eventually I'll come back to it, see it as a challenge, and work it til.... I paint over it with white gesso and start again....something new and with a different twist. Keeps me in the studio. Here are a couple paintings I recently finished, and am pleased with. Yes, I know it's summer, but I put on my Christmas playlist and I'm good. And what about those images that never make this newsletter. I think about those and wonder what the Masters did. My curiosity led me to some interesting info...you interested?  THE LAST SUPPER Leonardo DaVinci Artists have good and bad days. DaVinci was a difficult artist for patrons to work with as he would abandon commissions. He had lots of rejections and considered himself a failure. The Last Supper commission did not turn out well for him. He was commissioned to paint a fresco...which is a technique, rapidly done, using watercolor paints on a wet plaster wall. The colors penetrate the plaster and becomes fixed as it dries. Davinci wanted to take his time and decided to use tempera and oil paints on a dry plaster wall. That didn't work and the pigment didn't stick to the wall, and actually degraded the image. I'm sure many artists have failed paintings but none quite so famous as this one. Most of the Old Masters would rework their paintings until they were satisfied. DaVinci was a perfectionist and re-worked his paintings alot. He actually had quite a small body of work completed in his lifetime, about 20 paintings, which are now incredibly valuable. Rembrandt, VanGogh, and Michaelangelo all set aside and reworked their art. A common theme I found was their perfectionism and willingness to refine their art. This demonstrated a commitment to growth and mastery.  This one went to the critique group. I was happy with it and after listening to suggestions from other artist's I trust...I gave it my own critique and felt a couple of changes would strengthen the composition...My critique group is a great safety net!
I'll be in the studio all summer getting ready for several Autumn shows. If you are interested in coming over to see new works for purchase before they go out to galleries or shows, contact me for a visit. Many of you have already been over. The hot pot is always ready for a cup of tea. Blessings, Patrice
0 Comments
Hello everyone and Happy Springtime! I've been busier than usual in the studio this past month and have a couple really good examples to show and tell. Each showing a painting progression and the point where... fantasy and reality meet, during the creative process. Intrigued? Let's start... Oil paints are on the palette, cup of tea nearby, Pandora radio on Shuffle, and currently playing xmas music. I've taken transparent paints of mid to dark values and kinda-sort-of, strategically placed them on the canvas, left. I've included my sketching tool so you can see how I define my shapes, and space. On the right I have removed alot of paint with Kleenex tissue, small sponges, and Q tips. What you are seeing is the staining affect of paint, paint left alone, and a couple of hours of removal, to create lighter values. Am careful to keep the darks where they are needed. This is all very technical and requires practice and time. And then I get up and leave for a little time...either going for a walk outside or getting lunch. I've found it so important to disengage from the painting at this point so when I come back, I am looking at it with new eyes and feeling my next move.  Then,I spend time examining it's entirety. I'm fully present....and I walk into my painting and am there looking around and sensing balance, color, and realize the painting has 'good bones.' Then the question "where is this composition taking me?" I see where the strong diagonals of the path and mist meet... to where the mist identifies the top of the path. Hmmm...I wonder what's beyond that curve? I am a creator in this place and am adding opaque paints now, my brushwork controls the energy of the moment. Lavender mist, through the trees. I feel it's coolness on my skin as I soften edges. The mid ground trees need warmer green in the branches coming forward, yes, that's good. Then I smile at the colorful mess in the foreground path and mix complimentary colors and enjoy the strokes placed to receive the light. Neutrals give energy to those wild colors and add cohesion to the story, a misty morning hike on the mountain path. What beauty lies ahead? I'm back now. As I paint, I rely on technical creativity to a certain point then allow intuitive ideas or inspiration that bubbles up, to guide my next steps. Want to come into another painting with me?..... Another fun start laying in transparent paints and developing my sketch with shapes. I get right into the subtraction portion while the paint is still wet enough to work. I leave darks and some paint and have fun with those spiky grasses. I can leave it like this to dry and finish later, or continue applying the final paint...which is known as alla prima painting.  After a short walk in the sun with Angel, the wonder dog, I return and take in the painting. I walk right into the background determining an Autumn palette, and add the sky. Pink mist and a couple orange brushstrokes for and abstracted sense of trees. Long simple strokes create a resting place for the eyes which is needed to balance the busy foreground grasses. The water is an important secondary player and gently guides. Early morning sunrises are softer, as the hot sun is not high in the sky producing bright highlights. Colors seem more saturated and the outcome is pleasing to me. IIII Intuitive painting and intuitive living are pretty much the same. We all have guidelines and when overwhelm occurs it's helpful to disengage for a short time and do something nourishing. Come back, open yourself to answers... get quiet and allow ideas and inspirations to bubble up. Then try them out. The outcomes may be pleasing to you too.  For those of you following the emergence of my Misty Landscapes...this is where I will be exhibiting them all, for the first time!
Plus, this amazing group showcases authors, world traveling animal and bird artists, competitive award winners, instructors, and Pacific Northwest favorites. Artist wine reception Friday and Saturday 5-7pm. Look for me...would love to chat with you! Blessings, Patrice Hello again and welcome to this month's art letter. I'm sitting in my studio looking at the paintings of misty landscapes I started back early December. I had determined this is an area I want to explore with oil paint on canvas. I started with a small 12x12 canvas, and an intention of working larger...as I enjoy the way my body moves to music while my painting arm has full motion to navigate the brush. Not like a wild woman, but one who is in tune with both inner and outer experiences In my practice, I work in a series which allows me to paint a single subject from multiple angles. The creative journey is not always about the finished painting... but the process of exploration, learning, and self-discovery. (The Masters worked in series...like VanGogh, who worked for five years on paintings of sunflowers! Yikes.) But this series approach allows me to embrace the beauty of my mistakes and each painting becomes a stepping stone towards creative growth and insights. This next painting is larger and painted after 9 small pieces.  Now this is my most recent. I have put in hundreds of hours painting, exploring, making mistakes, and persevering. This piece is the first to express parts of me that feel true and unique. Not necessarily the color palette alone, but how I placed paint and walked inside the painting. I feel as though I have excavated this, deep from within. It's different from when I first started.  Art is a mirror reflecting our unique perspectives, emotions, and experiences. But it's not just confined to the canvas. Everything we do...whether it's cooking, writing, or even how we interact with others... is an expression of uniqueness. Each choice we make is a brushstroke on the canvas of our lives, contributing to a masterpiece that is truly ours.
Embrace your journey and remember that every mistake can be a step towards something great... our authentic self. Celebrating What's Most Important... Happy Wednesday everyone, and what a perfect day to celebrate yourself! Celebrating ourselves is not an act of vanity; it's a necessary practice of self-love and acknowledgement. By recognizing where we've been, appreciating our current efforts, and dreaming of what's to come, we cultivate a deeper connection with ourselves. |
RSS Feed