Friday, December 9, 2011

Progress to Completion: Bad Luck Girls

"Bad Luck Girls"
36"H by 36"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)



This is something I've started over the past weekend. If you look closely you'll see a discoloration in the surface, especially in the left side. That is because I have used acrylic matte medium to laminate four pieces of paper onto a canvas so that I could continue my drawing all the way out to the edges. Some of the matte medium has gotten on to the surface but it doesn't seem to affect the way the charcoal rubs onto it at all.

So far, work on the paintings in the studio is phenomenally slow, but I've been reassured by several people that it's to be expected so soon after having a baby. I have a play pen all set up, waiting for the day when he will tolerate being put down with some toys while I work. 


I've decided to keep updating this post with my progress. After four hours of painting, I've got this:

(click for enlargement)
Acrylic! For a brief moment with my napthanol red, I thought "Wow, just like my oils. This isn't at all hard." Sadly, the only reason the paint felt thicker and more buttery is because I've had the tube for five years. Once I moved to other colors it seemed thin and watery, so I'm thinking of getting a tub of heavy gel medium and seeing if that helps to compensate for the lack of texture. Maybe Golden's OPEN line will be more like what I'm used to. It's on my Christmas list.

Here it is after six hours of work:

(click for enlargement)

The lavender shoe at the top right seems badly drawn right now. I will come back to it after I get all the shoes blocked in. At this point all my concerns are about the technical aspects of the painting, and later, when I'm wrapping it up, I'll start to think about it as an art object, rather than something I'm working on.

I really should throw out my tube of cobalt blue. For one, I suspect it has actual cobalt in it, which is a toxin. But I'm stubborn, and despite a texture like blue plastic cottage cheese, I painted the blue satin shoes. Not nearly as finished, but at least they're blocked in.


Here's the completed piece:


(click for enlargement)

I have varnished this piece so it is incredibly difficult to photograph without having some light bounce off the surface.  I named it Bad Luck Girls primarily because of the open umbrella that served as the background to the still life. Also, there are thirteen shoes depicted in it, although one is incredibly hard to spot. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

In Progress: Ex-Latte Five


"Ex-Latte Five"
7"H by 5"W, on panel. 
(click for enlargement)

I painted this in acrylic just this past Sunday and found myself really enjoying the experience, which surprised me.  I've had a set of acrylics for about five years, but rarely found myself using them, and when I did I painted very thinly and didn't experiment with any mediums. Well, if I want to paint in an manner which is at all similar to my way of applying oils, I'd better learn to slather it on like butter. The trick is to go a lot faster than I normally would. This painting has just an hour invested in it. There couldn't be more- the paint dried on the palette really quickly.

So far I feel successful. However, this is still unfinished even though what is left is just minor detailing. Mixing the same color for a specific area may be the most difficult thing to do in acrylics as the paint darkens and changes as it dries. When I took a class which used acrylic paint in the past, that feature of the medium was a source of constant frustration. I'll take another whack at it this coming Sunday (still not renaming this blog "One Day a Week" despite the reality), and see what develops.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

In Progress: Light the Floor

"Light the Floor"
20"H by 16"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)
This is my first serious acrylic painting since a little experimentation in school. I decided to begin by mixing black and white gesso to work out the initial values in the underpainting. So far, I really do like the medium but I do have a little problem with judging the drying time with the colors.

When I shot the photo I'm using as my reference for this painting, I was in an abandoned house in Mississippi. Painting the window with the same energetic pale spring greens that saturate that landscape seems the most likely. Interestingly, this was the first property where I had physical problems with getting around from room to room, and not because of the amount of refuse. The floor, while holding together amazingly well in most places, had some precarious soft spots where water had been dripping for decades. 

In Progress: Retired

"Retired"
36"H by 36"W, on canvas.
(click for enlargement)
This painting began with a doodle on a post-it note, just a simple composition study with areas of positive and negative space. I've painted some problematic areas several times and as with most things that aren't based on my own photography, I'm having a difficult time figuring out whether I'm done or not. At the moment it seems like there's too many neutral and cool grays.

This is my last oil painting, at least for a little while. I took a two-month break from the oils and all of a sudden I can smell the mediums and thinners, and I hadn't been able to detect the odor since I was in school. Frighteningly, I was also unable to smell them while pregnant. I wore a mask while painting, but I still didn't smell anything while in the studio. So in the interest of my baby's health and my own, I'm packing the oils away for a little bit. 

Hiatus

I have a very good little reason for not being very productive lately, and his name is Simon Stark Black.

(click for enlargement)


He's two and a half months old at the moment, and while he lets me sleep most nights, he certainly isn't ready to be introduced to the art studio. Painting had slowed down quite a bit even before his arrival, but now I'm in the studio very rarely. I should rename this blog "One Day a Week".

Website Down

My site is down temporarily as I change hosting and do a little bit of redesigning. The URL is still correct.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Chatter

"Chatter"
48"H by 48"W, on panel. 
(click for enlargement)

This is being taken to the State Fair this Saturday for delivery to their Fine Art Competition. Here is the accompanying Artist Statement:

"With my paintings I explore the accessories of modern life, directly confronting consumerism and the link between identity and material possessions. In this work, I have made a study of the artifacts of material culture, diffused and tangled in a treacherous jumble of repetitive colors and familiar shapes."


It may not be the best that I've ever written, but it is short, and I felt that that was important. I didn't want to get the reader too bogged down by elaborating on ownership, culture, totems, self-worth, and femininity. 


Sunday, May 15, 2011

6.5 in Gold

"6.5 in Gold"
11"H by 8.5"W, on wet media Dura-Lar. 
(click for enlargement)
This was done quickly with a favorite shoe as my model. I can't actually wear most of the shoes I've been painting, and this one in particular is so absurdly tiny that it should be relegated to the world of doll shoes. However, the label on the sole insists that this is sized six and a half.

I was invited to a contest put on by the makers of Dura-Lar film, and this is completed on their media. It is a very unusual surface to paint on; the brush seems to pull differently, as though the clear media were quite absorbent. The fact that I can paint on both sides of the surface was fun and liberating. It's a good thing that I have several more sheets to use up, but I am a little confused about how to handle the artwork once it dries. It seems to dislike tape, so I'm not sure a conventional mounting in a matt or frame will work.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Noema

"Noema"
30"H by 48"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)
I very nearly sent this to the California state fair without a title. Now I'm playing the waiting game, hoping to hear back before the 15th, when the competition literature said results would be published. It's a huge relief to have it completed.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Lily the Pug

"Lily"
11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 
(click for enlargement)
This was finished a few weeks ago but I forgot to post it, and the unframed version of this photo was unfortunately corrupted by a memory card error. 

Pugs really do have some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated owners I've ever met, and it's seldom that I meet a dog of this breed that isn't sociable. As a commission, this was an enjoyable experience. I do experience a lot of anxiety over arrangments and custom paintings, mostly because if I'm creating for a specific person or audience I stop being able to be happy with the piece of art- and I seldom can tell if and when I'm finished. However, this one was straightforward and easy to paint, and when the buyer approved without any corrections I found myself hungry to do more of these.

Of course, the other two dog paintings I've started are not progressing so easily. At least I can put them off until the 22nd, when the State Fair deadline is officially up.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

In Progress: Untitled 3 (shoes)

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"
48"H by 48"W, on panel. 
(click for enlargement)

This behemoth of a work has to be done by the 22nd of this month in order to be eligible for this year's State Fair Fine Art Competition. Unfortunately I'm still grappling with major revisions to my initial composition, which can be seen in earlier entries- the initial photo scrap can be seen here.

It's not the biggest work I've ever done, but it is probably the largest one to feature so much detail. There's very little resting space for the eye and the entire work is intended to be high in contrast. As a result, I can work on it closely, and back away about twenty feet to evaluate what I've done, but medium distance is difficult because there are so many areas that distract from the area I'm attempting to focus on. I've considered placing paper over some areas to keep it from distracting me, but because I tend to work all at once on my reds, grays, blues, etc., I need to be able to move from one area to the next quickly.

I've given a lot of thought to the titles for these shoe works, and nothing I've generated or heard has really stuck to the idea wall. Ferreting out a title is an arduous process, especially since "Shoes" strikes me as being far too simplistic.

Monday, March 28, 2011

In Progress: Untitled (Mantle)

"Untitled (Mantle)"
16"H by 20"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)
  
A quick start on a painting is easy for me and often makes me think I should slow down. The corner of my studio is filled with false starts and paintings that have failed to hold my interest for more than a few hours of painting. With this piece, I thumbnailed only twice before drawing directly on the canvas. A wooden stick helped me lay my perspective lines, and I started painting the base layers of color.

At this point I feel it necessary to address that my work is diverging into a lot of different areas. Perhaps it's a bad habit left over from art school, but I always want more than one body of work to whittle away at. Of course, I'm not sure it's really a bad habit- painting as much as I can on as many bodies of work means that I'll have a diverse portfolio for different audiences to see. On the other hand, it would be so nice to be able to present twenty shoe paintings to a gallery in San Francisco this year or next, instead of in 2015.

Friday, March 18, 2011

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

"Untitled (shoes)"
30"H by 48"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)
The way the background looks at this moment is due to it being masked off by some paper that I'm using to make sure that the next step is the right one. I felt that the background needed a flat element but did not want to eliminate the blue power cord shrinking into the distance. Playing  with the idea of surface in a painting is an enjoyable exchange between the painter and the viewer for me- my goal is to amuse and entertain the viewer by playing on the anticipation of an artificially deep space and inserting a surprising element of flat pattern.

I have my doubts about this element of course; it could cause the painting to look too much like a decorator piece and take away from the pile of shoes in the foreground. I think if either of these things happens the solution is pretty clear- another coat of paint on the background.

In Progress: Untitled 3 (shoes)

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"
48"H by 48"W, on panel. 
(click for enlargement)
I'm very happy with about 80% of this painting. The way I generated this image was by collaging photographs together, and I adored it at first. But the painting is now what I would describe as an endurance trial. Portions of it are complete, and I love how it looks as a small collage.

Whatever my next step may be, I'd like to preserve the diagonal movement. If it's possible to do so by obscuring some of the shoes and the edges to prevent an overload of detail and dominant areas of the painting.

Monday, February 14, 2011

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

"Untitled (shoes)"
30"H by 48"W, on canvas. 
(click for enlargement)
I've had quite a break from the blog after the move, and I'm also quite pregnant, so my attitude towards painting has changed a bit. Oil paints aren't inherently toxic, but a lot of mine contain cadmium, cobalt, and even lead- and the Gamsol I use to clean my brushes is also hazardous to breathe. So when I paint now, I use no medium to thin my paint, and I use dish gloves on my hands to make sure that nothing toxic can get on my fingers or under my nails. As an alternative to Gamsol, I've been using baby oil to get the pigment out of the brush hairs and then some dish soap in the studio sink.

This painting has taken a long rest but yesterday I found myself re-mixing the colors for the electrical cords and redefining their edges. Now that they pop, I have a bit of work to do on a few of the shoes which haven't even received any paint.

I must also remember to bring my larger camera, as my cell phone camera seems to be very dark. For an earlier look at the same painting, check out this older entry here.