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.