The Steward

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
G. K. Chesterton

I have done this particular painting before on a 4" x 5" canvas (see it on my website). This time I'm doing a much larger version ~ 16" x 20". I love the colors and the composition. Recently, we saw a wonderful movie called Up the Yangtze. It was about one of the final voyages of a cruise ship up a part of the Yangtze that was going to become flooded after a new dam was built. Rather than a documentary about the building of the dam, or a simple cinematic recording of the river and surrounding countryside, the movie delved into the lives of the peasants that were going to be flooded out, contrasting them to the lives of the passengers on the cruise ship. What do people who are in service to others really think of those they serve? This unforgettable movie will open one's eyes in many ways ~ I highly recommend it.

As I made a quick sketch, it occurred to me that this figure clearly demonstrates how a painting is composed of a group of forms. Without the hands this is almost an abstract work. Only with shading and softening of edges will the figure begin to take on dimension.

On My Easel 2

Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere, wholeheartedly, one-directionally, without regret or reservation.
William H. Sheldon

Venice! I followed Sheldon's advice and found he was right on. Right now I am spending all of my free time doing genealogy. No matter how hard I search I cannot find any Italian ancestors. This is very frustrating as I love all things Italian and am convinced that since my mother's maiden name was an Italian one, I must have a few drops of Italian blood in my veins. Anyway, I am enjoying working on this little painting of a canal in Venice. There's a lot more detail to go in but it's coming along.

At Sea

The fly ought to be used as the symbol of impertinence and audacity; for whilst all other animals shun man more than anything else, and run away even before he comes near them the fly lights upon his very nose.

Arthur Schopenhauer

I just finished watching the entire first season of Lost. In the final episode three men and a young boy take off from the island on a funky little raft they've built. When they set sail the beach is filled with desperate well-wishers waving them off. For several minutes there is no dialogue only rousing music and spectacular footage of the raft surmounting the incoming tide and setting out on the open sea. What unbelievable courage and yet, what unbelievable nerve. I've decided to paint a picture of a boat on the water, but first I painted just the water and the sky. Now, if you look again at the painting above you can appreciate the vastness of the ocean and the sky ~ there is no clear end of one or beginning of the other. And without the boat as a reference, it's impossible to tell how large an area you're actually looking at. That's creation ~ tiny, immense, unfathomable, and yet, man ventures out into it everyday. Wow.

On My Drawing Board 2

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.
Dutch proverb

Whoever came up with the above saying must have been an artist ~ particularly one who drew. After the initial sketch is made, the key to making a proper drawing is taking one's time. I always like to start at the top and work my way down in the beginning just so the back of my hand doesn't smear too much of my work. Of course, this is just the first of many shadings I'll do but it's good to get an idea of where the lights and darks are going to be in the final version. Slow and steady, she goes.

Hats 2

I have heard with admiring submission the experience of the lady who declared that the sense of being well-dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquility, which religion is powerless to bestow.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here's another hat from the 1920's. This lady is so tranquil inside she looks like ice ~ such confidence!

Deep Thoughts

There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

Washington Irving

This is another painting that's been sitting in the corner for months and months waiting for attention. She's got a lot on her mind. Although she looks totally lost in thought, in my mind she looks like she could jump up and act on what's troubling her any second. Something's wrong ~ even if she doesn't have a solution yet though, she's capable of taking immediate action. She's open to be led by what her woman's intuition might tell her to do.

This is a very small painting so I'm going to have to spend a lot of time on the tiny details of her face. Her foot I'm leaving alone!