Solitude

To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet.

                                        Charles Caleb Colton

 I started this painting at least five years ago.  Hours and hours went into painting those rocks until I couldn't look at them any more.  Into the corner this one went to join other unfinished projects.  It stares at me forlornly every time I walk into my studio.  Finally this past week I stuck it up on my easel and did a little work on the sky and added the mountain on the left.  It seems like such a lonely place.  I believe it is called Peg's Cove.  I know I copied it from a photograph of a painting from some magazine.  Of course, the photograph is somewhere but after three moves in five years I can't put my finger on it.  Anyway, my idea is not to copy any more but to use it as a base painting for ideas and techniques I have picked up since I first started it.  So off we go!  It looks like such a lonely place so for now I am calling it Solitude.  Maybe I'll put a few people in the boat and a dog by the house.  Maybe.

As the births of living creatures at first are ill-shapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time.
                            Francis Bacon

 Since my last post was about death I thought I would post today about birth.  The above is the birth of a new drawing I have started of an old woman deep in contemplation.  I lightly penciled in a rough sketch placing a few prominent points off which to measure the entire drawing.  Now that she is placed on the paper where I would like her to be I have started shading in her scarf and hair and am slowly working my way down.  Using both graphite and charcoal pencils and working on the larger shapes first I will probably work my way down this drawing four or five times.  By the time I have finished she and I will be great friends! 

                                                 There is no such thing as death,
                                                 In nature, nothing dies:
                                                 From each sad moment of decay
                                                 Some forms of life arise.

                                                                            Charles MacKay
 
          Once again this poor pot sat in the corner of my studio for weeks.  Something was wrong (well, actually, more than one thing but more about that later.)  The idea was to depict the last bit of a large flower arrangement left to die in a huge pot.  I was so intent on using some radiant white that would stand out against the darker edge of the pot that I kept going over and over the flowers working on getting a dynamic contrast.  Of course, dying flowers are not vibrant ~ not vivid ~ not bursting with energy.  They are limp, sad, and most of all, dreary.  I have toned these down quite a bit but they still need more work.  How does one paint sadness and decay???  And once that distressing feeling is visible in the flowers how will they still maintain their proper place as the focal point?  Should have thought this through way before I put the first dab of paint on this canvas.  Composition, color mixing, technique, on and on ~ so much to learn!

It is through color changes that we go forward...all decisions come about as the picture is made and in response to painterly demands.  The descriptive and anecdotal come second.

                  Wolf Kahn

      This painting has been sitting in the corner of my studio for quite a while now.  I made the tablecloth green thinking it would give the whole painting a warm, exotic feel.  I hated it.  That's why it sat in the corner for so long.  Every once in a while I would rework the pot.  Then I would put it back in the corner and consider giving up painting.  Then the other day in a reckless mood I succumbed to the idea of change.  I painted over the green making the tablecloth a traditional white.  I blued down the flowers a bit and realized once again the power color has on what we find appealing and what we find jarring.  There are still a few touches this one needs but it won't sit in the corner any more.

Final Boot Drawing

All art is based on observation, and this, in its time, must be disciplined to be of any value.  Vague recollections are of no value to the artist.  Know what you are looking for and why, and then record it.  Then look again, for what you missed.

              Van Waldron

      Well, I will never look at a pair of old shoes the same way!  The more I worked on these the more I realized how much character they had.  There is something very meditative about concentrating on something for a long time and really seeing it.  This drawing took about 7 hours to complete from start to finish.  There were lots of small details and quite a bit of value changes to deal with.  A great exercise in observing!

Boots Update

Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.  There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.

              H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

          Well, the boot drawing above is really taking shape.  I have about 6 hours into this and think maybe one more session will finish it off.  It is so easy for me to put things aside and start something new ~ so many pictures to draw and paintings to paint!  However, at this point it is important to finish each piece in order to practice the fine points of value.  Now it is time to really look at these boots in the photograph and really see all the different gradations from lightest light to darkest dark.  Sharp eyes and sharp pencils!

Values

Learn to look at shapes and values, not things... switch over to the right brain's understanding of spatial relationships, instead of depending on the left brain technical skills.

               Laurel Weathersbee

        This past Friday I attended an open studio at Crealde Art School in Orlando.  Nineteen people crammed into one small space to take advantage of a great opportunity to work with a lovely model.  It was fascinating to walk around the room and see the different styles of work and the various techniques being employed ~ amazing what one can learn by watching someone else.  It was also a  great chance to try some of the things about value that I have been reading about in Juliette Aristedes' book.  There is a long way to go in developing my technique but I am starting to get the idea.  The open studio was only three hours so I worked on this a bit more after I got it home.  This coming week I will go again but there will be a different model ~ am anxious to try again.  Maybe I will even be able to do that switch Ms. Weathersbee is talking about!