The Sailor

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean ~ roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin ~ his control
Stops with the shore.

Lord Byron


When I was twelve years old I crossed the Atlantic aboard the SS Stavangerfjord with my parents to visit my father's homeland of Denmark. In the middle of our crossing we encountered an enormous storm and for over a day we were tossed about by waves over 40 feet tall. My father had been a sailor in his earlier days. He thoroughly enjoyed the storm and his serene acceptance of our situation calmed all my fears. Peering outside it was quite a sight to watch the sailors crawl across the open deck clutching a rope above their heads that had been strung from the main part of the ship to the bridge.

While I hoped to convey some sense of alarm in the sailor's face above, I also hoped to convey that same sense of acceptance my father wore on his face. We live in the middle of many storms over which we have no control ~ might as well accept it. But just like that storm on the sea, the calm eventually comes.

Wildflowers

Faith moves mountains, but you have to keep pushing while you are praying.

Mason Cooley


I love this little bouquet of wildflowers. There was no source material for this painting ~ sometimes I just like to see what shows up on the canvas. As far as the quote above, it just seemed to fit right in with how I'm feeling about being an artist right now. I'm not sure where it's going but I'm just going to keep on plugging away.

Oh, a little update on the Megilp. While cleaning out some files I found an article from the June, 2005 Artist's Magazine saying that the new medium from Gamblin ~ New Megilp ~ doesn't yellow or darken over time but still provides a luminous quality to oil paint. Now I'm glad I bought that bottle at Pearl!

The White House

Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context ~ a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.

Eero Saarinen

I have always loved cities ~ particularly those that are laid out beautifully. Washington, D.C. and its many circles, New York and its parks, and, of course, arguably the most beautiful of all cities, Venice and its winding canals all come to mind. An antique etching of a house perched along one of the canals in Venice was the source for this small oil. As I got closer and closer to finishing this painting I was struck by how it began to look more and more like an abstract. Venice, built centuries before the abstract movement was born, like all cities is merely a product of countless components. Great cities, like great paintings, depend primarily on great design.

Going Fishing 4

Inconsistency is the only thing in which men are consistent.

Horace Smith


The only thing consistent about this blog is that I consistently come back to it. Anyway, I finished this little painting this morning. While visiting New York I picked up a bottle of Neo Megilp at the Pearl Paint store on Canal Street. It's a medium to be mixed with oil paint that the woman in the store guaranteed me would not only provide a lovely gloss to the paint but help it go on more smoothly. Before I started painting this morning I cleaned out some of my files where I keep notes on all sorts of tips and helpful hints . Wouldn't you know I came across one that said not to use Megilp as it causes darkening and cracking. I decided to use it anyway ~ after all, everyone has an opinion on what works and what doesn't. That goes for just about everything in life too, I've found, not just painting techiques. Anyway, my fishing boy is on his way.

Grace

Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.

William Hazlitt

It's been a long time since I've done any figure drawing. I thought this woman's beauty and in particular her pose exemplified Hazlitt's definition of grace. Charcoal pencils are one of my favorite things! This one was done in one sitting so unfortunately I have no "in progress" shots to share.

Going Fishing 2

If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldst be bound to give it back immediately; if thou holdest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to Nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.

Marcus Aurelius


The outlook on life presented in the quote above is what I hope comes to mind when one views this little painting. Set upon one task, carrying his fishing pole to the river, the young fisherman is solely dedicated to that purpose. Live simply and live well. Focus on the task at hand and it give your all ~ not an easy task with the way our minds jump around, but worth trying anyway.

I've darkened this painting up considerably which intensifies the brightness of the sunrise. There's still a lot of detail to be added but it's coming along.

Going Fishing

Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into, the mind.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge


After the local art show was cancelled I became very discouraged. I love "doing" art ~ I don't love "marketing" art. I suppose that's true of all artists, though. Anyway, my good friend Lynn encouraged me to keep at it. Lynn's positive, cheerful outlook on life is a gift she generously shares with everyone she meets. So, Lynn, if you're reading this, thanks for the kind words.

I started this small painting last week. I am particularly interested these days in getting the background of my paintings correct. The right mixture of darks and lights are not only key to making the figure pop out but in making him look three dimensional. I've blocked in where I want the shadows to be but now need to spend some time blending them in with the highlights in the background.