Baby steps . . .

And Beyond the Goat Shed   14x22   oil pastel on paper

Outbuilding Abstract   14x22   oil pastel on paper

(click on images for larger view)

Not much new to say about these other than I'm working toward a vision I'm not yet able to express. An abstract composition that has more to do with design and essential form than reality and detail.

My current thinking is that perhaps I just can't be rushed along this path, and that I should just enjoy what I'm producing now, with the knowledge that one day soon I can reflect and enjoy my baby steps along the way.

The path to abstraction . . .

Smokehouse #3  14 x 22  oil pastel on paper

Smokehouse #4  14 x 22  oil pastel on paper

As artists, the pursuit of art, as we think it is or should be: 

 . . . honest, satisfying, true, unsentimental or sentimental, direct and clear, strong, powerful, well-executed, good or bad or ugly, important, visionary, banal, old school, new school, trite, Kinkadian, amateur, sweet, sour, relevant —words for the weary painter. 

It’s very often true that artists hate their work, or at the very least question if it is . . . whatever—fill in your own word.

This week for me has been a mind-numbing exploration of

What is Abstraction, and how do I achieve it?

In the abstract (haha), the answer to both questions is not that difficult, but in application, I’m struggling over issues regarding procedure.

Smokehouse #3 and Smokehouse #4, both oil pastels, are examples of my efforts this week to cross over to abstraction.

My dilemma:

If I start a painting with a given subject as my reference, in this case “smokehouse”, I end up with a clear, non-abstracted, hard-edged image of, yup a smokehouse, regardless of my intention to abstract this subject into a nearly unrecognizable form.

If I start a painting without a given subject as my reference, I can and do happily achieve abstractions, but I am NOT able to express my IDEA of a smokehouse in any satisfying way.

In short, I’m stuck.

I consider both of these paintings okay as paintings, but utter failures on the thorny path to abstraction, although I think #4 has better abstracted elements in it.

Who ever said painting was easy?

Co-Art Mini Canvas Sale

It's a 2-day PARTY!  Don't miss it!

Mini samples from a previous year

Co- Art's Annual Mini Canvas Sale is coming to Staunton, VA on Saturday December 5, with a Preview Party the Friday evening before.

Look at all that original artwork - just a few of the total framed minis - previous year

I completed 18 mini canvases for this year's event, and based on last year's big sale, I can tell this is going to be an awesome happening for all involved, especially the Preview Party, Friday December 4th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., plus a giveaway drawing at 7:00 p.m.

Be sure to bring your up-close spectacles--these minis measure only 4" x 5".

Look for me--I'll be there both days, enjoying giggles, grog, and holiday sweets.

Thinking small is a big idea!

SOLD   Intersection #11  24" x 28"  Oil and wax on canvas
(click on image for larger view)

I'm back with renewed enthusiasm for oil and cold wax medium in this latest addition to my Intersection series.

I recently completed 18 mini canvases for Co-Art Gallery's Annual Mini Canvas Sale coming up next month. The exercise taught me tons in the loosening up department and in the make-fewer-marks school of abstraction. The mini canvases I did measured 4" x 5", and think about it--you can only apply so many strokes in that small space, which practically forces one into abstraction. I worked the minis in oil and wax, and I used only oil sticks and palette knife--no brushes, to apply rough, larger marks in paint. The work was extremely liberating, fun, fast, and satisfying. I turned some of the minis into printed greeting cards, and I took photos, which I'll share with you around Christmas time.

Well, I've been noodling around the studio for weeks since the minis, doing watercolors and drawing and experimenting with oil pastels, working small and tight, and feeling anything but inspired.

Completed this week, Intersection 11 (above) felt great to paint! Finally! It is larger than I've worked in years at 24" x 28". It's painted entirely with oil sticks, palette knives, and old credit cards for scrapers. I used lots and lots of Dorlands Cold Wax medium with my oils, and I'm thinkin' this is the way I should feel about painting. 

I highly recommend this exercise for painters whose work is too tight and hard edged. Try creating big images and big impact on a tiny canvas and see what happens.

Waynesboro Blue

Waynesboro Blue  7"x9"  Watercolor

Another work resulting from my recent rainy-day outing into Waynesboro, Va. A combination of memory and a photo was enough to complete this image.

I recently joined Co-Art Gallery in Staunton, Virginia, and there is a niche display within the gallery for smaller, unframed works in a browsing file where all member artists contribute paintings and drawings. My watercolors will fit nicely into this niche.

Over my painting career I've not done many watercolors. Generally, watercolors are worked light to dark, whereas oils and pastels are painted differently, and pastels are definitely worked dark to light, so watercolors are a challenge of process. Although I'm more at home in oils and pastels, I welcome the challenge. 

 

Beverley to Baja

Beverley to Baja   7.5x10  Watercolor SOLD

Here is a small watercolor I finished this morning, from a reference photo I took on a rainy day last week. The large black canopy shapes give it an element of abstraction. We see a local approaching the entrance to Baja Cantina in Downtown Staunton on the left.