Open Painting -April 24, 2010

I have one more three hours with this painting so hopefully I can get something done.

I like the softness of this painting. I just need for the head to move out of the space and the space to have more depth!

We will see what I come up with next weekend- May 8, 2010!

See you after that..

Chet Series: Painting #2

When I said I was going to continue painting Chet but now as a series- I meant it!

I read an article from the "Artist's Magazine" that has led me to approach this painting a lot differently.

I will be coming back to finish this painting probably more than once.

I actually like this because it feels more fresh and more like me! Very bright though! Woow... I was laughing as I put down another neon color but it was fun!

Chet Series- Painting #1

This piece is on a 12" x 24" stretched canvas.

I have decided to creating distinct pieces of Chet.
It is the easiest way to start a series right now.
Chet is a constant model who I can consistently paint.

Chet will be posing again next weekend so I have some more time with this piece.
It got so thick and gook that I had to stop.

If I can finish this by 4/28/10, I will enter it into a show.
We only hope it is good enough to enter into any show.





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Well, it is now 4/29/10, so the wish of finishing this by 4/28/10 is not going to happen!

I think I will be working on it more too at some point next week, because it needs to dry a bit before I touch it.

John-Open Painting

Another Saturday Open Painting session at Art League of New Britain. It was a good one in that I felt like I am progressing. I don't love the painting but I see how I am making sense of the colors in another way.

How am I making sense of the colors? I cannot pretend to know the answer. I picked up two books to figure it out but I believe this will take a lot of work time rather than book time!

John, the model, will be back in a couple weeks so that we can work on our paintings more. This is great, since I need to learn how to go back into a painting in order to solve its problems.

Problems: How do I refine the face without killing the life in the painting? How do I create active lines that have clear and distinct purpose? What is my purpose for this painting?

A painting of Chet-Again!

This time I used Titanium White, Permanent Magenta, Cadium Yellow (Hue), Cadium Red (Hue), and Viridian Hue. This is a very bright mix of colors. The one thing I found hard was getting a good mix of darks because the only agent to make that dark was Viridian and it did not do a very good job.

Pushing through to make more art:

Lately I have found making art disappointing in that my results are disturbing. I know that I need to just push through and continue over and over again.

Work through it!

I read an article in the "Art Calendar" called "The Gift of Persistence" by Matthew Daub.

The article specified that an artist's "talent" is not as important than their persistence, disciplined labor, and love of making art.

I find that one's skill comes from the consistant pursuit of one's art making. It is not easy yet everytime I work I am high on life. Although sometime while I am working I am also cursing! Just starting artmaking is the hardest thing for me to overcome.

http://www.matthewdaub.com/matthew_daub/Bio.html

Matthew Daub notes that an artist needs to:

1. set aside time everyday

2. make it a priority

3. keep a schedule

4. treat studion life as a job


But - he states that an artist needs to couple this time in the studio with time spent getting their work in front of the public. Even as a beginning artist it is important to apply to as many juried shows and get used to rejection.