Observations during the Holiday Season...

Taking advantage of my Chinese painting classes last year, I asked an attending professional artist the reasons why he preferred large canvases (at least 45 inch in height and width minimum). He responded by saying that he selected the largest canvases he could cover with the sweep on an arm and a sway of the body. The advantage being that, given his unique physical dimensions, nobody could copy his brush strokes! This is something I would like to try with my upcoming 100 m series...

Also, on a less serious note, since I want the kid in me to paint in 2009... I took advantage of the presence of the "little people" in action during the Holiday Season (in occurrence my grand children unwrapping Christmas gifts) to learn a thing or two about body movements, in an attempt to improve my own painting moves...

I noticed that pivoting longitudinally along one's own body axis could help one cover more ground and therefore more canvas real estate in one sweep if need be:

Moreover, it seemed also possible to work on the ground leaning over large pieces of artwork without falling on one's face given the proper technique:

Imbued with this new knowledge, I decided to start this nordic Charlevoix beach scene :))


Still need to figure out where I am going to put a large flying bird in this picture...

Getting ready for the 100 m Olympic series...

During the summer Olympics, I toyed with the idea of creating a series on the 100 meter dash. To that effect, I built a collection of bad TV screen shots:

As additional reference materials, I took a few snapshots of myself this morning and used Photoshop to transform them into depersonalized "bas-relief" images. If there is anything "sticking out" on my side - this is likely to be myself as a sore thumb! - that does not show up in my reference materials... I will put it in!

As usual, I am anxious about starting something new... but I am never that serious about it!

Sea shell picking in Sanibel... final pass...

I tried not to destroy too much the freshness of the first two passes...but, still, this time around, I felt the need to make this figure look more realistic, more tri-dimensional...


The saving grace is that I am down to 3 passes now (it is usually 4)... getting closer to my objective of the one stroke painting!

Note to self: "I can't help noticing for the first time that this figure seems to exude physical power - too much? - as if I were already gearing up for the 100 m Olympic series , which I plan to start in Jan 2009..."

Sea shell picking in Sanibel island... part II...

While I had a few minutes in-between shopping sprees, I gave another shot at that Florida beach scene...


Note to self: "Gotta let the kid in me finish off that painting... with only a few additional surgical brush strokes, preferably!"

Sea shell picking in Sanibel island... hum, better than shoveling snow!

After somewhat of an attempt to do somewhat of an ethereal monochromatic beach scene, I seem to be swinging back to bolder colors again. Perhaps I got scared!

Hope the "sloppy style" of the previous painting sticks with me. Perhaps I can have my cake and eat it (bold colors & sloppy style)!

Note to self: "Perhaps if I want loose... I should start loose!"

Pushing the envelope... but not there yet!

Over the last couple of days, I tried a monochromatic beach scene in loose style with dirty colors in my continuous saga to go for more of a contemporary look. However, this painting doesn't seem to have the same punch as some of my previous works featuring more vibrant colors or higher contrasts. Nevertheless, this could be the start of something new (this canvas is unstretched for now)...


I find it difficult to get off the beaten path, abandoning the security of what worked for me in the past. I need to muster enough intestinal fortitude to go for growth... and for me, growth seems to be the migration path to a looser style!

Time to take stock....

After 53 paintings done in the course of 15 months, I feel the need to take stock and extract some key learnings from my painting experience with acrylics.

I derived a certain level of satisfaction creating my first painting series on Kauai. However, these works only looked half decent under optimal lighting conditions and seemed to literally die in the absence of direct light. This was a real let down coming from a watercolor background. The Chinese style underpainting (I was taking course in Chinese black ink painting at the time) with ultramarine blue most certainly did not help...

The "women's eyes" series that followed allowed me to fully explore the capabilities of both fluid and conventional acrylics with a relatively limited palette. I worked with and without white going from transparent to opaque application of paint. Towards the end of the series, I realized the benefits of working with both methods on the same picture, letting the underpainting show through for greater luminosity. I experimented with modeling paste for the first time to create textured backgrounds. I learned about the benefit of zinc white, which is transparent and takes longer to dry. I now mix it with titanium white whenever I need to emphasize these characteristics. I ended up emphasizing brush strokes using heavier paint and taking the risk of mixing directly on the canvas for more variety in colors.

With the beach painting series focusing on the female figure, I explored the graying of colors using titanium white and ivory black in small quantities. My intent was to apply a screen to my colors for more of a contemporary look. My main color palette was and still is limited to 3 key colors (others are added on an as need basis) not including black and white. I experienced with a more expressionist style but seemed to have fallen back to pure realism with minimal details and high contrast even going from pure white to pure black in the gradation of values. Throughout this series, I experimented with gel medium and varnishes for the accentuation of textures. So far, I have avoided "alla prima" painting, favouring a multilayered approach for more control and reserving thicker paint for the last layer.

The last painting from the series (a mother playing life guard, upper left) suggests that when I am left to my own devices, my tendency is to increase my level of comfort and play it safe. I have to remind myself that people rave about some of my "spontaneous" underpaintings and a professional artist already told me that my expressionist painting of a woman walking on the shore (middle right) was "more me" in relation to other paintings of mine. This feedback calls for a more expressive approach on my part... especially in the completion phase where I tend to reverse the machines, losing the freshness from the initial phases.

I have been lucky to hold 2 solo exhibitions this year and sell 10 paintings. The women's eyes series raised a few eyebrows (no puns intended) and people were quite receptive to my artistic statement.

I need to pause briefly before my next move... may the gods be with me when I get going again soon!

Cape May beach scene #3 - final pass....

Had to work a little to finish off this painting and balance everything. For a while, I thought I was losing it.... as is the case for most of my paintings! This is a 24 X 30 canvas.

Thus far, I have been too tight for my liking in execution... part of me would like to go for broke and produce real powerful works for a change. Time will tell, if I can meet this objective.

Cape May beach scene #3...2nd & 3rd pass...

Not being able to clearly visualize the scene from the first pass, which looked like childish doodling, I frantically bombarded the canvas (the better part of one hour) until I started to see a resemblance of the visual experience I had that glorious summer afternoon in Cape May ...

... part III this aft... while I am on the rampage, propulsed by my previous failure!

P.S. Here is the 3rd pass as I am progressing rather prudently towards maximum contrast & highlights, especially in the water area:

Sandbanks #6 final pass... you can't win them all!

I did not fair as well with the heavily gessoed surface... I missed the texture of the canvas and this played against me! The painting registers at 6 feet but lacks interest in a close up view (did not use alla prima) ... therefore this is only half a picture!

In a moment of sheer euphoria, I slapped a coat of matte varnish to attenuate the colors followed by a coat of high gloss varnish to highlight textures... and called it quit. The painting is interesting to look at from a distance but this is not sufficient to make it part of the collection (my signing it was only wishful thinking)!

I am not giving up on the approach... but for the time being, I will pursue my beach painting series using canvas by the roll to see where this will lead me.

While I am at it, here is my first shot at this other beach scene from Cape May:


... a rather massive & monolithic mother playing the role of life guard for a rather cute little surf boarder....

Sandbanks #6 : step II-III - getting out of my comfort zone!

I timidly applied a second layer of paint to establish the framework for bolder expressionist brush strokes with subsequent layers. The association of a multilayered painting approach with expressionism seems to be a contradiction in terms. As a compensatory move, I was sloppier that usual in my application of paint trying to cast the dye at the early stage to get the final look I want. I am crossing my fingers!


P.S. Could not resist a 3rd quick pass early evening... after a dinner with the muse!

Some tweaking of the face is still called for... but it is getting closer... especially when backing off 15 feet from the painting!

Sandbanks #6 start... going for expressionism...

Taking the previously mentioned heavily gessoed canvas, I built the foundation for an expressionist head. Need to figure out the horizon line... plus where I will include the bather (note to myself: head sticking out of the water!) to create this beach scene...

California beach scene I: final step...

This new canvas "by the roll" agrees with me... and could very well be my path to expressionism. Its feel is somewhat between raw canvas and the regular canvas I used to buy. The moment paint starts to behave like watercolors, at least in the initial phase... I am in familiar territories.


Worst case scenario, if I can't produce decent paintings, I can always sell my underpaintings!

Tomorrow, I will experiment painting over one of my previous paintings covered with 3 coats of gesso to get back to a white surface. The grain of the canvas will be absent...

California beach scene I: steps II & III - rolling with the punch...

This new canvas by the roll caught me off guard as liquid acrylics glided over it like watercolors and thicker paint sunk in it with grainy pastel-like effects. I was so perturbed that I forgot my usual ways for a while...with potential fringe benefits... if I can "roll with the punch" and bring it to fruition.


One thing is for sure... I haven't changed my palette and colors are popping up like crazy! Could it be that watercolors are creeping back into my work...

P.S. Couldn't resist slapping a 3rd layer late afternoon. Highlights and more contrast is next on the agenda.

California beach scene I ...painting with a roller... on canvas by the roll...

Running out of stretched canvases today (I used gesso on an earlier "defunct" painting of mine but now need to wait 24 hours before painting), I clipped a piece of canvas on a 45" X 45" Masonite panel... and went at it with a vengeance (a manner of speaking)!


The prospect of working in total freedom (I can turf the canvas if I don't like the painting), and without having to worry about storage really appeals to me for the time being... at this stage of my artistic development (I use the term loosely!). I can now graduate to larger paintings... literally painting with a roller on canvas by the roll!

Sandbanks #5... final pass, notwithstanding the urge to buy a barrel of gesso...

This final pass led to some further adjustments here and there... trying to recreate the best I could the mood of a hot and hazy summer day at the beach. I will use a matte varnish on this one to accentuate that very mood.

Meanwhile, I got myself a gallon of gesso at the art store today. I have been experimenting with acrylics for a little over a year and the sight of some of my early paintings is pretty painful. Looks like I could use some of those canvases for the completion of my beach painting series.

It seems that lately, I have become a painter of light and dark, contrasts and shadows. I use white to paint white and black to paint black! Could it be that Chinese black ink is creeping into my work...