Thursday, April 29, 2010

Yoga pose XVIII final - Back to the image maker...having lost the painter!

Each time there's a struggle, I feel I'm not painting anymore...

... the priority, suddenly, becomes the image, as opposed to just making brush marks, using the image merely as a trigger. In the illustrator's turf, I feel diminished, reduced to my simplest expression, yet I persist... in an attempt to learn something... hopefully!

Note to self: "Abstract painting invariably implies a series of constructions and deconstructions... I'm not used to that... but it may be a necessary evil, if I am to survive in art!"

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Yoga pose XVIII - step III... Spaced out... trying to create a sense of space!

I've decided to experiment with a minimalist design with this one...

... for better of for worst! I'm bound to experience new lows as opposed to new highs! At any rate, if I can pull this one off, it will have character... the kind produced to the tune of one thousand fast failures!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Yoga pose XVIII - step II... Back in saddle... but facing the wrong way!

On the spur of the moment, while things seemed to be under control with the brush, I decided to add textures with the palette knife, realizing quickly that I was a bit rusty...

Looks like I'm not the only one facing the wrong way...

Spring has lost its way! A saving grace: as I was getting ready to spray an insecticide on my aphid-infested shrubs... I decided to let the snow take care of this problem!

I'll need a couple more passes on the painting... and the more passes, the more textures and the more color variations! I'm still adjusting body lines. It's time to experiment, moving paint around with the brush in the one hand and the palette knife in the other!

Note: The muse has been pressuring me lately to go back to textures... so I'm just following orders!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Yoga pose XVIII - step I... trying to find Yoga esthetics in dance-like poses!

With this one, I relied once a again on cropping, in an attempt to find a pleasing pattern of "empty spaces"...

I wanted to try a different color scheme for this one, and as I applied color...

...I was confronted once again with my usual demons: how do I fill up all that space? For one thing, I need to make everything bigger! When I apply a first coat (especially for small paintings), everything shrinks... it seems... as if I were only interested in lines...

At the end of this series, I feel I can take "uncalculated" risks! Looks like this painting is not in the bag yet.

Note to self: "My objective is 20 Yoga paintings for this series... and the last few may hurt... like one more rep!"

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Yoga pose XVII final... a little different than I expected!

My start was full of good intentions, but this one evolved into a fairly monochromatic color scheme...

In the end, I decided to introduce more color in the Yoga costume... accents to complement the red...

I don't expect every painting to be a master piece (I don't think I ever produced one)... on the other hand, I try to give everything I have... within the limits of my artistic model. Ironically, it can take me longer to do a small painting! I don't mind this one, but along the way, it parted fairly dramatically from my initial vision.

Note to self: "This dialogue business doesn't seem to work that well for me. Instead, I should build rapidly from the initial creative impulse since the more I work on a piece, the more even and drab colors become!"

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Yoga pose XVII - step III... still exploring... still dialoguing?!!

As expected, I will need to toggle back and forth for a while with this one, to tackle the abstract background, a weakness of mine...

I need to go with the flow... as I apply thicker paint and keep adding color nuances.

Note: I neglected the proportions of the figure a little in this third pass looking for a solution for the background...

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Yoga pose XVII - step II... The kid is back!

After a shopping spree for art supplies, I spent about 30 minutes establishing some color scheme for this painting...

Last summer I bought a book featuring a retrospective of Molly Lamb Bobak's art as I was mesmerized by her use of oranges and purples along with accents of dark blues and greens... so there's a bit of inspiration from her here. Recently, I've decided to establish a dialog with colors and the evolving painting as opposed to plan things out to death. I'll soon find out if this is a one-way or a two-way communication! I'm notorious for doing all the talking, a marketing thing... that can be to my detriment!

In terms of experimentation, I tried a removable oil-based matte varnish from Liquitex (over an isolation coat of acrylic gloss medium & varnish) and liked the results: definitely matte but with a sparkle, and the texture of the canvas is retained. I will try this recipe on a highly textured surface. Breathing the vapors of an oil-based varnish was a killer though... so I need to find a way to ventilate more effectively. Up to now, I have favoured the waxy finish provided by a coat of permanent acrylic gloss varnish (over an isolation coat of soft gel mixed with water) followed by a coat of permanent acrylic satin varnish. In the end, I'm looking for better color enhancement and a minimum of fogging (a potential problem with water-based varnishes, especially on highly textured surfaces).

Note to self: I think super loose is the way to go with smaller formats (20 X 20 for this canvas) since at 3 feet, the observer is already far enough to imagine all the details!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Varnishing, taking stock and thinking about the next contest...

This week, I will varnish any backlog of paintings that I have to avoid the turmoil I went through over the last couple of years preparing for my fall exhibitions...

Going through this process, I can't help analyzing what I've done so far. With this 2nd batch of paintings for my Yoga series, I felt the need to gradually go back to the brush after having experimented with fairly heavy textural effects using the palette knife. This was in part to verify where I was at in terms of my brushwork. Another aspect was that I felt more comfortable with the brush to create a number of smaller paintings exploiting soft effects as opposed to harsh textures (I want a balanced series throughout but with variety of techniques). In terms of textural effects, I favour, for now, the style of the 3rd painting from the left where I used both the brush and the palette knife in unison. I think my future lies in moving paint around with both the brush and the palette knife. The palette knife is the only logical tool to bring large quantities of paint in selected areas. In the end though, because of my background in watercolors and Chinese painting, I'm still attracted to brush marks!

This week, I also need to confirm my participation in an upcoming Montreal wide art contest. Because I'm not where I want to be with textures, I feel I should submit works emphasizing my brushwork and exemplifying my philosophy of painting (expressive, fast and spontaneous, minimalist yet realistic, imperfect)...

These paintings are some of my latest works and, as such, they are quite representative of my current artistic preoccupations. Because of contest rules, many of my "interesting" works cannot be submitted (dimensions and source materials used principally). When it comes to the evaluation of my art, I'm totally clueless! I think that these works, technically speaking, push the boundaries of acceptability... and, I like to be on the edge! Conversely, emotionally speaking, they are a truthful expression of who I am, what drives me.

Meanwhile, I've given a first shot at another full body Yoga pose...

This is a small 20 X 20 canvas...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Yoga pose XVI final - a finale that led to an interminable "pas de deux"!

I took advantage of the nice weather outside to complete our two patio setups for the summer. At the end of the afternoon, I took another stab at my painting...

Minor adjustments that followed led to a lengthy struggle trying to find the proper balance between background and foreground...

... I'm not sure if I won... but it did force me to paint for a change! My usual approach is rather minimalist from a paint application standpoint...

Note: It's been only 5 paintings with the brush and I'm already missing textures with the palette knife...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Yoga pose XVI - step II... a layer at a time, hopefully not to oblivion!

Gardening took over today (everything is growing like crazy outside, thanks to global warming?!)... so I only had 30 minutes to dedicate to this painting...

... may be it's a blessing in disguise... the less intervention, the less damage!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Yoga pose XVI - step I... doing away with "incisive" cropping!

I have selected a number of full body postures to finalize this series, also making available smaller formats in the process (this one is 24 X 24) ...

I hope to appease the viewer's mind and avoid any ambiguity of interpretation. Ideally, I'd like the style of the previous painting to drag into this one!

I was not sure about the color/value scheme, so I adopted a timid approach to test ground using all primary colors at once especially in the background area...

... and settled for a dark figure with highlights on a medium value background.

I streamlined the figure just to see the effect and will readjust along the way. I've got some work to do!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Grand kids portrait - final... cultivating the unfinished look!

I painstakingly went for the unfinished look with this one...

... it took more time not to destroy what was originally spontaneous! The background looks like it's been done by a 3 year old (with crayons!)... a major accomplishment on my part (joke)!

I used to be sloppy at the early stage knowing that I could play "catch up" towards the end using as many layers as needed. I got caught by surprise with this one. I applied full color at the early stage alla prima... and ended up with a plausible picture.

For some reason, the right size of eyes for the girl escaped me from the beginning, a crucial feature to depict the right age; I've been sketching the boy for a while, it's the first time for the girl, clearly familiarity makes a difference! Backing off 15 feet from time to time to check proportions needs to become part of my routine.

Note to self: "For the first time since I've been using acrylics, I feel that the real artist in me is emerging. This painting really expresses my feelings about these two kids: i.e., a whole lot of love and positive emotions! In view of this experience, I need to revise my ways! "

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Grand kids portrait - step II... a short-circuited second layer!

Today was my shopping day for art supplies and gardening materials... so I only had a little more than an hour to complete this second layer (22 X 28 canvas)...

Looks like I'm still dragging my watercolors from Cuba! It's like I can't be bothered blending colors any more... sort of a nonchalance from the South or a reluctance to give up on any color that I visually experienced there...

I never felt so compelled not to finish a painting to conserve the character of a second layer!

Note: I still need to tweak the girl's eyes but this time around only "size wise"; I also need to create a plausible lighting for her face since it was washed out by the camera flash...

Monday, April 5, 2010

Grand kids portrait - step I... Could'nt resist these two!

During the Holiday Seasons, I took a snap shot of the grand kids that has been "haunting me" ever since...
They both have their grand mother's "pout", which makes them irresistible to the artist in me! Because I know the subjects very well, I got very close on the first attempt. Displacing the girl's left eye slightly towards the nose is the only thing I see at this stage beyond other minor adjustments...

Note: Talking about pout, I'm attracted by the power exuded by an air of defiance. It would be interesting to do another series depicting "women with an attitude/powerful women"... another series that won't sell (people want to have landscapes or city scenes in their living room)! Gotta line up canvas by the yard, foam boards and garden plastic moldings...

Friday, April 2, 2010

Back to reality... after a "crash and burn" vacation!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Cayo Santa Maria area in Cuba (I must admit my wife and I found January particularly hard this year because of the lack of sun)...

I spent more time reading about art than doodling or painting (the place was pretty windy and I'm no longer comfortable with watercolors!)...

... however, the colors will still be in my head when I attempt to finish my Yoga series in the next few weeks! On the topic of watercolors, it would be an interesting challenge for me to produce a few Yoga paintings with this medium... something that has been simmering in my mind for a while...

Note to self: "The muse shed 20 pounds over the last 6 months or so by eating more vegetables and avoiding eating certain food groups together... makes me think about doing a series on "vintage women"!