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...

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