Tuesday, August 30, 2011

This is not a Velasquez - final.... Velasquez must be turning in his grave!

I finished this one in 30 minute spurts as the weekend was rather busy with a wedding and taking care of two of our grand children...

 With this one, I was trying to explore a painting language for a "dream like/immaterial" rendition. It's a piggy-back on the previous painting, but the subject is evidently quite conservative... and not one of my usual abstracted close-ups... but I had to get this one out of my system! Nonetheless, it does fit in my "smoke and mirrors" series... especially the "smart ass" title!

This definitely requires further exploration on my part... but, in the end, my paintings are heading in the direction of being a "mixed bag" of tricks!

Note: Second photo with a flash...

Note to self: "I'm starting to have a broad painting vocabulary... question is... can I say something?... do I have something to say?!"

Sunday, August 28, 2011

This is not a Velasquez - step III... An adjustment phase!

After analysis, I felt the need to adjust the figure a little, particularly the "barn door" proportions of the back ...

This is bound to have a ripple effect elsewhere! I will then be ready for some "deconstruction" work... sort of an attempt to lose the figure into the background without losing it... this is the difficult part for me!

Note to self: "When rendering the figure I need to get rid of my bodybuilder frame of mind... the moment I start applying paint... figures tend to take epic proportions easily... and sort of get out of control!"

Friday, August 26, 2011

This is not a Velasquez - step II... The point of view makes a big difference!

I've been wanting for a while to try a traditional subject matter to test my current "off the wall" techniques...

Deconstructing a whole figure is more difficult than doing it with a "macro" point of view... I realize I'm a bit timid! I definitely need another layer!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

This is not a Velasquez - step I... Keeping the momentum going from the previous work!

Subject matter is less of a concern these days... I have an urgent  need to bring some of my recent experiments with soot and walnut stain to fruition...


The title is meant as a joke since it's already apparent that the Master is out of reach for me!

Note to self: "I'm not quite ready for stand alone black and white renditions... I'm getting closer each time... this one needs a slight correction in the spinal area..."

Monday, August 22, 2011

Ultimate fighter VI final... A first hesitant step towards painting fragments of memory?

In the end, I decided to leave this one relatively unfinished...

I've been toying for a while with the idea of painting what's left in memory just after having seen something in a flash. The look of this one is different enough (relative to what I've done before) to warrant further exploration on my part...

Update: I tried a mat varnish on this one to add to the effect... and photographed it again, but this time in the bright sunshine...


Note to self: "The challenge will be to maintain this look with the application of bolder colors in futur works... I think I'm after a certain refraction effect..."

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Ultimate fighter VI -step III... Trying to open a door!

The third pass was fluid and transparent to retain as much of the original look as possible...


I think I need to take a pause before completion... this "fragment of memory" look is something I've been after for a while!

Montreal world film festival...

In the context the Montreal world film festival, I had a chance over the weekend to see a documentary on a fellow artist now living in Nicaragua: Jean Marc Calvet. It's the extraordinary story of an individual who managed to find his redemption in the visual arts after having lived a very dark period in his life. It's truly inspirational and Dominic Allan, director and producer, is to be congratulated for his excellent cinematography and the way he approached an emotionally charged situation at the end of the documentary...


Having lunch with Dominic Allan was a real treat. I wish him good luck in all his future endeavours.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Ultimate fighter VI -step II... Lost the habit of raw cotton/linen!

I aimed at a fluid second pass but was confronted with the super absorbency of raw cotton/linen (I had almost forgotten it seems)...

 Still, I like the raw appearance of the painting at this stage. I modified my palette somewhat since the beginning of this fighter series, so I'm anxious to see the impact on this kind of support...

Note to self: "There's no two ways about it... I need to vary my technique depending on the support!"

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Ultimate fighter VI -step I... Trying soot and walnut stain on raw cotton/linen...

I've been wanting for a while to try my recently developed techniques on raw cotton/linen...

A bit rougher but as exciting nonetheless! A perfect monochromatic image is probably impossible to achieve on this type of canvas... but the idea is to retain as much as possible the spirit of this first pass. Strangely enough, soot is easier to manipulate than walnut stain on this type of canvas... it remains granular when diluted.

Note: I'm having a pregnant pause before delineating the upper fighter's left ear!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Soot experiment IV final... Working nuances...

I took an hour or so this morning to slap another coat of paint in an attempt to introduce more color nuances...


A few finishing touches in the afternoon gave me more or less what I wanted from this picture. This photo was taken in the bright sun shine...

Note: I used walnut stain instead of soot for the underpainting with this one... but both are very similar in behaviour... I think I will call this one "whirlwind"...

Monday, August 15, 2011

Soot experiment IV - step IV... Slowly gravitating towards fully saturated colors...

For the fourth coat, I decided to go with fluid transparent washes to introduce some nuances...

Another coat will be required to get the darks and nuances I'm after...

Note: I'm developing two sets of techniques in parallel: 1) the use of black soot and/or brou de noix as a substitute for paint in the creation of  full-blown images 2) The optimal use of paint over underpaintings made with soot and/or brou de noix. Ultimately, I'd like to mix and match these techniques to create images that show characteristics associated with charcoal drawings, old photographs and contemporary art (drippings, splashes, textural effects, etc...).

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Soot experiment IV - step III... Still a bit rough on the edges!

A quick third pass with thicker painting led to this somewhat roughed out version...

 Darker contrasts and more nuances will be the order of the day tomorrow...

Friday, August 12, 2011

Soot experiment IV - step II... Gauging the influence of brown!

I tried a second coat this afternoon, somewhat impatient about the impact of the brown underpainting...

I reminded myself that, in watercolor, raw umber and Prussian blue were a good combination in a monochromatic color scheme. All of sudden, I know that lips and eyes need to get bigger... and they will!

Note to self: "It dawned on me that soot in conjunction with brou de noix would make for a perfect underpainting."

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Soot experiment IV - step I... Trying "brou de noix" as a base instead of soot....

I took the opportunity this afternoon to start a new painting using a form of walnut stain for the underpainting (somewhat similar to using soot)...

Time will tell if the addition of transparent colors will produce an effect not unlike that from old color photographs... for this one though, I have a more colorful rendering in mind.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Soot experiment 3 final... Soot to kill!

After the third layer, having fumbled the ball with my soot underpainting, I decided to go full blast with way more paint...

Not surprisingly, I ended up with something else relative to what I had in mind. I haven't given up on soot yet since I saw its potential at step two. A few days ago, I bought some walnut stain (brou de noix) to see what kind of underpainting I could get with that. These days, it seems as if the rebel in me is coming out with more ideas not to use paint.... in my painting process!

Note: I think I will call this painting "deception"...

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Soot experiment 3 - step III.. Getting away from soot... again!

My last step kind of discarded the soot underpainting in favour of creating the mood I had in mind using a number of transparent color washes...

At best, I kept the spirit of soot towards the completion of this painting. The second step could have been final if I had gone for a more elaborate soot underpainting... but I was too impatient!

Note to self: "In retrospect, I could have tinted soot with a powerful transparent blue as opposed to fluorescent rose... I ended up with brown mud!"

Soot experiment III - step II... fog is the order of the day!

I slapped a second coat on this one trying to retain as much underpainting as possible...

The 3rd coat will need to be subtle to retain the foggy look I'm after....

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Sushi making as a substitute for painting.... still dabbling in colors!

The Muse got a course on sushi making last night from a daughter-in-law...

I took care of the eating part... while still thinking about my next painting!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Soot experiment III - step I... On the coat tail of soot again!

Having some withdrawal symptoms from not painting for a week, I decided to start this new experiment with soot...

Working in a small studio is a challenge in the rendering of a face in a large 36 X 36 format... nothing that couldn't be corrected by widening the nose shadow and lowering the left side to the mouth...


Right now, I'm using a hybrid approach (soot/paint) partly to overcome my limitations... and  to develop a new look. I'm using tinted soot as a first step to short-circuit the process...

Note to self: "Developing a perfect black and grey underpainting in one shot is a challenge... but eventually my drawing capabilities will be up to par. For now, I'm excited about the fluidity of this new approach, and the capability of correcting a little along the way owing to the addition of paint."