Transitioning - Painting is for the birds...getting the "flock" out!

Summer is vanishing quickly despite my efforts to prolong it through artificial means...

... there is profuse time to think... and I take this opportunity to learn more about a very successful and engaging Quebec artist by the name of Marc Séguin. I went to see some of his paintings yesterday and plan to see the movie about him tonight. I'm looking for inspiration in the area of strengthening the artistic mind and producing art that engages people in a dramatic fashion...

I've been wanting for a while to go back to raw canvas (I have yards of it left after having produced a couple of paintings) and, coincidentally, Séguin is currently using raw canvas from what I can see. Technically speaking, it's been interesting to see his use of black and grey, in particular, the various shades of grey that he obtains - through the use of oils, fusain and ashes- which almost rival those from Chinese black ink. This is for me just an eye opener in terms of the use of staining techniques that are only possible with raw canvas.

Two thing come to mind in terms of future technical exploration:

• The production of black and white images with partial coloration to create drama (I've been toying with this idea since 2007, but did not have the technical knowledge to make things happen)
• The deconstruction of realistic images to create an aura of mystery

While I let these ideas simmer, I want to start 2 series: one depicting "wall to wall" flocks of birds in abstract fashion (I announced this one last year) and, another one tackling the recent economic recession with a twist of humour. Both series will involve birds (I used to be an animal painter), since I want to see the impact of my recent techniques on this rather conventional and potentially boring subject matter.

Time to go back to canvas by the roll!

Behind women's eyes VI final - Not a new apex in spontaneity and technique... but perhaps a glimpse of hope in the color area!

This one was a bit of a struggle technically...

... but I may have learned something about potential color variation and reflection in the rendering of a face. We'll see. I think the time has come for me to leave this series! The initial excitement is gone... along with the prospect of spontaneous gestures!

Note: I decided to leave this one unfinished to give it an aura of "spontaneity"... this is a 30 X 30 canvas.

Note to self: "May as well quit while I'm barely ahead!"

Behind women's eyes VI - step II... Forced to paint!

Although this is not a portrait, I wanted to get as close as possible to the original model...

 ... however, this challenge was steeper than I expected (further adjustments are needed). I've been using more paint than usual... a sign of struggle. Yet, I want to persist... in case I learn something and I will!

Note to self: "If I don't nail it right away, then it parts from the real me and becomes something else! Still, there remains the possibility of discovery."

Behind women's eyes VI - step I... Pushing my luck!

I couldn't resist this dramatic face (thanks to Val my model) before switching to another series...

... this could be my path to contemporary portraiture that's got teeth... or my path to oblivion! Evidently, I'm not taking myself too seriously with this series. In a way, I'm trying to lay the foundation for more abstract patterns within the confines of the human face and the body. So far, I've created a feeling of solidity with my use of darks and high contrasts. In the future, I'd like to toggle between blurriness/elusiveness and solidity within the same painting...

Note: I had to revisit my first attempt realizing that working in a narrow studio has its limitations. I required several attempts in the kitchen to duplicate the general proportions of the face in my reference photo. I don't seem to have this problem as much while sketching (the drawing is the same size as what I see)...

Note to self: "The face at an angle is definitely a challenge for me... measuring may be unavoidable since my eye is always 1/4-1/2 " off  with larger formats... and this can be a killer in portraiture!"

Subnote to self: "The way I went about this one was like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole... something I don't want to repeat!"

Behind women's eyes V final - Still trying to achieve a balance between the finished and the unfinished!

I'm still experimenting with paint application...

... ultimately, I'd like to leave every brush mark alone "sans repentir" and this seems a little easier with the palette knife. With the last few paintings, I've made some inroads... I just need to keep building my confidence level in the face of higher risk taking in paint application.

Note to self: "I figure any spontaneous mark is a good mark!"

Behind women's eyes V - step III... Still exploring at all levels!

With this one, I wanted to depart from extreme darks...

... I may have to restate them here and there... not much work left I think. I'm really going for my own natural way to paint while trying to avoid the monochromatic look for now...

Note to self: "As I experiment, there are hits and misses everywhere, yet colors seem to fall in place... perhaps because transparent mud is more acceptable than opaque mud!"

Behind women's eyes V - step II... Putting myself in danger!

Following suit with the trend that emanated from my last paintings, I try to establish a foundation of dark values for the reflected lights to come...

... funny thing, I feel like not changing "the complexion" of this first pass on the face too much... a new trend for me! Also, with some reluctance at first (I'm scared of green!), I decide to do away with my usual monochromatic look (even if it's only from a distance) once and for all...

I'm on a trend for expression and a relaxed way of painting... and technique may have to take a back seat for a while! All of a sudden, I want to find out what I have in the guts... where the "true me" lies...

This is a 30 X 30 canvas...

Note to self: "For mud to be acceptable, it must be swirled, not stirred!"