Nebulas, white doves, and books aflame.

Worked on the Fire and have a final source image cobbled together from four photos. Background from one, open book from another, orange glow on wall from a third and an interesting grate surface from a fourth.
My friend Gin calls it 'patch-and-piece'. I am so stealing that for my artist's statement.

I tried to put the pieces together using a couple of apps on my iPad but after three hours of failure I gave up and did it the old fashioned way - cut the bits out with scissors and taped them together. Done a dusted in under five minute.

Toned and gridded the canvas, and working on the drawing today.

Still thinking about the fifth element; spirit, soul. 'Being itself' as Thomas Merton put it. The landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity reminded me of NASA's nebula photographs which I am thinking of superimposing over/under a white dove. Catholic iconography may be stamped in my DNA.

Rocking right along

Busy days in the studio.
1. Packing up paintings to send to the delightful Gail Pierson Gallery in Cape May, NJ. Eight small works, none larger than 10x10". If you are in the area, stop in and say hey.
2. Painting back-lit leaves on LightGrid. Wonder if that's where the inspiration for stained glass began.
3. Galloping along on the four elements. Know I am bound to hit a fence too high to jump at some point, but holding on tight for the ride right now.

After a couple of false starts (a kiln and a forge), my Muse showed up with the idea and image tied up together with a ribbon of fiery inspiration. DId photogrpahy this morning and it worked out. Check back for the start of the Fire painting next week.

On a side note I went out for a loaf of bread yesterday and came home with a wheeled, rocking wooden office chair that fits me like it was carved for me, and a oriental rug. Easily distracted.

Shadows on curtains

Bocked in the curtain, fan shadow and corner of the mantle. The saturated color is delicious to me.

Working on the branches of the trees reflected in water. A breeze after doing the limbs of trees in Boomlift. Again, the saturated color is like a cup of strong, milky tea and toast with butter dripping from it - such a pleasure.

Air, Implied

Started Air yesterday. Painted mostly negative shapes and the leather table top.



Although I took many photos of the kiln firing, none of them are beseeching me to paint them. I am thinking I should wait until October, when the days are shorter and they might run the kiln at dusk. Also thinking of tracking down a wood-fired pizza oven. Or a crematory.

Meanwhile, more progress on LightGrid. Added sky behind the tree canopy, more texture in the pasture and on the dirt road.

Wet

Worked on the Washtub again.  Best part, there's not much thinking. Mixing color, loading the brush, placing the paint - it seems to bypass my cerebral cortex. Instinct hooks into intuition and muscles respond. It feels great.

Dirt roads, light grids, raku firing

Today I blocked in leaves on the upper left, and did another layer of paint on the sky and the shadows. Placed most of the fence posts, added texture to the dirt road. In such a good mood, I was dancing around the easel (to the soundtrack of Guys & Dolls, if you must know) and painting away. I have been schooled by my son, the rigging grip, that the equipment in front of the tree is a Light Grid.



Tomorrow there's a Raku pottery firing at the art center at 3pm. I'm nipping over to see what I can get on my iPhone camera app. Hoping for a intense red glow. The kiln is made of dry stack brick, so there plenty of texture.

Light Grid / White SIlk

Starting a new painting for the Location series. It's a light grid, stretched on a frame and attached to c-stands, used to keep the light even on the actors' faces. Here it's tied to the tree in the crew parking lot until needed. It's from a photo taken on The Walking Dead show last year, on location in Senoia, Ga.

Having bought, toned and gridded the canvas, and done the under-drawing yesterday, I spent an hour this morning mixing color and then jumped in. I blocked in the sky, the pasture and the grid cloth, and began the country road. Worked until lunch on the line of trees in the far background and the dappled shadows cast by the tree.


After lunch until 3pm I kept going on the patterns of light and shadow cast by the tree and the dirt road. 

Haven't blocked in the tree canopy or placed the fence posts which run between the road and the pasture, but feel a lovely sense of momentum. The darks in the deepest part of the shadows wll need multiple layers, as will the sky, but the pasture and trees look very close even on this first pass. Feels so good, like flying.

 

Why did this particular image grab me by the collar and holler 'paint me'?  It has to do with the visual anomaly of this isolated bit of movie equipment in a rural scene.  The shadow of the tree trunk reminds me of Indonesian shadow puppets. The peaceful, pastoral stillness of the background contrasts with the twisty reach of the shadows spreading out toward the viewer. It fits its zombie series origin.

Wet, Barn, and Bluescreen

Moving along on Wet. Added center water/sky and most of the submerged leaves. Blended edges and set it aside to dry.


Started the barn set.


Did a ton of work on Bluescreen - the forest, leaves, weeds and the glare around the umbrella- but doubt it will show in a photo. The deepest darks have dulled out but will reappear after varnishing.

A few more leaves to break up the forest floor, and a little more glow around the umbrella and I'm done. Added some of the distinct leaves that fall in front of the screen. They went shockingly fast and easy. I'll add their shadows tomorrow.Right this minute I am pretty happy with it, but that could change.

H2O

Had a great morning adding leaves and the edges of the water. Ah, saturated color, how I've missed you. It reminds me of painting the glasses on any of the Table for One series. Just shapes - form and volume. A friend said perhaps I am an abstract painter at heart. Snort.


Working title: Wet

planning ahead

All the figures are finally placed in Boomlift, I'll be doing fine squiggly marks for the tree limbs for the next week, and more lines and ropes on the Boomlift mechanism itself.

I drew the washtub full of water and leaves yesterday. Today I painted the elliptical edges of the tub, and the branches of the tree the water reflects - then when I paint the water/sky colors over it and the chalk grid vanishes, I'll still have an accurate guide.
Mixed the colors for water, which means sky and autumn leaves. Felt like I was on holiday. Big brushes, free brush strokes.

Go figure

Another round on the crew of Boomlift. Painted over two figures that didn't work and blocked in three more. Did some refinement of existing figures. Three to go, then it's back to the tree limbs against the sky.

  

Here's the big picture for scale.

Figure studies

Did little walking, standing, and kneeling figure studies to get the scale right for Boomlift. These are two inches or less and need to be a bit smaller. Want to convey everything simply with a few tones and angles. Played with color too.
Practicing before I commit to the canvas, on the 'measure twice, cut once' theory. I'll need to keep warm morning light coming from the right. It's like a puzzle made of flesh and light and shade.

Leafyness

Adding leaves to Boomlift. Lots of them. Layer three of a projected five. Once that's done, the foremost branches will get explicit leaves with shadows.


I miss having a small painting to turn to while I am working on large scale pieces. Thinking about starting one, or doing some fast oil sketches.

Squiggle. Pause. Squiggle. Pause.

Just one tree limb after the next.  Some days require more patience than others.

Boom (shaka-laka-laka)

Back to Boomlift this morning. Painting along to my Pandora country mix.


Beginning to build the trees limbs - it's like making lace. Also added texture to the silk, placed the box on the top of the lift, and deepened the values on the equipment by the curb.


Added detail to the trucks, and the pavement and shadows on the road.


If this painting was a child, it would be entering middle school.