End of Boomlift, start of the Commission

Added the lettering and signed it on the door of the Boomlift.  Because I could,  I changed the three initials on the crane to Robert's initials. Kept finding little places to improve or clean up. Added texture to the trees, deepening the blues on the crane, cleaning up the tire treads, going over the grip's clothes again, crisping or blurring edges as called for. I doubt that it's even visible on a photograph. Felt like a dog with fleas.
It's on the wall of the drying room until further notice.

Detail:


Context:


I'll work on the tree of LightGrid tomorrow and the pages of the books in Fire.

 
The initial drawing of the Commission is complete. Here's a shot of the whole canvas, with a Tarot card for scale. The drawing is really hard to see in this photograph, but trust me, it's there.


I pushed the contrast on this closeup photograph  so it will be visible. Here's a detail - the princess in a little antique gold frame overlapping The Knight of swords tarot card.


The drawing went much faster than I anticipated. I'm waiting a few days before I start painting so I can critically review the drawing for any draftsman problems.
What's that saying of Confucius? "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Stepping out today.

Lunch!...One half hour.

Tidying up the location series. Here's Boomlift, 90% done, with all the naked figures deleted and one clothed figure added:

Here's a detail with the figure. My Key Grip spouse says I should title it "Lunch!...One half hour."


I spent the rest of the day griding the source photographs and the 30x40" canvas. It's a beast. I can hardly wait to start.

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.

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.

Back to the studio

Painted today for the first time since I left town May 12th. A little wobbly at the start, then steady, plugged into the process.

Worked on Boomlift


Darkened the shadows and added light shapes, blocked in the front curbside equipment - two carts, a blue rubbish bin, a cart with apple boxes, cardboard and plastic bins, added pops to the red maple tree here and there, made the lawns warmer.

So much canvas to cover that it feels like carrying spoonfuls of water to an almost empty pool, but I have faith. This is the part that is most like going to work- put in the time and believe that someday, somehow, it will be enough. Not as much as you want, not as good as you can imagine, but enough.

I've actually had two painting dreams this week. One where I was painting a canvas of amphitheater steps using a palette knife and juicy, thick paint, and one of adding purple shadows beneath yellow ginkgo leaves. 

One brush stroke at a time

Added figures to BlueScreen; the DP sitting on an apple box behind the camera, the producer with the ponytail next to the tree on the left, the grip holding the blue rag. Here's a detail showing the figures. Looking forward to tackling the gazing ball in the left foreground.


Today I went back to BoomLift and worked on the long retractable arm, wheels on the lift truck, trucks in along the street and pieced togeather the front of the salmon-colored brick house (windows, shutters, roof etc). Softened the interior of the trees a bit. Happy with the sky. Selected figures for different areas.

Boomlift, round three

I've been thinking how like a nomadic tribe - or maybe a band of mercenaries - a film crew is. There are many small figures scattered across the canvas that will appear towards the end.
Here's my third round on Boomlift (working title).



This morning I started blocking on the trees with autumn foliage. My intention is to keep them soft but persuasively tree-esque. There are a pair of large trees in the center behind the boomlift that are purely trunks and bare branches. They go to the top of the canvas and take up about a third of the width. They look like cross between lace and calligraphy to me. They won't get added until I'm done with all the layers of sky, which may be quite a while.
This afternoon I added another layer of white to the flyswatter, truck and the houses. Placed the side of the house and the easy-up tent that shades video village, along with various shrubbery and pine straw islands.

I love posting the work accomplished at the end of the day at the start when the changes are so clear.