Underpaintings

Several years ago I saw a fairly large painting in a gallery window. The glow of the colors amazed me. As I squinted to read the small card beside the painting I was shocked to discover that I was viewing a work of art done in colored pencil.

The next day I unearthed my supply of colored pencils from the cobwebbed corner where I store supplies that do not vibrate with my internal frequencies. I was determined to breathe life into my pile of colored sticks. It was at that point that I decided to begin a more careful study of 'color'.

My success was limited at best. After executing (the perfect word) two 5" square pieces I returned the lifeless colored pencils to the cobwebbed corner.

A month ago I came across a book, "Masterful Color" by Arlene Steinberg. I was hooked by the cover before I read the small print " vibrant colored pencil paintings layer by layer". Though I knew well the practice of underpaintings, I had never used the method myself. Having started as a plein aire painter, underpaintings never found their way into my life.

A year or two ago I decided that I wanted to make a giant leap to a new level of painting. In order to do so, I knew I would have to break out of my habits, perhaps all of them. My ultimate goal was to create color in my paintings that made my heart sing rather than sleep. I had decided to try my hand at underpaintings a short time before I ran across Arlene Steinberg's book. She presents the idea of creating an underpainting using the complement of the final desired color. Though I thought this a bit absurd at first, the idea began to make sense to me, especially in light of the subtractive color theory I have been using lately with far better results than the additive color theory I've practiced for thirty years.

Yesterday I painted three underpaintings, illustrated here. I will post them again as they progress into full color paintings. I'm anxious to see the difference between painting the greens of the trees over the yellow-orange underpainting and the red-orange underpainting. These three paintings are all oil paintings. I've accepted the fact that colored pencils block the flow of my creative energy.

Raising Funds for the Arts - Roxey Ballet - Zakar Art

On May 10, 2008 a fabulous evening of live Jazz, delicious food and Zakar Art was hosted to raise funds for the Roxey Ballet. Four years have passed since I began creating Zakar Art, capturing the moment of movement to live music.

The intent of Zakar Art is to awaken the public awareness of creativity and the interaction between music, movement and the expression of that energy through the visual arts. I envisioned fund-raising events as an excellent venue for Zakar Art. Some visions take time to manifest. The May 10th event marks the third successful Zakar event of 2008. I will continue to raise funds for the ballet company by painting during the summer workshop sessions and during the dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker in November.

On May 22, 2008 I will paint during the annual New Jersey Arts Collaborative Performance at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ to raise funds for the Butterfly Project. The paintings will be posted on Etsy.com and 50% of the sales will be contributed to benefit Cancer Research.

For many years I have struggled with the question of how I contribute to society and to the universe. The joy of painting and drawing, living the life of an artist, can feel rather indulgent at times in spite of the constant struggle to make ends meet and to purchase supplies in order to continue painting. Zakar Art not only keeps my eye fresh, my body loose and my spirit nourished, it now enables me to contribute to the survival and continuation of the arts.

On the Road

Tom and I recently returned from a road trip to Florida. Tom did all the driving, leaving me to explore the landscape and to reflect on the theme of my upcoming exhibition in October, Unveiled. Sketching in the car was limited to avoid motion sickness. New Jersey to Florida is far too long a drive to chance queasiness.

Over the last six months, still-life and landscape have nudged their way back into the list of subjects I am inspired to paint. The challenge has been to incorporate them into my work in a way that will expand and enhance my language of expression rather than send me on a totally new path. My goal is to express motion through space in still-life and landscape as I do with figures and orbs.

By the time we returned to New Jersey I had renamed the exhibition Unveiled - exploring the elements of art. The diversity of the subject matter will be united by the techniques. I will include preliminary sketches and paintings that will clearly illustrate the strengths of each element and how they can either contribute to or detract from the sense of movement in a painting.