Sky as the source of color scheme

The underpaintings shown are a mix of viridian, cadmium red medium and white. Yesterday I applied the first glaze to the square painting illustrated above, a landscape in Northern Portugal. I started the session with a neutralized blue-gray to the sky. My attention was focused on mixing colors to create distant atmospheric perspective. When it came to the foreground greens I found it difficult to mix colors that didn't make my stomach turn and cause a sense of depression to deplete my energy. After several hours of struggle, I was able to mix brighter, yet still grayed, greens and an odd, but not unpleasant sense of light began to give life to the painting.



Today's session started on a second canvas (same underpainting colors) with a different approach to the sky, a bright, yet light value mix of cobalt turquoise and white. The color of the sky determines the light source and therefore affects all the other color mixes on the canvas. If the sky is gray, there are no blues being reflected off of the landforms in the shadows below; nor are there warm yellows reflecting off of the landforms in the sunlit areas since the sun is also blocked. Therefore only grayed variations of all the colors are possible if I am limiting myself to reality which, of course, I am not. Reality is only a starting point. When the sky is blue, the shadow areas will reflect a lovely blue variation of the local color and the sunlit areas will reflect white or yellows variations of local color. As the sun sets and the sky becomes more purple with oranges reflecting off of the clouds, the same colors appear in the shadows and lit areas of the landscape.

I remember the first winter after discovering alizarin crimson. It was the early 70's. Winter no longer appeared gray, white, black and brown with a blue sky overhead. Everywhere I looked I saw crimson and purple brambles, hillsides of lavenders and pinks. My eyes, having awakened to the crimsons of the leafless trees and bushes, became aware of the bright blues in shadows cast upon snow next to the sunlit yellows and oranges. Once again, painting is awakening me to new colors and nuances of color that have surrounded me all my life without my taking notice.

Creeping Up on Color

July in New Jersey challenges me to find interest and variety in the color green, even when painting in the studio. Using a limited palette makes it easier to create variety in my greens without introducing a green from a totally different light source. The fact that the same limited palette can be used to express landscapes at different times of the day and under different weather conditions might appear to contradict my last statement. I use a large sheet of glass as a palette allowing me to leave many piles of mixed paints spread about the surface. If the colored piles don't work well together on the palette, the colors won't work well together on the canvas.

I am finding that cool greens work better than warm greens when glazing over an underpainting of cool red. Both cool and warm greens work well over a warmer toned underpainting. Each day another positive aspect of underpainting reveals itself to me. Because the hues of the underpaintings are varied, I am forced to explore different choices for the glazes such as grayed greens, purple-greens and strong blue-greens.
The strong yellow-orange underpainting of the sky in the last two images forced a stronger blue that moves toward a lighter lavender and ended up suggesting one of those peculiar weather situations where it is raining a few miles up the road while the sky above is still a bright blue. The trees ahead, closer to the storm, are a cool, gray-green, while the trees closer to the foreground are a warmer, grayed green.

An unexpected result of painting landscapes in the studio is that I see the combinations I've created artificially in real landscapes. I've learned more about atmospheric color schemes in the past month than in a decade of plein-air painting. I'm looking forward to packing my gear and setting up outside this fall. Perhaps I will do a quick underpainting in acrylic so that it will dry quickly and I can immediately begin to overpaint in oil.

Link to page on website featuring progress of these paintings.

Subtle Changes and Safflower Oil

About a month ago I came across the book Traditional Oil Painting by Virgil Elliott. I refer to it often while experimenting with the technique of glazing over underpaintings.

In Chapter 7, Oil Painting Materials, Elliott suggests using safflower oil for cleaning brushes followed by soap and water rather than using turpentine. I have always used soap and water on all of my brushes, but never thought of using a vegetable oil for the preliminary cleaning. Safflower oil is a common binder in many oil paints. It can also be used judiciously to thin paints while glazing. I was surprised by the successful results as both a cleaner and a medium.

I applied a very thin glaze on the painting illustrated here. I wanted to get a feel for the coloring of the sky before I worked color into the trees. After the first glaze on the sky and a bit on the road, I mixed a cool, dark glaze of alizarin crimson, viridian and a touch of manganese. I glazed over the trees and grassy areas attempting to establish a sense of the clustering of the trees. It is difficult to see the subtle changes of value in these photos. The manganese helps to create a sense of the same atmospheric light. I'll let the painting dry completely before going back into the trees with a greater variety of greens, both warm and cool, the cool being dominant. After establishing the final range of values in the trees as well as a stronger palette for the trees I will glaze another layer onto the sky and the road. I want a sense of rich darkness in the trees, but I want the grass of the medium to be lighter, reflecting more sunlight and sky. The foreground road will be darker; the foreground grass will be lighter. The challenge at this point is finding a suitable hue for the lightest lights in the foreground grass.

Underpaintings of Figures

The benefits of doing an underpainting continue to delight me. I find it easier to correct drawing and test values. I have more patience, correcting the drawing as many times as necessary. Trees are much more forgiving than faces. The technique of glazing multiple layers of paint over the underpainting requires weeks, perhaps months to complete since each layer must dry completely before applying the next layer of glaze. What is the sense in spending weeks applying glazes over a poor drawing?

The colors are so extreme that the canvas begins to take on a life of its own from the very first few brush strokes. A conversation begins almost immediately and the dialogue between the canvas and the right side of my brain is absolutely entertaining. I am amused that I feel as carefree painting this way in oils as I do splashing, splattering and pouring watercolor paint. For the past several years I've been trying to figure out how to thin oils so that I can manipulate them like watercolor. I thought I needed to splash, splatter and pour to get the sense of depth and motion I want. It is absurd to me that the technique of the old masters has given me the freedom I was searching for. It is difficult at this stage to imagine what the paintings will look like with five or six layers of glaze.

Image: Rachel Brice, Tribal Fusion Belly Dance Performer

Link to page on website featuring progress of portrait paintings.

Five Elements of Art

Talking about a painting is a challenge for the viewer as well as the artist. Artists often use words too esoteric for even other artists to grasp the intended meaning. Viewers might not even attempt to connect the words with the brush strokes on the canvas. The solution is to find a simple vocabulary that can be understood by all. My friend, Dine, introduced me to Art Fundamentals – Theory and Practice published by McGraw Hill, a fantastic book that offers definitions and examples of a basic vocabulary with which to talk about, analyze and appreciate the world of art. I immediately read the book from cover to cover.

After so many years of painting I had taken my evaluation process for granted. I had stopped communicating clearly with myself, working more from the gut and ignoring the input that the left side of my brain might offer. With the Five Elements of Art in mind, I reviewed the paintings throughout my studio. My strengths and weaknesses shouted through the veil of artistic expression. How refreshing!

The experience of traveling to a foreign country is much enhanced when the traveler is able to communicate with the local people in their own language. The experience of standing before a painting is much enhanced when the viewer understands the language of the artist. So began the development of the yoga/art workshop that combines yoga with visual games focused on the five elements of art with the intent of opening the door to the pool of creative energy available to all, artists and non-artists alike. So began the idea of an exhibit that reaches out to the viewer rather than simply presenting itself to the viewer. Unveiled – The Anatomy of a Painting is such an exhibit, displaying paintings that illustrate my decision-making process as well as preliminary stages of the paintings to clarify that process.

I am a bit hesitant to bare my dirty laundry on the walls of Monsoon Gallery, while at the same time, I want the viewer to see what is beneath the many layers of paint that lead to the final surface. Within those many layers is the expression of the creative process, both the struggle and the joy. The final result is the conclusion of that creative process to which I am addicted. If painting were not a challenge, I would have given it up long ago. Each painting presents the opportunity to try new variations of manipulating the basic five elements of art; the options are limitless.

Image: Underpainting for Nicole - oil painting on masonite - 2' x 2'

Link to page on website featuring progress of portrait paintings

What if ......... ?

Though the technique of glazing over a complementary-color underpainting is quite different from throwing, splattering and dripping watercolor onto paper, I discovered yesterday that the labor intensive glazing technique triggers the same thrill of experiencing the unexpected as my watercolor technique. As I gazed at the variety of the underpaintings of the past two days another significant similarity struck me. Both techniques lead to my asking “What if ....... ?”

What if I intensify the values of the underpainting?
What if I use analogous colors in the underpainting?
What if I handle the brush more freely?
What if I draw with strong-valued lines of paint?
What if I use more turpentine, causing the paint to drip in the underpainting?
What if I use that horrid color, cadmium red medium, in the underpainting?
Can I make the color sing by glazing vivid colors over a neutralized underpainting?
What if I do the underpainting in two or three sessions of glazes?

Yesterday I began by digging out my least favorite color, cadmium red medium. As beautiful as cadmium red light is both by itself and mixed with almost anything else, cadmium red medium is dreadfully dull by itself and manages to absorb the life out of any other color it is mixed with. Earlier in the day, while sipping a delicious cup of Dine’s coffee, I mentioned to my dear friend that I would experiment with cad. red medium in the fall after the exhibit at Monsoon is hung. She asked why I didn’t get rid of the paint rather than spoil good canvas and expensive paint trying to make it into something it isn’t. Perhaps the answer is that I’m stubborn and can’t help but believe there is at least one way to use the color successfully. As soon as I climbed the stairs to my studio I knew that there was no reason to put of until October something that I could do immediately.

I squeezed out cadmium red medium, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow medium, cobalt turquoise, pthalo turquoise and french ultramarine blue. After completing one large and one small underpainting I was left with sizable piles of blue paints on my palette. I ended yesterday’s painting session with extreme dark blue of the trees contrasted against a pale sky and ribbons of road.

My animosity toward cadmium red medium diminished significantly. I decided to use only cadmium red medium and viridian in today’s underpaintings. After the first two, I added pthalo turqoise.

There are two tried and true ways to activate color. One is by placing complementary colors next to one another. The second is to place vibrant color against a neutralized color, one that amplifies rather than competes with the color that is meant to sing. Even a less-than-vibrant-color can appear quite lovely against a neutral. I look forward to breathing energy and life into all of these experimental underpaintings.

Glazing Technique

On July 1st, Judy Stines asked "Can you give us any details on your glazing technique?"

The purpose of the series Between Here and There is twofold: to explore the technique of glazing and to create a series of paintings that clearly illustrate the five elements of painting as simplistically as possible. I chose subject matter that presents a common, everyday experience, that of seeing the road cut through the landscape while driving in a car. The subject of these paintings is secondary to the elements of the paintings. The exhibit, Unveiled - The Anatomy of a Painting, will present both representational and abstract paintings. My hope is that the road series will introduce the idea that all paintings are working with the same elements. It is only through the artist's skilled and successful manipulation of these elements that content and meaning are communicated to the viewer.

My experience with this glazing technique has already inspired me to go further with it following the exhibit. In the future I will concentrate more on layered, composite drawings. In the road series, the drawing is extremely simple, stating only basic shapes and only suggestions of more complexity within those shapes.

I begin with a photograph. Hah! I cringe at the thought of working from photographs. In this case, fortunately, I made an exception.

Surface: My surfaces are either prepared birch plywood or stretched canvas. The plywood is sealed on both sides with two coats of acrylic GAC (made by Golden) and four coats of acrylic gesso. I sand the surface before applying the next layer. I also glue a frame made from 1"x2" strips 2" smaller than the board on the back to prevent warping and to provide a way to hang the paintings if they are not framed.

Drawing: Working from the dimensions of the canvases and boards, I crop the photographs and rework them using pastels to achieve the shapes and values that will create strong compositions. Using a projector, I transfer the drawing onto the surface indicating only the basic shapes, avoiding any small details.

Color Palette: My color palette is limited. I want to explore the range of color I can achieve using only White (Zinc White or Permalba White for transparent glazes and Titanium or Flake White for more opaque layering), Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Manganese Blue, Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue.

Mediums: I am using either oil paints or acrylic paints for the underpaintings. I am using only oil paints for the glazes. I am not using a medium with the oil paints for the glazes, only turpentine.

Underpainting: For the underpainting I mix colors that are close to being the complement of the final color and are the same value as the final value. For example, if the sky will be a dark blue, I mix a dark orange. If the trees are going to be a mid-value cool green, I mix a mid-value cool red. I am experimenting with the warm and cool aspects of the underpainting and glazes. I will adjust my technique depending on the results.

Glazes: Each layer must dry completely! I apply the glaze with a brush, sometimes rubbing it into the surface with a cloth or removing parts of it with a brush or cloth. Sometimes I scumble the paint over the surface. I keep the edges soft at this point. Sharp definitions of shapes will come in later layers. I mix colors both on the palette and on the painting, enjoying the nuances that are automatically created by the interaction of the underpainting and the glazes. I allow the underpainting to show through in order to preserve the push and pull that occurs when complementary colors are placed next to one another.

The technique is quite simple. What is hardest for me is to be patient and allow the layers to dry completely before applying the next glaze. I am working on at least eight paintings at a time. That, too, is a new experience for me.

Color Play

Figure 1. illustrates the first layer of glaze on the road in the foreground. Figure 2. illustrates the first layer of glaze on the rest of the underpainting and the second layer of glaze on the road.

The cool reds of the underglaze demand equally cool greens in the glazing. The mood created is wonderfully different from the first few paintings in this series. I continue to be in awe of the ease with which a sense of mood and light can be created by this technique, glazing over an underpainting of complimentary colors. I can only imagine the results of at least half a dozen glazes.

I see experimenting with this series as another turning point in my growth as an artist. What might have been a miserable experience of juggling too many responsibilities and time crunches with preparing for the solo show in October has been transformed into a journey of joy and discovery. Had my time not been so restricted, I would never have chosen this path. I would be outdoors painting.

Last winter I began to prepare for a spring and summer of painting outdoors again. Little did I imagine that my life would change in a way that kept me from that goal. I have watched the most beautiful spring that I have ever experienced in New Jersey, followed by a lush and visually exciting summer. Perhaps next year I will be able to paint outdoors. When I do, my experience will be richer as a result of this study of glazing over underpaintings. The series is appropriately named "Between Here and There".

Links to previous blog entries and images of the progress of this series:
Exhilarating Fun
Underpaintings
Acrylic vs. Oils

Acrylic vs. Oils

I enjoy taking risks when I paint as long as the risks I am taking have the potential of making something wonderful happen. When painting with watercolor, when less than wonderful things happen there are multiple options to take while still moving forward. Even after the layers of splats, splatters, flicks and careful brush strokes result in absolutely no life emerging from the paper, I can wash the whole thing off and start again with a beautifully patterned paper rather than a stark white piece of paper.

Oil paints also allow me to venture into the unexplored territory of techniques. The only limitation I am forced to accept is that I can't pour and splatter them the way I can watercolor and acrylic. Acrylic paint has never been a favorite of mine. It dries too fast. I thought, after having discovered that I can mix my own fluid acrylics and splatter/splash them the way I do watercolor, that acrylic might join the ranks of mediums I adore. It has its place in my work, but I don't adore it. After yesterday's painting session, glazing over both oil underpaintings and acrylic underpaintings, I decided to continue all of the glazes in oil and not shift over to acrylic in July.

Several months ago I attended an acrylic workshop. I was the only artist in attendance who still painted in oils. I was asked why in the world I would do such a thing. Why? Because I love the smell, the feel, the way color can be mixed on the palette and on the canvas, blending (or not) to my heart's content. I don't care about all the nifty things you can do with the acrylic mediums that turn a painting into a stained glass decal that will stick to my window or turn my canvas into a three dimensional topographical map. In spite of the negative attitude I have toward acrylic paints, I have found ways to use them that have inspired new directions that I will follow. My mind and heart are open to a better relationship with these speedy dry paints. However, no matter how much retarder I use, they do not please me the way oil paints do.

The "Between Here and There" series will be part of my solo exhibition Unveiled - The Anatomy of a Painting at Monsoon Gallery in October, 2008. If I were to follow my original plan of switching to acrylics for the glazes I would find myself manufacturing paintings rather than creating them and I would not be able to smile or carry on an honest conversation about the paintings at the opening. Instead of dreading the hours of struggling with quick drying acrylics I look forward to applying each and every layer in oils.

Exhilarating Fun

I began today's painting session with both excitement and apprehension. As I squeezed paint onto my old RCA Television Glass Pallette (saved from my family's first television in the 50's) I reminded myself that the results of first time efforts are often less than visually pleasing. This was my first experience applying thin glazes over a complimentary underpainting. The last thing I expected was to have so much fun, starting with the first brush stroke.

I'm curious as to how these new paintings that require months of alternating drying periods with glazing will influence my pleine air work. I will continue to post photos of the paintings as they evolve.

Already, I am seeing colors differently as I drive along our country roads, the light flickering between the tree branches of the dense wooded hills.

Automatic Blog Updates

During the past two weeks my ability to manage the google group connected to this blog has mysteriously vanished. This entry may or may not get to those of you who have joined the Before the Curtain Falls group. If you wish to continue receiving updates, please please visit www.chriscarterart.com and click on "Contact Chris Carter" at the bottom of the page. Send me an email indicating your email address. I will forward updates to you as I post them.

Paying for Representation

How valid is a list of galleries that represent an artist's work when the artist pays for the representation? How hard does the gallery work to represent that artist and to sell the artist's work if the gallery has already made a profit from the artist paying them to be a part of an exhibition or a special event?

Every week I receive at least one invitation from a gallery in New York or London or somewhere else in this ever-shrinking world. A lovely message telling me that they discovered my web site and feel that my work would fit well in their gallery or their upcoming show. For a small fee (anywhere from $600 - $3000) they would be happy to include my work in their show and "possibly" represent my work in the future.

After a letting out my fury I respond as kindly as I can letting them know that I don't pay for my representation. If they are interested in my work without the required fee, I will be happy to discuss possibilities with them. If the gallery feels that they can sell my work, they will make their money off of the sales, not off of my investing in them.

Urrrrggghhhhhhh!

Limited Supplies

The hot, sticky night left me short of time this morning, my body feeling sluggish and unmotivated to spring out of bed, refresh myself in the shower and dash down the road to the studio to pick up my painting supplies for this morning's yoga class. Instead, I grabbed a small tin of paints, a handful of tiny scraps of watercolor paper, a couple of brushes, a few paper towels and a plastic cup for water.

Hot nights generally result in low attendance to the early morning class. Quite a few of the regulars didn't show up. A perfect situation to step out of the "norm".

I found myself in a different state of mind, tuning into the space around the figure and allowing it to merge with the figure, blurring the boundaries of inner and outer energy. As I look at the resulting paintings, poetry comes to mind.

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.

Fling A Fox

At this morning's Ashtanga Class I challenged myself to working more slowly and combining more than one posture on each painting. Instead of being totally focused and present in the moment of the movement I found myself uncomfortably slipping out of the state in which the pen and paint flow freely as an extension of experience rather than the result of thought.

A half hour passed and I found myself feeling as I did fifteen years ago when I assisted Michael in the retraining of his brain. Every morning and every evening we spent at least half an hour doing vision exercises that involved eye hand motor coordination while simultaneously keeping the brain busy with a slightly different activity. Each time I added a figure to my painting I had to make left-brain decisions such as where to place the next figure; what size to make the figure; what colors to use on the figure. I felt myself stiffen as I dipped the pen into the ink. After a deep breathe I relaxed and added the figure. The cycle began again with the next figure.

My routine is to pile the paintings up and not look at them again until the evening. Because I had battled back and forth between the two sides of my brain, I felt that the resulting paintings would be of a more serious nature, less light-hearted and free-spirited.

As I looked again at the painting illustrated above, I was reminded of how blinded I am by the previous experiences in my life. I can't look at the painting with any sort of objective point of view because it reminds me of an extremely absurd painting I did more than thirty years ago, an illustration for the letter 'F' in an alphabet book. The text for the illustration was "Fling a Fox". I think it is the line of movement created by the two largest figures in the yoga painting that bring to mind the flinging of the fox.

All of the illustrations for the alphabet book may be viewed at: Alphabet Book
Click on each image to see the text that goes along with the illustrations. I am amused by the fact that the illustrations were, and are, considered rather bizarre. I don't think of them as any more bizarre than the text.

Time Crunch

Recently my schedule has had to change. My time for painting has been cut drastically. I made a choice not to accept this change with resentment, but to take advantage of the forced opportunity to make the most of my creative time.

This past winter I began small studies, both watercolor and oil, in order to form new patterns for using color and for toning my drawing skills. I have not worked from reality for several years.

While at the grocery store, I gazed in awe at the pile of Bartlett pears. I questioned why they inspired me so much more than the Anjou pears I had painting the week before. The shape is relatively the same, yet not at all the same. The slight bulges and irregularities of the Bartlett acted on my inspiration as do the lines and movements of the human figure. The shapes begin the movement and take me into that space where anything can happen and everything does happen.

At that point I abandoned my cart and lost myself testing my emotional monitor with every fruit and vegetable on display. With so little time to paint, I see no need to draw or paint anything that does not make my monitor soar. There is no shortage of shapes that make me catch my breathe. There is also no shortage of shapes that leave me in the dark. There's too little time for me to waste any of it painting in the dark.

Rejected Treasures

"Sorry, we don't rent hats. We are 'Anything But Costumes'."

The tone of voice on the other end of the line turns angry.... "I didn't think you meant that literally!" Click..... the angry voice becomes silent and we return to our work. It amazes us how many people call us looking to rent costumes. Perhaps if Linda had named her company "Anything But Props" people wouldn't be confused and angry when we tell them we rent props, not costumes.

At the end of their project, film crews are notorious for unloading all their left-overs along with our props, hoping we will save them a trip to the dump. Sometime we get lucky and fill more of our weight-burdened shelves with unique clocks, hideous lamps, outrageous lamp shades, shag rugs, broken teapots and other odds and ends that set designers from the extended tri-state area adore and pay good money to rent.

Rarely does something come along that Linda rejects. Fortunately for me, these loom reeds fell into the abyss of the unrentable and ended up in my car. Now they hang on the wall of my studio tempting me and teasing me to abandon the miserable job of framing the five pastels I have completed for the upcoming annual "Spring in Bloom" exhibit at Solaris Gallery in Califon.

It's a real toss up between the loom reeds and the wooden bowl & billiard ball. I can feel the series of pencil drawing and paintings already beginning the trek toward manifestation.

I'm sad that the prop shop must find a new home. I love the smell of the barns and the way the light plays on the buildings. I love the sound of our footsteps on the wooden floors. It's frightfully cold in the winter and blisteringly hot in the summer. We haven't any running water, unless you count the constant leaking of the roof. I would rather be in touch with the weather, both foul and fair, than to be inside of a windowless warehouse all day long, oblivious to the changes of the light, the sounds and the smells of the day. I will adapt, as I always do.

Regardless of the location, the props will continue to inspire me. Props are used to create illusions, to define character, location and time. Last week a press back chair was brought back to us after having been repaired. The man who had repaired the chair, one of a set of two, thought he would do us a favor by giving it a fresh coat of paint. He had no idea that the fresh coat of paint has now made a chair that was rented constantly into one that will hardly rent at all. Its mate will continue to rent because it still shows its character and its history. I am reminded that the wrinkles in my face and the silver streaks in my hair define more clearly the joys of my life.

Lines and Spots

I adore playing with lines. A line can carve a shape out of a piece of blank paper. The shape can move or be still. It can dance and it can meditate.

I adore spots, splatters and seemingly haphazard marks. It is only when I make these simple strokes and dabs that I absolutely don't care what anyone else thinks about what I'm doing.

It is spring and it is time to eliminate the unnecessary and to redefine my path. Perhaps I should imagine it is spring each morning when I awaken.

Cleaning House

I've been trying to simplify my life. Hah! That has always been the greatest challenge.

While sorting through my studios, the home studio and working studio, I found I have too many dangling projects...too many copies of "The Collie of Castle Hill" (the children's book I wrote and illustrated) and too many Limited Edition Giclee Prints of Captured-Digigraphs, Digital Photographs and Reproductions of original paintings. I have made a promise to myself to either make use of the things that are taking up room in my workspace or throw them out. With this in mind, I have decided to list some of the giclee prints on eBay. I have also opened an online Etsy.com store to sell small originals and prints. I love the idea of Etsy because it focuses on items Made by the Artist! and not bargain basement specials.

That said.... I continue to do my little studies. I find that I am becoming more aware of my obsessiveness over composition. The two versions of the painting of Round Valley Reservoir illustrates the lessons I learn from these little studies.

The image on the left was the first version of the painting. I thought it was finished ... a quick study.... no big deal. Hah! When I looked at it the next morning, the triangle created by the tree trunks in the middle of the painting drove me crazy. My eye could not leave that spot and it wasn't a very interesting spot to be stuck in.

I painted out the annoying tree trunk. Now the horizontal branches on the far right are causing me a bit of lost sleep, but not enough to change them. It is a 5"x8" study... not a 5' by 8' painting.

Thanks to these little studies, my large paintings will reap the benefits of the compositional errors that would be magnified in the larger works. As I look at the images on the blog, the triangle is not as distracting as it was in my studio. It does, however, block me from seeing past the grove of pine trees. I love traveling into the unknown.

Red Pepper

Although I enjoyed painting the pepper on the left, the only element of the still life that truly excited me was the curve of the stem and the upper contour line of the pepper itself. I struggled to find another element to include in the second painting. I thought I would enjoy layering the shadow forms over the pepper. In the end, it was only the curve of the stem and the contour line that held my attention.

Playing with Still Life Design

Limiting my palette in order to develop a better understanding of color has led me to painting a series of small still life studies both in oil and in watercolor. During the cold, winter months I am more inclined to work in a warm studio than I am to paint outdoors as I did in my younger years.

As much as I love throwing the paint and pulling images out of the resulting patterns, I find myself wanting to introduce more layers of human interest in my work. The desire to portray more specific personalities, archetypes and situations requires developing greater drawing skills and brush manipulation. I am delving deeper into the understanding of color in order to portray more specific mood and atmospheric environment for the characters that evolve in the larger paintings.

















At times I feel as if I am taking a giant step backwards. A part of me feels that by now I should have a solid understanding of all the elements of art and be able to simply paint with joy and expression. A greater part of me knows that the reason I continue to paint is because there will always be more for me to learn. I am never bored. I am never complacent. I am always challenged by the extent of what I don't see, don't understand and can't express.
However, I find it necessary, after struggling with the uninspiring realistic representation of a still life object, to treat myself to a bit of play, focusing on the elements of the object that delight me, making them dance through space, releasing them from their comatose state of reality.

The paintings in this series are tiny. The oil paintings are either 5" x 5" or 5" x 8", painted on gessoed, birch plywood. The watercolor paintings are about the same size with a few variations.