I don't know how to paint!

This is a thought I expressed the other day. My husband just shook his head at me in disbelief. But sometimes this is how it feels as I pick up the brush and look at my palette of color, somewhat doubtfully and undecidedly. But as with all thoughts (well, the majority!), I let go of this one, and dove in.

Each of the 4 paintings progressed nicely with the layers I added (see below). And I can see the path/direction that each will take me (well, to some extent. I'm sure there will be detours along the way as I work my way along.). Regardless, the feeling of intent, the idea of knowing what it is I'm going to do next, is quite welcome. I look forward to my next studio day!

So as always, stay tuned. I will keep you posted  :)

12" square, oil on panel (hanging on an old door to dry - thus the black handle on the right)

10" square, oil on panel (this is currently my favorite)

12" square, oil on canvas

8" square, oil on panel

What recipe?

I've been one to follow the recipe verbatim, each step as it is to be - especially when it comes to cooking. And through this process in the kitchen I have, more often than not, been successful in my creations ~ even becoming well-known in my circle of friends and family as an excellent baker.

I don't know if it is the influence of painting abstractly or if something else has shifted inside of me. I just know I am now suddenly more inclined to wing it. I'm finding the addition of a bit of something (not even called for as an optional ingredient) or the skip of a step or the substitution or the doubling of amounts are all much more exciting to do with a dish than before.....

The "why" (is this taking place?) and the "where" (is this coming from?) really doesn't matter. It is the enjoyment of the process + the slight thrill of what this means for the end product (and with really not a even concern there). The self-encouragement along the way - telling myself that it will just work out as it's meant to be and that this is a lot more fun - completes the new near-daily adventure.

(Let it be said: I do have to rein in this creative urge when it comes to baking (with it's exact nature) as there, there is more often than not, a scientific reason than a rhyme as to why you do what the recipe says).

So with all of that taking place in the kitchen, I have also begun experimenting in the studio. I have to say, so far the experimentation has only been in my mind based off of what I have been reading. Researching recipes of oil painting mediums, referring to blogs and websites pertaining to the intricacies of it all and talking with other artists has me writing up (in my mind) and down (on paper) the possible recipes that could work for me.

There appears to be no right or wrong answer. The question of what ratio of each ingredient (mediums and solvents) is dictated by what I want the concoction to do (be shiny or matte, sticky or smooth in application, dry quickly or slowly etc). Now I feel I have come up with 2 slightly different recipes worth trying. I just need to purchase the mediums and then measure and mix it all together.

I'm excited to have reached this step and even more eager to combine my new formulas with paint on canvas. I plan to work on 2 different canvases, one with each medium, so that I can see and feel the similarities and differences. The idea is, by my observations and note-taking, I will be able to fine-tune the ratios, creating for me a perfect combination of the two recipes...... So as always, stay tuned!

Graduation!

October's posts were nearly all about the process of learning how to paint abstractly. I do realize by skipping ahead and sharing the end results below, you will not see each painting's process spelled out (as I haven't (and truthfully am no longer inspired to) continued what I started then, posting each day's experience).....  Perhaps you, yourself, can instead connect what you see below with what was in earlier posts?

So without further ado, please let me introduce my latest body of artistic exploration, oils on canvas: 

Hopscotch

A Seesaw with Inchworm

Dance of the Fireflies

Warthog and the Volcano

String Being

Blossom

I'm looking forward to taking what I learned throughout and continuing on my own for the time being. I definitely am planning on taking her class again for a refresher and/or when I find I'm in need of a bit more of something. As always, stay tuned  :)

What's Black and White and can be Read all over?

Give up? It's a black and white photograph of an abstract painting!   :)  (perhaps a poor riddle, I realize!) My instructor said there is a reason why a painting would be reproduced in black and white. It is for the viewer, perhaps a student such as myself, to be able to see the balance and rhythm of it all without being influenced by color used. Of course that made sense!

And as I had my camera on me, I excitedly decided to give it a try. For the first time in this way, I used my camera as a tool. I set the setting to black and white so that when I looked through its lens the colors within a painting were no longer. As a result I found I was no longer influenced by the color I had chosen and found instead a surprising amount of neutral, unexciting, undramatic gray.......

Here are a couple of paintings and what happened along the way in class #6:

I was surprised to see how grey/neutral this was without color!! What I thought was bold and drama really wasn't working, at least not for me..... and so I decided to shake things up a bit......

It didn't take long before I had created some dramatic darks and lights. The grayness was disappearing...... 

This is the end of my work with this piece for today. Definitely a step in the right direction, I think. I'm curious to see it in color (which I imagine sounds strange as you would think I would be noticing the color as I'm actually painting with color and not with black and white. But now I am really able to use color to create depth (in values of gray through my camera's lens) in a very different way than before!)

Here's another:

This is the painting referenced in my post about class #5......

and the magic beings, layer by layer.....

I had no idea the variety of shades of gray I could achieve through the use of color!

And so the fun continues.....

layer by layer, value by value, a push and a pull

by large and small, papa bear, mama bear, and baby.....

inviting the eye to come and stay for (a long) while......

Stay tuned! I look forward to sharing what I learn next  :)

Abstract Painting #4

The layers continued on in my 4th class. Though there is a bit of glare on the following photographs and thus the colors are not clearly represented, I'm excited by the direction of the paintings. I felt like I was loosening up a bit (I approached the painting as I was my garden, out of control, and beautiful in its chaos), and I also liked the thin layers I achieved with the oil - showing the under layers through it all. 

My instructor suggested I cover a larger area of the canvas with a color and not just a bit here and there.... A curious idea - I'm not exactly sure if I can picture this yet.... Though I'll give it a try in my next class. Stay tuned.....  :)

P.S. I have to say, I'm surprised by my opinion of painting on wood. I'm no longer sure it's a fit for me - at least at this time in my life.... Hmmmm......

Pair of wooden panels - abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #2

Abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #4

Abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #4

Opposites Attract -- 3rd Abstract Class

I started my 3rd class with the knowledge I left with the week before. As I was on my way out, my instructor's parting words:

 Dark and light. Cool and warm. Small and large (and even, "mama bear, papa bear, and baby bear"). If you are able to make every layer count with the balance of it all you won't need to play catch up in the following layers. 

Boy, that made such easy sense! I love the visual of opposites attracting and I love the idea that there can be in each and every layer a rhythm that invites the eye. Now I just have to put this easy sense into reality!

So I pulled out my largest canvas ever - well at least for me. Though it didn't take long before it was covered in its first layer of oil.

24" x 30" - abstract oil layer #1

I continued on with the paintings I had shared with you from the week before. I found it challenging trying: to not necessarily be influenced with the layers previously laid down; to have fun and to not take the paint too seriously; and to create the balance desired within it all. I also needed to remember to loosen the hold on my paint brush..... All of which made my head hurt! Maybe I'm thinking too much? Regardless, the following is what I did (though it's hard to see without the previous day's work side by side to know exactly what is different, but feel free to visit my previous posts!)

Abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #2

Abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #3

Abstract oil layer #2

Painting Abstractly - 2nd Class

(The following 3 paintings are paintings I had started at home. Please see my post from Sept. 17th for the chronological progression of my process on these....)

I started my second day of class with my wooden canvas. The application of paint, in this abstract method, was so very different from my usual way of painting on the texture and rigidity of the wood. I'm curious to see where this goes......

Pair of wooden panels - abstract oil layer 1

I then took one my new canvases I had finger painted the foundation on. I found I really liked painting on canvas! Who knew?!  :)

8" square - abstract oil layer 1

I continued on with the next canvas. This particular piece seemed to have a very strong imagery/presence from the very beginning of my finger painting. I found it interesting to follow this foundation in the first layer of oil. I'll be curious to see if this imagery remains throughout the process......

8" x 20" - abstract oil layer 1

As the class is 3 hours long and the above 3 paintings took about 1/2 that time, I still had time to continue work on the 3 I had started my first week. I found approaching their 2nd layer even harder than I imagined! 

Whereas the first week, I had a blank canvas to paint on, here I'm presented with/working on top of layers I really like!  (Please see my post as to what they looked like before the following).  

But I really wanted to work towards the idea of having 5 layers of paint on a piece (suggestion from my instructor), so I just had to jump in!

6" x 4" - abstract oil layer #2

8" x 10" - abstract oil layer #2

8" x 10" - abstract oil layer #2

And I have to say, afterwards, as scary as it was, this second layer really added to the whole of it all. What fun! Stay tuned for the 3rd.......

Abstract Painting - Day 1

I decided to take a painting class, an abstract one, to stretch myself beyond that of my comfort zone.  I also thought it would be perfectly timed after my recent color theory refresher and with my continued desire to loosen up my usually controlled brush stroke. 

Not knowing really what to expect, I arrived for my first day of class with the required materials: paint (I chose my oil), brushes, canvas, mineral spirits, paper towels, palette knife etc. I claimed a table and easel and proceeded to set up my work area.

Classmates in painting studio

As the canvases I had brought where some I had just lying around my home studio, I hadn't considered the process - really not knowing to. I quickly learned just how quick one can paint an area in, in an abstract way, before it needs to be set aside to dry readying it's self for the next layer.

Small painting #1 on easel

I also quickly learned there can be love found in a dirty brush! I had no idea that mixing paint, achieving a desired color, can be accomplished by starting out with a brush pigmented from the previously used hue.

Small painting #2 on easel

As the majority of my classmates, and the instructor herself, primarily painted abstractly in geometric forms, I found myself greatly influenced by these surroundings. I found my organic style finally coming through in my last and final piece of the day, despite its tiny size (4" x 6").

All 3 paintings at day's end

My instructor encouraged me to bring larger canvases the following week so that I would have plenty to keep me busy. I left with my mind all a buzz with what I had learned. Not only was there what I referenced above, but I was also introduced to the idea of scale of color within a piece and how to invite the eye to move throughout. I deemed this first day of class a success! and can't believe I still have 7 more to go (what more could I possibly learn!? (j/k!). Stay tuned, as always.....

Abstracted, yet detailed

I don't always gravitate to paintings that I would consider abstract in nature. Yet the work of Barbara Krupp caught my eye the other day at the Uptown Art Fair. At first glance I saw blocks of color, but as I looked more closely, my eye also saw the layers of paint, the textural brushstrokes - all of which made up the whole. And to my delight I also saw the unexpected - a so very soft line, delicate and flowing, full of character that ebbed and flowed in and out of the layers of paint. I found it all so very inspiring....