Dawn: Part IV

Today I tried yellows and blues and they weren't working, so I used the pinks and grays that were nagging that "idea" part of my brain. I stopped fighting the urge to add a broad pink band on the horizon. That felt good and I like the look, too. The piece feels more "early morning" but there is something still missing; the water is not yet alive. Below is a close-up of my favorite water area.

And below is my palette, which looks like a painting on it's own.

Dawn: Part III

I want the water dark in the distance and am working on adding depth to the sky. This one is not being very easy. I will probably change the sand's color and profile. I want this painting to be very grounding and calm.

Should I take the sand out completely?

My Article in Southwest Art Magazine

Thanks to Courtney Carpenter of Southwest Art Magazine for interviewing me and featuring Red, White and Blue on page 41 in the October issue. What a dream come true for me. The featured painting has sold - I encourage collectors to look at my other barn paintings. Click here to see them; they are available through Xanadu Gallery.

Angst: Part III

Check out the close-up of texture. I just love working with texture and it's been a while since I have. It's good to be back.

Artists face a lot of opposition on the road to success. I don't think I've arrived at that nebulous destination of success; I am very much still on the road. For me, opposition is a necessary part of painting and I channel it through pieces like Angst. If I don't experience the highs and lows of life, the emotional aspect of my art is weak. Frustration is therefore a curse and a blessing for me.

I feel that this painting needs a bit more, but it's close. I enjoy reading your comments. Thanks for all that you've been leaving.

Angst: Part II

No more peaceful changes in "Angst." Today, the painting went back to violent and stormy. The white areas are where I painted over what was there already so as to add more texture. It will take a few days to dry. That's the hard part: waiting for it to dry. That's why I'm not a watercolor painter. Once this is dry, I'll start over and paint in the sky and shore.

I want this painting to feel angry and dark, like the beginning of a thunderstorm. I like the swell I added in the water - it's the white arc.

.

Dawn: Part II

There needed to be more texture in the sky, so I painted over what I had done so far and added texture. Don't worry. It's all in my head. The sea is grayer, too.

Dawn: Part I

In life, as in painting, the dawn always brings relief. This will be a painting about how the dawn brings relief, a response to my painting Angst.

My paternal ancestors lived on the Adriatic Sea. Whenever I'm near an ocean, I come alive. It makes sense that the paintings I do intuitively without reference photos are of my favorite place: the sea.

If you haven't ever seen the paintings of J. M. W. Turner, check them out. (To those of you in England who read my blog, I'm jealous that you're near the Tate Gallery in London.) Turner understood the ocean. My high school art teacher first introduced me to his work and I've never forgotten how enlightened I felt after seeing his seascapes. I have a book about him, and one of my favorite passages is a quotation from a sailor who observed Turner on ship. He said that as they were sailing around an inlet, a storm approached, and Turner could do nothing but sit and sketch feverishly to capture the turmoil of the sea and clouds. And so it goes...

Angst: Part I

I've had a painting like this on the back-burner of my mind for some time. I haven't painted in almost a month. If you're a painter, angst is part of the territory. Being a painter (for me at least) is very much a love-hate relationship. That being said, I never want to stop pushing myself to reinvent and reach. Reach. Reach. Reach. Picasso said painting is another way of keeping a diary. Today's entry should read: "Life can sometimes really suck, but I am stronger than my !#@ trials!!!!"