Underwater Mixed Media

This is a 2x4ft panel, mixed media painting- meaning that I have combined a variety of techniques and separate media layers to finally reach the completed painting.  I started out with the intention of building a large collage.  Starting with tissue paper layers, then photography, then acrylic paint as the last layer.  It did not go well...(sigh) as sometimes happens.  I worked on it and worked on it until I had to eventually admit to myself and anyone visiting the studio- "don't look at that- it's a disaster." 
After throwing it behind some other unfinished work for some months, I pulled it out and began to tear off the layers upon layers of colored tissue paper. I loved how it looked! It looked to me a bit like underwater currents.  Some of the layers had glitter on them- reminding me of how water glistens.  We have a theme~  the phoenix painting will be an underwater scene.  The finished painting is slightly more dramatic when viewing it in person.  You can see dimension.  I used stretched florist tape to interweave the feeling of underwater kelp.  I also used fluorescent acrylic to really highlight the beautiful colors of oceanic fish darting around. 
Once again, not a great picture of the painting, but hopefully another lesson on that ridiculous "making lemonade out of lemons" theme.

Bernheim Thistle Day

At least once a year I like to visit Bernheim Forest in Bardstown Kentucky.  It is the most beautiful place to walk around and admire the seasons.  The last time I was there I got interested in these gigantic thistles.  They looked like sculpture, only prickly.  I took some pictures but nothing really inspired me to paint until I started thinking about the values of color that day.  It was a picture-perfect fall day.  Clear and crisp with the high contrast of sky blue against the yellows and orange of the trees. 
 I married the structure of the thistle pictures with the idea of the perfect fall day and this is the painting that came out.  The real thistles are kind of a washed out mauve.  (I turned them into the color of the trees)  The entire painting is acrylic and done with a palette knife to get that spiky texture.  Every time I look at it I see that perfect fall day.

Dark Mood-Get a Grip

Well, let me tell you about this painting.  It was painted very quickly (under an hour) while listening to Joe Cocker, after being dumped by a guy.  The painting is a very stylized self-portrait based on what I was feeling at the time. How could this happen?  Trust, when it is breached is very hard to grapple with.  I let another person change how I felt about myself.  You can see tears welling up...it's all very dramatic and soulful.  Happy to report I've grown up a bit since then.  Nobody changes how I feel about myself anymore, but I still like the painting.  It's a bookmark in my life- and very personal. It's hung in my bathroom over the toilet so any male guests have a chance to ponder while peeing. 

Paint What You're Feelin- brrrrr!

This painting was done during an ice storm we had in Louisville a few years back.  I wanted to convey cold and the weird way the landscape changes so drastically and quickly. We lost power for a week, so I took the opportunity to paint by the fireplace.   I did an underpainting in lavender and stuck to a limited palette of cool tones, except for the golden tones on the center cow- to pull your eye into the painting.  Too bad I can't take credit for the highlighting above the cow's head.  Yes, it's a flashback that didn't show up until I uploaded the painting.  I'm diggin it, though!
Back to the cows. I noticed that the cows were all scrunching together like they couldn't get a handle on the weather, either.  Doesn't the center cow look a little like Homer Simpson?

Missed that Moonglow

Last year I spent some time on the Cumberland River in Kentucky.  This is a painting I did of the falls.  When I was there, everyone kept talking about the "moonglow."  Apparently, when the moon is full the falls reflect the light and the water turns very fluorescent and cool-looking.  To see this event you must hike up to the falls at approx. 1:00 am.  I drank the cool-aid and trekked up to be one of the chosen few to witness the moon glowing in the falls.  It never happened.  I've tried 2 separate times during a full moon to see the glow...and I have to say, it might just be one of those legends...or maybe you have to be under the influence to experience it.  Anyway, I feel totally cheated, but I got some nice shots of the falls and ended up with a composite picture from 4 separate pictures.  They were taken at sunrise- since I was awake and still frustrated about being "glowless."

Painting a Series

I have a thing for series.  I love to read books in a series and I love to paint in a series. There is a deeper connection to the subject matter than there is when you just take one swipe at it...
The first painting in a series is generally the most  labored and careful.  The second painting I've loosened up and explored some creative deviations from what I originally intended.  The third painting is usually the best- it's free of thought process constraints.  Why can't I just start out with painting #3?  Like my paintings, I am a work in progress.  Oh, and by the way, I very rarely paint #4.  I also have a short attention span- by the time I've reached #4 I'm bored!

Starting from the Beginning

I believe it is very true that the best way to master something is to try to teach someone  the steps involved in the process.  For those, like me, who may tend to get a little out of focus at times, describing or teaching a task will crystallize the thought process like nothing else.  When I paint, I always imagine my mother standing over my shoulder.  She has historically always asked me to explain the unexplainable in my life.  As I begin a painting, I ponder the decision of the underpainting color I have chosen.  I use masonite boards about 3/8” thick cut into various sizes depending on the subject matter.  First I prime the boards with a water-base primer, and then, depending on what I choose to paint, I pick an all-over color to use as a base color for the painting.  This will give depth, luminosity, and mood to a painting.  How do I choose?  I haven’t got a clue, Mom.  It’s probably tied to color composition or my particular mood at the time.  All I know is it works.  I wish I had some paintings from a time before I underpainted to illustrate the difference.  “Mom, do you know where any of those might be?” Of course she does.

Anyway, as in life, leave something peaking out, not quite visible…but something that hints at the emotion under the surface.