Those of you that know me in person, know that I almost exclusively wear black & white with the occasional hot pink thrown in. I really like the simplicity of it, its classic quality & modern edge. It works for me in my clothes, but sometimes I forget how much I like it in my work; Payne's Grey seduces me with it lovely nuance. I have recently rediscovered my love for Higgins Waterproof Ink. I used to buy it by the quart. In undergrad I completed huge works with this stuff (& by huge I mean wall sized). This ink is truly one of the materials I love, but somehow it ended up outside my repertoire for the past few years. Now it is back with a vengeance. My studio is covered with pattern pieces, large & small, all on black backgrounds with white gouache. I love it! Now I would love a gallery to show them in. Somehow white cubes make the work that much more real, for me at least. Here's to black & white! Happy Tuesday Y'all!
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I love when I have the opportunity/ take the time to observe the sunrise & sunset. There is something very captivating about watching the sun fall away from our sight, while still illuminating, and then watch light show up with no visible ball of fire. It's all rather remarkable. So here are images of Saturday evenings sunset on the May River & Sunday mornings sunrise on Port Royal Sound. What do y'all enjoy observing/ find remarkable? Happy Monday Y'all! Maybe it is the post-Olympic visual processor that lead me to paint the flag or maybe it is the current news about the Ukraine, the first foreign country I visited, and it's dilemma with Crimea, Russia, Tartars, and the EU, which naturally leads me down the rabbit hole of nationality, place & belonging. Yes, as an artist my calling is to bring beauty, but it can also be to ask questions. So with my flag painting I ask you to consider your nationality & what it means to you. I also include John Green giving an overview about the problems in the Ukraine. Happy Thursday Y'all! I think it is maybe finished... but could still use some more really dark sections... so perhaps not. This process is slow for me, because it necessitates waiting between the layers & there are A LOT of layers. If I contrast that with the result though I am pleased & need to be exceedingly slow & patient as I finish the painting. I think you spend 10% of your time on 90% of the painting & then 90% of your time on 10%... It's the 10% that makes the painting... At least that's what I think today. Happy Friday Y'all!
This painting is not finished. It hasn't even "stopped at an interesting place along the way", yet. This painting started with horizontal lines of white gouache covering the paper and continued with Payne's Grey lines building up the image. Those lines were salted while drying. Paintings like this take a long time to complete, because of all of the drying time involved. It is challenging to be patient, but I know that if I rush I will not have the clarity of line I want. So Thank G*D for dehumidifiers & fans that speed the process. Perhaps there will be a completed painting tomorrow. Happy Thursday Y'all!
Can you believe it? Because I wonder how it happened... I have been blogging Monday-Friday for an entire year now! Above are 12 images that represent each month of this peregrination. This is by no means a compendium of the year, but rather a glance of the precedent. Because I will continue to share my process, in this form for the upcoming year, barring the unforeseen. As I compiled these images for the yearly review I was simultaneously surprised by how much & how little I had produced. And I want to be even more vigilant about not putting work out there, even if it is not up to standard, just because I need to put something on the blog that day. If I am sharing my process & the work is incomplete that is one thing, but I must hold myself to a higher standard regarding wishy-washy work that I will completely pan in critique later. Overall it has been a solid discipline & given structure to my work format. I hope that you have enjoyed it & will consider sharing it with your friends. I like to think it brings some joy & beauty to your day. Happy 1 Year Anniversary Y'all!
I am trying to figure out the most effective way to utilize gouache in the underpainting. I am enamored of the color differential it provides & want to find an expressive way to use it. The crying oyster shells work some, but I want the the to use the contrast as an integrated part of the design & not the actual design. All of the brighter blue that is present in this image is a direct result of the white gouache underpainted lines, as the only watercolor pigment used was Payne's Grey. So we will see what I can come up with. Happy Tuesday Y'all!
I have yet to figure out why the salt flakes remain visible sometimes. What I have been able to suss out is how much pigment I like to apply for the desired light & dark contrast. I am particularly enamored with the disappearing salt effect depicted in the top painting. It seems as if those granules were able to pull much larger areas of pigment. Perhaps an overall dryer canvas? Things to think about. Happy Thursday Y'all!
I have been working on the watercolor over gouache technique for the Oyster Shell series because it allows for more interesting bleeds to surface. But it takes away many of the pattern-like elements I like. So I am performing a balancing act between water & pigment. Enough water & pigment to make the bleeds I love, but not enough to erase the gouache. It is proving an elusive balance, but I will persevere. Happy Thursday Y'all!
I have been testing the watercolor pigment to salt ratios as background possibilites for brush print patterns. A lite wash of color is no longer in the running, doesn't even make it onto the blog for consideration. A medium wash (top picture) or a dark wash (bottom picture) are still up for consideration. I like the copper patina color that comes thru when I use the Hooker Green & Payne's Grey paint combo. And lean towards the medium wash because of the nuance it provides. But the dark was provides such a solid ground to work from & the white gouache then has much more paint to react with. So the testing will continue... Testing testing... Happy Wednesday Y'all!
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