Elbow River Jam 2 [oil, 11”x14”]

Last fall I joined the Calgary Community Painters Society.  Our Wednesday meeting last week featured a 90 minute demo by Rick Berg.  He has a unique method for establishing his areas of dark and he shared it with us.  This painting was developed with that method.  In my next post I will spell out the steps.  Check out Rick’s work and the CCPS websites if you are looking for some eye candy.  Cheers!

Sheep River Sideshow [acrylic, 9”x12”]

I built up lots of texture on this panel before beginning to paint this landscape.  I blocked in the darkest areas by squinting and then applying the darkest values onto the board loosely and vaguely.  Today I began to apply the middle colors and I’ve got a lot more of that to do as well as establishing the areas of waterfall.  Honestly, I’m getting way too detailed on this and I’ve got to let go of that or else it’s going to be way too tight.  Pushing the pause button for now…  cheers!

Koi [acrylic, 22”x30”]

My short painting session today brought these Koi to this point.  I’m getting to like this one more and more.  The photo I had was from a rainy day and the dullness that has shown itself in the painting reflects that.  There were not many bright reflections in the water and, although the Koi shapes aren’t anything like my reference photo, I captured the type of day.  Cheers!

Positive Flash [Mixed Media, 16”x20”]

I last posted about this painting on January 12.   It was beginning to feel like a storm landscape and I’ve taken it further along those lines…  but kept it very abstracted. 
Storms lean heavily towards abstraction for me.  It’s interesting to dwell for a moment or two on the positive aspects of thunderstorms:

• Thunderstorms are a direct result of atmospheric heating and increased air convection. Thunderstorms and also hurricanes are a primary cooling mechanism for the earth
• Thunderstorms provide water to vegetation and also to lakes and reservoirs. Storms provide about 50 percent of the rainfall to the eastern United States, and 70 percent to the western US.
• Storm winds distribute seeds and pollen, and help remove old and weak vegetation and so make way for new growth
• Lightning strikes liberate nitrates which fertilize the soil. Lightning produces about 20 percent of the nitrogen to the soil per year, about 250,000 tons of nitrogen to the whole earth every year
• Additionally, the updrafts and other wind effects remove large amounts of pollution, transporting it aloft, as well as storm rainfall washing pollution out of the air
  Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_benefits_of_thunderstorms#ixzz1kPsQO1vJ

I’ve been pondering the similarities between thunderstorms and the storms of personal experience.  Here’s an example of how my thoughts ran as I painted this week…  managing back pain and fatigue has been taking up way too much of my time!!!!!  As I returned to a diligent pacing regimen [proper rest, more exercise, LESS SITTING!!!], I feel a kinship to this painting.  We have had a rather stressful several months, and a very fun-filled fall 2011 – but it was exhausting.  Apparently I needed the forced rest and the personal growth that never fails to come when I watch my health more closely.  All the features of grief apply to this loss of health I’ve experience since 2005: denial, pain & guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance.  These 5 in a continuous loop with shorter and shorter stops in the first 4 and longer periods of acceptance.  The analogy of the storm provides these benefits personally lately:

• I’ve taken the time to cool off and regroup my thoughts [cooling]
• I’ve paid attention to my mental and spiritual needs [rain]
• This storm blew through unannounced but, admittedly it was not a surprise…  It’s blown seeds or thought around and helped me prioritize some activities.  [wind]
• Jolts of pain wake me up and cause me to live more simply and intentionally.  Also, that pain makes the soil of my life more fertile [lightning]. 
• In general, my back pain can [as much as it hurts to admit it], remove the junk from my life like the wind and rain purify the earth and atmosphere. 

Here’s the rub…  to get the positives out of the storm we have to have faith and trust that they are there and get busy looking for them.  I suppose I should get started on that :-)
Cheers!

Free Swing [acrylic, 24”x24”]

I’ve called this work-in-progress painting “Free Swing” for lack of a better handle. As you can see from the first photo below, I started this one out with just two colors – blue and  transparent red iron oxide.  I wet the canvas first, then drizzled fluid acrylics straight from the bottle and used an atomizer to make the paint run around on the surface.  I took this photo just before I left it to dry. 

The idea for the trees came simply from the vertical paint pattern that the streaks of paint made when they dried.  I used chalk to outline what I hope were pleasing shapes and basically cut around the trees with opaque paint.  The tire swing suggested itself after that coat of paint – there was a section of paint that showed through and I decided to work with it as an opportunity. 

I’m not sure where this one is going but I’ll post an update when I figure it out…  cheers!

Working from Chaos Again!

I do intend to follow up with my Koi whenever I sort out the next step.  Meanwhile, since that has stalled out, here are the first couple of steps for an abstract acrylic on canvas that I’ve been working on. 

 

The photo above is current state of the painting.  It’s feeling like a stormy landscape and I think that is the direction I’ll be taking in my next painting session.

In these earlier steps, I was simply trying to get some interesting patterns and textures, lights and darks.  I enjoy this type of exercise…  it clears the mind and let’s me doodle my way into a painting.  I love to watch paint move in water and that’s one of the fun things about working in chaos like this.  You may be able to see some marks made with Caran d"’Ache watercolor crayons in the photo below.  This is part of the doodling and I love the variations I get in the way these crayons dissolve and settle around the textures.  Enjoy!

Where it’s at with the fishes…

I’ve wrestled a few short painting sessions from the clutches of December and this is where the painting is currently at… 

Although this month has been much less intense than the past 3, I’m still finding lots of ways to keep myself busy!  The progress since my last posting on December 9 has been pretty slow.  I’m trying to build the fish up with incremental layers of translucent and transparent glazes to get the appearance of the roiling mass of Koi.  The various colors of the fish and how they appear both above and below the water means much studying of the photos and digging back through my memories from when I took them.  I enjoy this process, but it is extremely slow – I hope you’re not getting bored with this.  One more post and I’ll wrap these guys up…  I promise!

Defining the fish with areas of dark…

Finding more shapes… with translucent glazes.

Continuing Koi

Here’s how I spent my hour painting today…

First I printed one of my photos of Koi ponds from our visit to Hakone.  I used that to better inform the previous vague fish shapes and to make decisions about the value pattern that is developing.

Then I painted negatively around these shapes using thalo turquoise and transparent red Iron oxide.  I also painted into a few of the fishes with tinted white…  using the same two colors but adding some indian yellow for the fish bodies.  I’m enjoying this painting.  It’s the type of painting that can be done in small increments which is just what I need right now. 

Still lots to do on this painting but we’re off to look after grandson Parker [21 months] for the evening so his folks [daughter Kim and SIL Kyle] can take in a Christmas Party.  Should be fun!

Chaos in acrylic – 22”x30”

I’ve been enjoying some short sessions painting from chaos this week.  Here’s what this acrylic on 300 lb watercolor paper looks right now…   

I began with some light washes of orange and blue.  Once dry I wet the paper and dumped a layer of yellow and two reds.  While still wet I used some texturing tools and a brayer to lift some areas.  This made some subtle checkered and leafy textured places.  Some areas were still quite wet and I patted down a garbage bag and left it sit overnight.  Today I pondered the results and it is giving me a feeling of Koi fishes…  I saw plenty of those in Japan and have loads of photos to help me out.  Before I commit to making this about fish, I thought I would add a few general fish shapes.  I made most of the edges soft because I want lots of options tomorrow.

Cheers!

Toku for Matsushima [9”x12”, oil]

On November 3rd, we left Tokyo to spend a few days at “Tak”, a much loved haunt for Candice and Doug’s family.  Tak is a cluster of a few dozen vacation cabins on the south side of Matsushima Bay, Myagi Prefecture… just a bit north of Sendai.  I would have loved to see this area before the Tsunami!  It is hauntingly beautiful, and has a special place in the hearts of many Japanese people. 

When the tsunami hit March 11, these hundreds [~260] of small islands absorbed most of the damaging power of the waves and thus spared many of the treasures in the shrines and museums in town, not to mention the the threat of injury and death for the residents.  I know nothing of Kanji personally but I googled the Kanji symbol for shelter and found Toku.  This little painting is all about that protection and shelter so I added the Kanji.

I have very fond memories of the time we spent in the north.  We enjoyed spending time with the kids and playing the tourist.  We walked on the beach with the kids and listened to their stories and thoughts from March 11.  I’m so glad the kids weren’t at the cottage then!  The tsunami warning system did its job and saved thousand of lives – very few lives were lost in Shichigahama where we stayed, despite the horrific property damage.  The area called “Tak”, where Candice and Doug have their little cottage, is perched high up on the hill overlooking the ocean.  Only two cottages sustained damage – Candice and Doug’s foundation required major repair and their neighbour had water in the basement.  They got off very, very lightly. 

It was hard to grasp the horror of the tsunami when looking out to sea on those gorgeous November days.  But, when one turned away from the sea there was a surreal, flattened landscape of bare concrete foundations as far as the eye can see.  The trees at the beach are bent and twisted but most will survive…  much like the people of this area who are rebuilding their lives as best they can.  Stoically, steadily, slowly.  I’d like to help in some way. 

Here are a few photos we took in Myagi prefecture:

 

Walkabout to introduce Grandma and Grandpa to the area

Living on the old foundation!

Beach view from the Tak cliff

 

Beach view from cottage deck – note the damaged Tsunami warning siren just below the trees.  The water rose to the base of these trees.

 

Cottage and the shed that floated 15 feet from it’s previous home.

Kiera and Kalista hunting for treasures near the beach

22 huge bags of debris awaiting pickup for recycle and garbage

Matsushima Bay – cruise boat and oyster farm