"No Latitude" (25 of 25)

 8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

This is the final small painting I did for the show a few months ago. Now, I've continued painting, so I'll be posting more in the next weeks. 

Now, I seem to alternate between big textured abstracts and small still lifes. I don't know why. I just know that to do this authentically, I need to pursue it from my gut, and my gut says I want to do those kinds of work. 

On the abstracts front, I've been taking a class, and it's become the highlight of my week. The teacher, Stella Zhang, is immensely skilled and supportive. She also introduced me to using pigments. It's also interesting to hear her talk about pushing past her current status to the next level. So, for instance, I find I still want to do work on canvases, although I might add found things. But she pushes into three dimensions and installations.

On the still life front, I took a workshop taught by Michael Linstrom, who paints interpretively. When I do still lifes, I tend to paint tightly, and I find I don't just want a good product from my efforts, I want a good experience. Tight doesn't feel good. Loose and interpretive does. Michael takes the view that the painting does not need to accurately reflect the world, and he paints loosely to get there. There's a nice intro here. I'll be taking another workshop next month.

So, more to come.

"Convects" (24 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

Almost through posting these. Then I'm going to have to take pictures of and post the things I've been working on since then. In some cases, I've been redoing some of these.

However, strangely, at the moment I'm back to doing the small still lifes. Why? Well, I took a workshop where I got a hint about how to paint loosely and I want to try that more. Either that or I have a short attention spa.... Squirrel!

"Tirade" (23 of 25)

 

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

As explained earlier, I did twenty-five of these for the show. A few sold! But there are some that have gone back under the brush! As it were. I don't necessarily use a brush. I'll be posting those in due course.

"Slash" (22 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

Amazing to think that two months (and change) have flown by since I posted). But I've found that there's a pacing in these things. I started out all gung ho, but ended up giving short shrift to the other parts of my life. So I burnt out on the kind of art I was doing, since I was forcing myself. Then I played with styles, then Life Happened. And a couple of months go by.

However, I've started taking classes and a workshop or two, and I'll be posting things that come out of that. I have to say that my abstract class is the high point of my week. Even though I have to lug a box of supplies and some large canvases around, I still get excited about what I'm seeing and learning. I'll start posting things from those endeavors. Meanwhile, astonishingly, I still have a few more of my 20/20 abstracts to post.

"Nalu" (21 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

This one felt tropical and beachy and watery and sandy, and kind of reminded me of Hawaii, where I grew up. The word "Nalu" means "wave" in Hawaiian, so it seems appropriate.

"Dual Reality" (20 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

OK, it was awhile ago, but I think this one appealed to me because it's a combination of colors I don't use all that often: browns and greens together. Red I do use. :)

"Bunting" (19 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

Side view. Can you see how thick it is?

This one started with a concept, sort of like the one two days ago. Both used  that Plaster of Paris gauze before the texture medium went on. Still not sure...

"Trax" (17 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

It's interesting to case back and remember what was going on when I painted this. I know that doing the twenty-five paintings for the show took a lot of time and effort. And that sometimes I just needed to come up with a title that seemed apropos. For this one, it was the grid pattern that looked like tire tracks that gave it the title.

"The Scroll" (18 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

Angled view

I can't believe it's been almost three months since I posted. It's the standard excuses: Life happened. It's good stuff: some contract work, traveling, a bit of  house remodeling. But it's time to come back.

I went into this piece with an idea in mind. The outcome is kind of different from the ones where I just go into reactive mode and see what happens. And, of course, months later, I see it as almost figurative. This is one of the fun things that happens with abstract art: People want to see recognizable things in it, so their eyes find them. In this case, I see someone standing under a tree, and I can see his shadow.

"Trickle" (16 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#16 of 25 for the 20/20 show) For this one, I was wondering what would happen if I tilted the board after starting two pools of paint. It's actually a bit dangerous, since it has the potential of looking lame. But I liked it. This also has an unusual (to me) (currently) purple and brown palette.

"No, Sir!" (15 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#15 of 25 for the 20/20 show) This was more yellow and brown than most of my paintings are. I tend toward the cool colors. It might be unfortunate that I do that, since they say that people like warm color better. The title just had to do with the defiant feeling in the work. I think I also liked the way that a drip running upwards just feels out of whack. I've seen it in other paintings and it's a bit disorienting. That's why I like it.

"Succulent" (14 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#14 of 25 for the 20/20 show) The name for this one came out of the colors, which are primarily a really rich burgundy and green. The diagonal patch in the lower right corner is fabric; specifically part of a T-shirt. And there are the eggshells. I made very sure they were firmly planted in patching material, so they're on there pretty tight. This might be the most media I've ever combined in one painting.

"The Great Wave" (13 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#13 of 25 for the 20/20 show) For the paintings I did in this series, I put down the texture material and then added color. I'm doing experiments now where I add color to the texture material and apply it, then go in and paint some more. It's a little more organic, actually.

For this one, the curling shape demanded a bright focal point. That curling shape just needed to embrace something.

"Toward the Light" (12 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#12 of 25 for the 20/20 show) So the interesting thing about this one is that it has brown eggshells in it. (For some reason, I love brown eggs.) Anyway, I'd washed some shells and had them sitting in a bowl, for months I think, and decided I'd try using them. Also, I like the patterns made by eggshells when you flatten them. So I placed these in the texture material and pushed down on them with a small board (OK, a 4x4" piece of gessoed masonite), and got a cool pattern.

For what it's worth, I think most art manufacturers put anti-mold, and possibly anti-bacterial, ingredients in their products. Why else wouldn't they go bad sooner?

"Input Circuit" (11 of 25)

 

 8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

This one has been reworked. See this page.

(#11 of 25 for the 20/20 show) I like the palette on this one.This is not a combination of colors I normally use. And I'm working on using more neutrals, so the brown was out of my normal patter. This is also quite gestural. I put down the texture material in big strokes (well, for an 8x8 painting) and then followed what it did.

I've been playing with oil sticks recently. (Yep, I'm back to oils.) It's fun. It's another way to get an interesting texture, since they leave a scribbly mark, sort of like crayons. I also just ordered some open acrylics, so we'll see where that goes. So much stuff to play with!

"Mother Lode" (10 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board
 

(#10 of 25 for the 20/20 show) The show opened this last Wednesday, April 7, and runs until May 29. And a kind person stopped by the show, bought a piece, looked me up and left a comment. People can be so cool. Thanks!

So, back to this painting. I think it was the first one where I really layed on the texture material heavily, especially in the lower right quadrant. Here, let me show you from an angle:

Does that help? You can see how thick the board is, and get a feel for the chunkiness of the gold.

I was able to do this because these are board rather than canvas. I'd mostly been painting on canvases, and they flex, which means the material could crack and fall off (I have not yet had this happen). But this is 3/8" composite, so it will support thicker material. In fact, since then I've been playing with the notion of adding found objects to the paintings. I love found art. We'll see.

"Eyewitness" (9 of 25)

 

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#9 of 25 for the 20/20 show) So, the white stuff is Liquitex string gel. I certainly don't have the hang of it. In fact, I didn't like the way it went down, so I mushed it around. I kind of liked the organic quality of the mush, so I left it. Isn't it funny, how I like organic art, and manipulate things until they look organic? I wrestle with this.

And the show opened today. Woohoo! I am in a quandary about seeing the show. It's 2 1/2 or 3 hours away, and I've driven there twice and will have to go a third time to pick up unsold paintings after the show ends. I'd like to see the show live, but, man, that's a lot of effort!

"Seek the Depths" (8 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board

(#8 of 25 for the 20/20 show) Oops. Sorry. I was renaming things, and this one got out without any commentary from me. And we know how important that is!

This one reminds me of Edmund Dulac's illustration for The Little Mermaid. You can see it on this page, on the right, if you scroll down a bit. I almost wanted to add a pearl in a trunk, or some sort of buried treasure. And if you want to see the texture, try clicking it, and you should see a bigger version of it.

And, finally, since I didn't put any comment on this, initially, I'd like to mention that all my recent entries have a surprise on them if you hover your cursor over the image. Try it!

"Rift" (7 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board, NFS

(#7 of 25 for the 20/20 show) Wow. I just looked at this and realized I should have called in Yin Yang. Although it also has a look of a pool of lava. As I recall, I got the texture that you see on the right in the middle by spreading a thin layer of gesso, then laying some plastic wrap on it and peeling it off. Lots of transparent paint in the pools, and opaque paint on the ridges between them.

"Moonfall" (6 of 25)

8x8", acrylic and mixed media on board, SOLD

(#6 of 25 for the 20/20 show) This one had more washes and quieter colors than others. And it continued the technique of putting down patching paste and pushing mesh into it. And using metallic gold, which never photographs well.

So I'm doing some experimenting. As you might know, I like to play with effects using hardware store supplies. They work, they're cheap, and they can be long lasting if you choose material used on house exteriors. But official painting supplies can be nice, too. They're way more expensive, but can give you a different effect. So it depends on what you want. For instance, if I want to cover a lot of area with texture, I don't want to worry about cost, and Golden pumice gels are expensive! But I might find a specific application where Golden products works better.

Here's an example. I'm testing cocktail umbrellas. Seriously, I want to see how to attach them to a board. (Maybe I should post pictures of this.) So I tried five substances. Four of them hold quite well.

One interesting comparison was patching paste vs. Golden's hard molding paste. And I like the molding paste better. Why? Because it dries transparent. I also tried matte gel and like that, too, since it dries transparent. The patching paste and heavy gesso (I get Utrecht in big buckets, so it's cheap) work well, but dry white. That could be useful if you want to paint over the cocktail umbrellas, though. Maybe next I'll try clear gesso.

So, yep, it depends on what you want.

I still haven't experimented enough with tinting the material before I use it. Maybe that's next.