The working life of an artist and painter in Hawai’i.
Got out this morning for a beautiful session at my local beach….I always seem to find myself reinvigorated by this vantage point. The painting came together after some of the usual obstacles, but one thing that came to mind was painter Michael Genger’s description of the watercolor process…”It’s like a dance; you do something, and the picture does something.” The artist is only part of this equation and the interaction creates the work. I think he’s right about that.
It’s been good to stretch myself out on this large (unframed size 28 x 36″) Tidepool piece, the first of what may become a series. Painting the unpaintable is what it felt like,.
I relied only on a fairly rough oil sketch and some pencil ideas for the design, which is what most of the painting ended up being about. From there it’s been a matter of adjusting things until they looked close to the way I wanted.
I’ve often found it to be a remarkably thoughtful experience to just sit in a place such as this, there are plenty of opportunities to do so in Hawai’i, and take in the indescribable concentration of energy and life that is here. The colors are wonderful; every sense, really, is able to partake of such an experience, the sound and smells also, even the moisture against one’s skin, and I suppose that it hints at bigger things, questions of creation and how small a thing each one of us, in a sense, is. All of this beauty and mystery occurs independent of us, whether we notice or not…imagine how much does escape our notice.
So now to practical matters. I have a couple days to finish work on the frame before it gets hung. Gallery at Ward Centre, after Friday the 29th, it will be on display. Come see.
Along with everything else I’m working on, I’ve been on a watercolor jag for the last month. It’s been great fun and hard work, and I’m planning on more.
Do these work for you?
So much of painting is just about purposefully being in the work-mindset. Rather than waiting to be inspired, often times I just have an idea about design, or an effect of light, and begin with something in my sketchbook; inspiration or enthusiasm arrives after I begin to work, not generally before. I know it’s the same for writers and musicians…you begin by taking the first step of working.
Each of these paintings are quarter-sheet, which is watercolorist talk for 11 x 15″, and painted on Saunders #200. Titles are coming.
Well, I’m taking advantage of every opportunity for creating new work in the New Year, and as our winter weather has improved from pretty messy to awesome, I took a break from the large oil I’ve started (and which I haven’t discussed yet, it’s too iffy right now) and spent Friday morning at Kailua Beach with my partner-in-watercolor-crime Roger Whitlock to see what trouble we might do with the raw material of sand, sun, and wind.
I managed a couple of little paintings out of that session (and another session yesterday evening) but this is the only one worth having a look at. I might be able tweak some of the others into Salvation, or just re-attack them on another nice evening.
We joked around and had a darned good time while working. Roger has great prowess with “the dampened sheet”, and I value our far-too-rare outings together.
As for me, the watercolor work under such circumstances seems akin to jumping around in a swimming pool, especially working in-the-moment and with the drying times of the washes being so absolutely critical. It’s somewhat like a controlled disaster, I really don’t know how anything good can come of it, but sometimes it does, and it’s nice.
It’s been seriously busy over the last month. Here’s a resurrected piece from at least three years ago that was begun outdoors in a rather unplanned moment of enthusiasm, and set aside as unworkable until a friend dropped by and commented that she thought it had more potential than I was allowing it. That was about a year ago.
Finally over the last few days I’ve given it some attention and it’s looking better. I love working in close values and color temperature shifts, and so this little canvas has become a pleasure to work on rather than the struggle it originally was.
Kawainui at Sunset oil, 12 x 16″
Can’t help but be excited about my upcoming exhibition, and I’m earnestly ( does anyone still use that word?) prepping everything…painting s to be signed, one or two are in mid stride, and I started small ones today. So, I’m crazed, but it’s fine. Here’s some things I put out today, frames are in process. They may look familiar if you’ve ben following the blog.
The Sunlit Shore, Kailua 30 x 40″
Lightfall 20 x 36″
Konahuanui-Morning Shadows 12 x 16″
Ironwoods at Dusk 18 x 24″
There’s more, and you will see them later. Thanks for the look.
Quick post from my portrait class. The lay-in is going well, edges deliberately soft at this point, and any problems with the painting are already most likely present. The only trick is to see them now, before the acorn becomes a tree.
12 x 16″ linen on board. Straight oil paint, no medium except a small amount of liquin mixed into the flake white #1 to make it short enough to manipulate. Big brushes, step back for each stroke. lay it on with intention in color and value and placement. Scrape down anything that’s not working.
Always be preparing for the next sitting.
More work on my indoor painting…with much adjusting of values and shapes, trying to build a beautiful surface all the while. It’s an oil -primed linen mounted on panel that I primed myself, and the linen has a fairly coarse, handmade thing to it. I think it suits what I’m attempting perfectly. If I can do more priming like this I will, definitely.
For the duration of the work on this painting it’s: simplification of masses, values, adjustments of color, maybe a glaze to warm things here and cool things there.
untitled 18 x 24″
It’s also great to be making use of so many of the loose reference sketches scattered about my studio. They are so much more useful to me than I could ever imagine photographs being.