Big and Small

In her blog, painter, Karin Jurick recently talked about how working on a small painting is a break from the more challenging work on a large canvas.

I find the same kind of relief with windows that I often put on my large pieces. The one on this canvas in progress may or may not stay in the composition but it has served the purpose of a relaxing distraction.  

Our Paintings teach Us

When painting from the on- sight sketch and the memory of seeing that dancer move, it doesn't always come down on canvas the way I had planned. The two dimensional canvas and the paint can often cause the image to tighten up and become confined in the composition. This week is an example of that.

By painting out the ineffective areas and re-drawing the gesture I can put life into the form again.  I am thinking that most painters are humored by the sometimes surprising outcomes of their calculated intentions and that feeling a little bit more experienced because of it.   

                                                        

From Newsprint to Canvas

This posting shows the process of taking a gesture from the actual rehearsal sketch and developing that idea on a canvas . The next few days will determine the outcome of this project.

 

Double Dutch

Those who remember jumping double dutch are aware of the skills necessary to be successful: timing, rhythm, concentration and endurance, to name just a few.

I am presently jumping double dutch between two different easels and topics in my studio this week and find it invigorating. One is a canvas that i am developing from the recent OBT performance and the other is a paper piece of a lion. The contrast of subject matter is entertaining even if there are some days i trip on the "rope". Then I go to a rehearsal or the zoo.

My question has to do with other artists' and the number of works that are actively being painted on daily.

Grandchildren and Inspiration

Before continuing with the series of drawings from the recent Oregon Ballet performance, I chose to share a request from my 17 year old granddaughter.

She has asked me to paint her three paintings of large cats. At Christmas I have her a Panther. An unnerving thing to do for a teenager in that phase of brilliant one moment and out to lunch the next.

The posted painting of the request for a Tiger came down easily and with the confidence that I had already passed the "cool" test.

It's amazing to me how much influence grandchildren can have on an artist and wouldn't that be a great idea for a book?!?

Any comments on this topic are welcomed.