This past week I attended a five day painting retreat. We painted with models posing rain and shine, for five days. It was an excellent and much needed experience for me, and although I have so much to learn, it gave me a boost toward one of my painting goals of including the figure into my plein air paintings. Learning to trust my instincts in color mixing as I follow the light AND find values that are both visually readable and strengthening to the overall composition, ended up making for a full dance card.
The above paining painting carries a loose quality that I am happy with and feel that it does show both perspective and form even in the simplicity of the piece. I am excited to have begun working on this personal goal and hope one day it will become second nature in my plein air artwork, as a response to Man and Nature, rather than Man verses Nature. A big thank-you to Henk Pander, for the creative energy he gave to the day as our guest artist/teacher. And I do want to see what he does with that action photo he snapped of me with my umbrella handle tucked into my coat pocket as I painted in the rain!
Finally, I worked on a portrait. It became really confusing to me and although I wanted to abandon it, I made myself work on the large canvas size till I at the least could find closure with it. Lights, darks, composition, color harmony & color tension, the stylized calligraphy, and brush stroke were areas of awareness in the piece. I started 8 pieces during the week, two of which will be on exhibit in a group show sometime in August.
What a fun and exhausting week. Really it was actually a dream come true for me. Yea for dreams! :)
You have taken on a lot this week. Your shapes are getting better, they say more with less fuss. Keep working at it. You'll get there.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good week for me. Working on the basics!
ReplyDeleteIt was great, wasn't it!
ReplyDelete