Reverence of the Gorillas

...and this is the evolution.  The trinity of gorillas with their gold leaf halos in various stages/degrees of understanding.  I think this one lends itself to multiple interpretations form the viewer.  I'm not sure if this is because we as humans see glimpses of ourselves in primates, but I will save my own view on this one.

Technically, as this piece progressed, it became about balancing the composition while maintaining the movement and focus. The circles became an important device to connect the gorillas and to contrast the heavily textured and linear fur and grass elements.They also serve to break up the space that was initially dominated by the central, more complete, silverback. 

Possibly, the most successful device in the image is the one that is intentionally missing. the eyes of the gorilla at the left... eye contact with a gorilla can be interpreted as a sign of aggression on your part, and they will attack. leaving out the eyes allows the viewer to look deeper and longer, and share an experience communicated solely through the eyes.

sanguine

day 4 (32x23)

 

day 3

day 2

day 1

Kites

I've been painting enormous kites for a party.  4 in total - they are painted on Tyvek - the material used to wrap houses - it is very good to paint on.   Just regular house paint and a black sharpie oil paint marker for materials. Tyvek is very strong and durable, takes the paint immediately and doesn't rip either, so it can take some abuse.

You can see the skeleton of one of the frames next to me.

here are a couple shots of them in progress:

 

the 4 kites are:  fish, gorillas, jaguars, and hares.  

I'll follow up with more pics as they are finished and mounted to their frames.

Plein Air Adventures - Melville's Hills

Cloudy days present consistent light, but not direct light, so everything is lit equally from all over.  Not necessarily ideal, but I want to do it learn what to expect.  I set up off of Holmes Road, overlooking a field and the mountains that inspired Herman Melville to pen Moby Dick (seriously)  it wasn't supposed to rain this day, so I figured I had 4+ hours to get this done.

This is what I spent most of the time doing.  sketching the composition in Cobalt Violet.  I do this so I don't have to worry about my "drawing" while I'm painting.  I do this first and then add color later so that I'm not suddenly moving mountains out of the way half way through the painting.  It also gives everything a nice warm tone (and looks great in shadow areas)  I really pushed my content together horizontally to fit my panel (16x20)  As you can see from the photos above, there were quite a few things I left out of the painting (trailers and random debris), and a few things I added (notably the foreground)

I snapped this just as it started to rain.  Oil paints don't really care if it is raining - oil and water don't mix.  but I got wet.  and a wooden easel doesn't like to get rained on. note to self * keep rain gear in the car.  I was able to work for about two hours on location before the sky opened up.  heavy rains.

brought it home and worked on it for a couple hours the next day because it didn't stop raining for 3 days.  all in all, I think this one came out pretty good.  I'm painting thicker and more confidently.  my mixing has gotten better too

En Plein Air

For my birthday this year I treated myself to a French Easel so I could start painting outdoors.  There is nothing quite like finding a great spot and working on location.  I have been reading a great blog lately by Stapleton Kearns who got me inspired to get outside.  His blog is incredibly useful and full of everything you need to know regarding outdoor painting.  Plus he seems like a fun guy and is a hell of a painter.

For my first venture, I went out to Mt. Greylock, and camped out at the base in a meadow looking south.  I worked for about 4 hours in the field before bringing it back to the studio to finish it off.  Not bad for someone who hasn't done something like this in a while...

 

For my nest venture, I traveled south to Kripalu in Lenox.  Another beautiful place to paint.  Looking out over Stockbridge Bowl surrounded by peace and quiet, I set up my easel on the grounds of Kripalu and set to work.. This is where I am after about 6 hours.  I think I'll take it back to the studio to finish it off, or I might head back out on location.  We will see when I get a chance to get back out.  

 

The leaves are changing and Fall is such a wonderful time to be outside.  I've got a list of places that I want to paint.  I'll try to post them as I make them.  I'm shooting for one a week.

On a side note, I had a catastrophic easel failure today (second time it has happened) where the a leg suddenly collapses.  this time it smashed my turpentine jar and so I had to go home early.  Totally lame.  I've got an idea about how to rig the easel so this NEVER happens again.  Imagine... the whole rig just suddenly falls to one side.  I've got 5 paint brushes in 2 hands, and a paint soaked cloth. The easel has my full palette, extra brushes, turpentine jar, rags, and canvas attached.  what do you drop and what do you grab.  I'm with you.  I grabbed the wet canvas.  It only smudged a little. everything else lay scattered on the ground.

All in all, it was a very fun time and I can't wait to get back out there.

Falling Water

I finished my first painting in almost 2 months.  "Bash Bish Falls"  48" x 32" oil on canvas.  I had no desire to finish this one when I initially started it (March) because I couldn't find a reason for it.  My mind wasn't into it.  I stayed away from the studio for this entire time and occupied myself with new media and materials - like welding - (pictures might follow of these explorations).  I wanted to do more than a "landscape".

It seemed like I had given up on it, or at least I had lost interest in following through on this idea - I was starting to consider what I might paint over it.  All I had was a loose drawing on the canvas from when I visited and a slight indication of some rocks.  I wasn't sure I could pull off the composition I wanted.

I was out for a walk last weekend and went to see a gallery show, I was overcome with a bit of a "creative rage" and knew I had to make something of this image- or at the very least make a horrific mess -  and break through this creative block.  There really was no choice.  It was my duty.  I left and went directly to the studio.  I completed 90% in a two day furry.  I think it is the legend of these waters that propelled me through.  I see her legs.

Bash Bish Falls is a waterfall in the SouthWestern corner of Massachusetts.  The story states that a native woman (a Mohican Indian named Bash Bish) who lived here was sent to her death over the falls for adultery.

I find the surging water powerful - especially in the Spring when their is so much volume. The last time I was here was in 1999 and I did a small sketch in roughly the same place.  I think I've come a long way since then.  I know I understand quite a bit more now.