Monday, October 21, 2013

Solitude

"Solitude" - 8x8

So after many hesitant revisions, this little painting joins the ranks of the Wardensville series.

In many ways, this project may be the closest I've come to following Bill Vrscak's advice: (see my earlier blog post on Bill Vrscak) ..."the best compositions are developed via sketching and simplification -- to [Vrscak] a painting should not be an exact copy of a scene or subject because that's what photography is for. Instead, painters must remember that what is on the surface of the paper is far more important than what the painter is seeing."

Well, given the quality of my source photograph, sketching and simplification were my only options.


I took the photo with my cell phone while on a morning walk. I don't know what attracted me to the scene, given all the obstacles between me and the focal point. But I know that I often see "glimmers" of paintings as I walk and/or drive around. If I pause and look more closely, the vision seems to vanish. So I'm beginning to trust my instincts, snap a photo, and ask questions later.

So here was my first simple sketch of the scene:

First sketch
It's very rough, but what I liked was the contrast between the background foliage shapes and the hard white geometry of the house.

Working to refine the shape of the house, I then did this sketch. This drawing also determined the direction of the light and how the shadows were cast on the different sections on the house. Additionally, I moved the house "up" on the hill.

Second sketch
A couple of watercolor value paintings were next, which I had posted in an earlier blog entry:

Value #1
Value #2
The purpose of these little paintings was to figure out how I wanted to break up the mass of foliage that surrounds the house. I knew the contrast between the large pine to the left and the house was critical, but I wanted to play with other values around those key elements.

Now it was time to paint...


In this early stage, I tried, per Bill Vrscak's advice, to block in big shapes first. I also  tried to make the outlines of those shapes interesting, and to vary the colors within the shapes so they wouldn't be flat and boring. Since the light was hitting from the right, I used more yellows to that side, and added cooler blues as I worked to the left.

From the value paintings, I had decided to not worry about any details in the foliage, and to push it all to the background. However, when looking at the painting at this point, I began to feel that it was too simple and too boring. So I stopped working on it for quite a while, and kept thinking about it. Finally I decided that I had to lift some of the wash to the left side, and develop some sense of hanging foliage that would add depth to the foreground elements. So the next stage shows that mass of foreground foliage as it starts to develop.

Along the way, you may have noticed that I eliminated the little tree that had been growing in front of the house. I had the tree in my pencil sketches, but in distilling the lessons of those early sketches, I decided that it was the shape of the house against the dark background that drew my interest. That contrast seemed dramatic, perhaps even mysterious. Obscuring that stark contrast with the mid-ground tree seemed superfluous, so I eliminated the tree from the design.

At this stage, I had also worked to break up the foliage areas surrounding the house, and developed the foreground to add texture and interest to what otherwise could be a large boring shape.

To finish up, I strengthened the cast shadows in the house, and added some very slight touches of detail. I didn't want to fuss over the house, and I think I kept it fairly simply, yet it reads in a realistic manner.
"Solitude" - 8x8

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

W.Va. Juried Exhibition


"Mumbles and Squeaks"
I wanted to share this press release with you...because "Mumbles and Squeaks" has been accepted into the exhibition!

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West Virginia Division of Culture and History to Unveil Juried Art Exhibition in Martinsburg in November


MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will unveil the 18th West Virginia Juried Exhibition at the Dunn Building in Martinsburg at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, at a reception that is free and open to the public.

Introduced by the Division in 1979, this biennial event showcases the work of state artists and craftspeople while providing the Division with an opportunity to purchase award-winning art for the West Virginia State Museum art collection.  The exhibition features painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, mixed media and crafts, and will remain on display through February 2014. 

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History proudly presents this exhibition in partnership with the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and with support from the West Virginia Legislature, which appropriates funding for the exhibition’s awards.

The awards for this exhibition include:
·     Governor’s Awards:  Up to three $5,000 purchase awards, with one award designated the D. Gene Jordon Memorial Award.
·     Awards of Excellence:  Up to seven $2,000 purchase awards.
·     Merit Awards:  Up to eight $500 awards.  These are not purchase awards.

For more information about the West Virginia Juried Exhibition 2013, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner, at (304) 558-0220 or at caryn.s.gresham@wv.gov.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.