Saturday, August 20, 2011

Third day here

I've worked on all of the paintings I'd begun on Wednesday and took several down to be replaced with fresh, blank canvas. I've also worked on three of the stretched canvasses, as well. All of these are landscape but all are imagined, not observed.







I begin by making big paint marks on the canvas and then move on to develop whatever seems to be suggested by the marks. Horizon, clouds, land forms, masses of vegetation... all of those things are suggested in these paintings.



My tools are simple... I've got a few 2" paint brushes from the hardware, and also three brushes I've had for many years. They're pretty hard and crusty by now so using them is sort of like painting with wide sticks. I also use a cheap paint roller sometimes to quickly lay down color. I don't like to have white staring at me so I almost always put down an undercoat of something over the whole canvas. Sometimes almost none of that original color remains after I stop working on the piece. And I have to say "stop working" rather than finish because I keep seeing more that could be done. And after all I'm not painting for the sake of painting but to find potential tapestry ideas. When I get home these paintings will be rolled up and put on the shelf along with the others I've done in this way. The stretched canvasses will be reused over and over again, probably... painting out what's there now with whatever will happen later. I guess I could just use the same roll canvas, as well... and have done that a few times in the past. The ultimate recycling--just paint over and over and over on the same canvas!







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1 comment:

  1. glad you got your photo mojo back. Love Mr Big and love the fact that you can do these residencies that allow you to disengage from the day to day distractions.

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