Tempest
Tempest ~
Palette photographs
Teal and magenta abstract ~
Teal and magenta abstract
Red stroke ~
Red stroke
When I’m painting (which I don’t do often enough), I use a pie tin for mixing the acrylics. After the paint is dry in the tin I can usually peel it off in large pieces, which I then photograph. This is my favorite of the palette photographs I’ve taken. It’s what I’d like to achieve in painting, but haven’t figured out how to do.
Orchid palette ~
Orchid palette
Palette 4/4/2016 ~
This is a copy of “Stormy Day,” the Isaac Levitan painting that I posted to my Facebook page recently. I applied a watercolor filter to the second palette crop. Actually, I think this palette is for another painting I’m working on that I’ll probably paint over. Whoops!
In searching for a photo of the Levitan painting, I came across many other paintings of his that I admire. See this site for a rich sampling of his work, especially “Shadows, Moonlit Night,” “Vladimirka Road,” and “Footpath in a Forest, Ferns.” The latter seems especially remarkable as a sort of Impressionism/Realism hybrid. Wow! Plaudits to I Require Art’s Facebook page for bringing to our attention the work of little-known artists such as Levitan, as well as lesser-known works by widely known artists such as van Gogh..
Palette 3/28/16 ~
Another tight crop. This is a bad habit I’ve fallen into. The painting I’m working on started as an unsuccessful cloud and morphed into a floating meringue-topped pie, which reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud, whose work I dislike. Bleah! If I can successfully paint a big floating fork, I’ll finish it as a joke painting. If not, break out the gesso.
Palette 3/27/16 ~
This is the least successful of my three copies of paintings so far. It’s Georgia O’Keefe’s “Church Steeple,” 1930, shown here with two palette crops. I used the dimensions of the postcard image: 3″ wide by 5.5″ tall. That was a mistake, because almost everything ended up as detail work. I need to get away from these miniaturist tendencies and try a much larger painting for a change, no matter how bad it is.
Palette 3/16/2016 ~
I’m calling this one “Crummy Flower Painting.” I’m still winging it, not working from an actual object or copying someone else’s work. The palette photos continue to be far superior to the actual paintings. That’s all right. I continue to enjoy painting, and it’s worthwhile so that I can photograph the palette results.
Palette 3/9/2016 ~
This is such a tight crop, I applied a watercolor filter to it. It seems a bit ironic to apply a watercolor filter to a photograph of acrylic paint.
Palette 2/28/2016 ~
Alas, thus far I seem to have a rather lurid style. I began this painting by trying to copy a lovely, delicate watercolor by a contemporary artist named Jane Voorhees. Other than a slight similarity in the landforms, however, this painting bears no resemblance to the watercolor. The title is thanks to Nick Drake, of course, whose fame exploded a number of years ago after VW used snippets of this song in a commercial where two young couples in a convertible forgo a party to go spinning down the road in the magical moonlight. But “Pink Moon” is not about magic; it is, almost certainly, about death. Nick Drake suffered from depression; he either killed himself or overdosed on antidepressants. But even his darkest songs are beautiful. Have a listen.
VAPOR AND FLOW 