Week 3 - Look Mom, No Hands

In class we have be exploring ABSTRACT painting.
In an effort to get away from traditional paint application (brushes) I tried to concentrate on making the paint do what it does naturally as a result of gravity. I ended up with paint on my shoes, the floor, my hair, - etc, etc.
The compositional idea at work here is sometimes called Steelyard,  also known as Mama Bear-Papa Bear, Baby Bear,  or Asymmetrical Composition or  Off Balance Composition.
I am sure there are other names but it is essentially a dominating element and a relating-subordinate element. Very often the dominant element is larger and the focal point as well. The small lower photo shows my dominant element and related subordinate element. I also made a strong statement as to the color that I wanted to dominate the painting.

Week 3 - Class Work - ABSTRACT

The use of dominant and subordinate shapes is very common in landscape painting:  for example - a big group of trees and a smaller isolated tree. 
But the idea of dominant and subordinate ELEMENTS is also common in abstract work.
Using some formal element, such as shape, line, color, or value,  gives us something to hang our hat on - something to build the painting around.  If I am working with the ELEMENT of shape - repeating that shape is a good way to go. 
Repetition of color, or any design element -  can be used to create a dominate idea with a subordinate to balance it.
This is how the members of the class handled the idea of a dominating element and a related subordinate element. Click on the photos to enlarge the view.
From the top these pieces belong to:
Jerri Everett,
Cathy McCurdy,
Josie Perea,
Gina Quintana,
Dee Bartee

Scroll down to the post And Now For Something Completely Different to read my general guidelines for non-representational painting.

Don't Miss the GIFT OF ART Show in LaVeta

Time for a shameless commercial break - But there is a party involved........
PARTY and highlight of the holiday season for the Spanish Peaks Arts Council. The GIFT OF ART Show at SPACe Gallery in LaVeta will include work of local writers and musicians as well as the best ART of the Spanish Peaks region. Reception for the artists is Sunday, November 16th from 4 - 6 pm and the show will hang through January 3rd, '09. These 3 pieces from my fall plein air outings will be in the show and Judith Greenwood will also have work featured.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Week 2 in Abstract-Land

In this second week of our abstract journey we are using a vertical -SHAPE compositional idea. My final painting is at the top but the first strokes that established the vertical theme are shown directly below it, to the right. Violet is my dominant color and lime green the subordinate color.
It occurs to me that -although we began the exercise with SHAPE as the major element -
COLOR is also in there grappling for elemental dominance.


Down the line is some of the student work; each started with the same vertical compositional shape and either purple or lime green as a dominant color.
Kayleith Pellandini,
Judith Greenwood #1 and
Judith Greenwood #2,
Gina Quintana, and
Josie Perea.
It is amazing how one idea can take so many different directions. For some of us loosening up is difficult; sometimes the tools we use can be the vehicle to take us to new places in our work.
Judith Greenwood does beautiful and sophisticated work using sticks (from Cottonwood trees)- makes me wonder why I spend money on brushes. . .

Developing the Sublime

While I am burying my head and brushes in the abstract barrel, check out an awesome painting as it developes; start to finish on Eldon Warrens blog at http://eldonwarren.wordpress.com
When you get to the blog click on Eldon's UTube Link and then enjoy the painting come together in video form. Thanks Eldon for letting us in on the process and Thanks Debra for making it happen in video form.

Something Different- Take 2

This piece in red and the one below in blue are both based on the CROSS compositional idea. This small photo to the right shows the first strokes of what, in the end became the big painting. I got a little carried away in the fun of, well - everything - but the compositional foundation of the piece, and the dominant color theme - are the rails that keep it all on track.
And one more note I want to make at this point - I have been influenced, hugely, for abstract and acrylic painting by various artists: Janis Loverin, in particular. Janis is a wonderfully versatile artist and fellow member of the High Desert Painter Group. To see some of her work, click on the J. Loverin Studio link down on the right under LINKS.

And Now For Something Completely Different

A new class session starts this week and it is time to try something new. Can you say ACRYLIC?
Maybe it's the weather, time of year or just burn out. My students know to look out, when I need to change my painting address - I take it out on them. The upside is that we all learn (and have fun) together.
This class session is about color, composition, abstraction and, well, having fun. After months of painting fruit, analyzing reflections in glass, plotting cast shadows, it's time for a break in the action and to try a little paint flinging in a non-representational way; and we are going to do it with acrylic and a whole new color wheel.

My general guidelines for nonrepresentational work:
1. Start with a dynamic compositional theme and a color that you want to dominate the piece.
2. Under paint with an intense color (possibly the complement of your dominant color choice), and allow some of that color to show through at the finish. - Contrasting or complementary hues create excitement.
3. Stay out of the WHITE.
4. Use the greatest color contrasts where you want to establish your center of interest. - Remember, cool colors recede, while warm colors come forward.
5. Use colors as shapes. Place then to interact with each other, varying the size and shape of the masses.
6. Don't over work the paint or you will lose the visual strength and energy of the piece.

So much for my first attempt. Stay tuned.

The Last Notes on Glass- at Least for Now

This is the last in our 2 month study of glass. Scroll down to recap most of the "GLASS" posts.
Everyone in class is more confident and certainly more competent in an area that seems to mystify beginners. The basics: a key to glass is CLARITY; you have to be able to see through it for it to read as glass, and
Strong, hard highlights and strong, hard accents (the darkest marks) are key to communicating the hardness of glass.

Painting Cut Glass

Well, unlike any other kind of glass - cut glass is not clear but it does share with all glass some specific qualities, those being the hard, strong highlights and hard, dark accents. This is where standing by your method will be the only thing that saves you. Go for the SHAPES- and in this case I first painted the little pitcher as a mid-value shape, then broke up that shape into smaller shapes of light and dark, leaving room, value wise for brighter highlights and darker accents. The colored brush on the inside of the pitcher is used as device to hint at some clarity characteristic of glass; and I faked it a bit to better communicate. The red I actually saw was very obtuse. Here, I fall back on my first rule of any still life: it has to communicate to the viewer. The short hits of red suggest that the pitcher has some clarity (as opposed to being opaque) and that the brush inside extends to the bottom.
In class, we all agreed that cut glass was the hardest subject in the glass category; the brush was fun tho'.

Class Notes on Painting Glass

We just have 2 more class sessions in our study of glass. This is a pretty terse 16"x12" and I am painting on my favorite ground - a scraped down canvas; the remains of maybe 10 scraped off paintings. It is the only way to give the canvas that wonderful crapped out look; almost a shame to cover it up.
Our little green apple makes an appearance but only as a subordinate; having an item BEHIND the glass object helps show clarity, especially if the background is ambiguous.
Though it has nothing to do with glass, I would note the brushes inside of the mug. It seems obvious that they would have to rest on the rim and as well, go to the bottom; sometimes this is lost on the beginner (or some of us who can't make our brushes straight). Any straight item, be it a brush, pencil, stick, flower stem cannot stand on its own but must rest on the rim and (allowing for a bit of glass distortion) must also follow a straight path all the way to the bottom of the container. So check that angle in the drawing before heading to paint.