Finding the Jewels in Your Artwork

Physical Process:

I started this 11” x 14” acrylic painting as a demonstration for a student who would later take over working on it.  In many of my pieces I start with a thin wash of paint to establish the cool or warm colors in the local areas and then I build values to the desired strengths.  The abstract shapes give the feeling, from a distance, of a finished work of art.

 

 

  

Mental Process:

The lesson here was on building a painting by starting with a solid foundation to work on.  To do this, I look at a subject in order to determine its strengths and weaknesses, which ensures a good composition.  This helps the viewer to see my vision and feel the visual paths that I want the observer to travel through.  In this piece they are traveling through the woods, over the water, and hopefully seeing the centers of interest as jewels in the work of art.

Artistic License

This black and white, acrylic, 30” x 40” painting of a local tree, is a study of composition and finding the strength within the subject and the space that it occupies.  As I painted with my brush, I felt like a conductor directing an orchestra.  As I painted, the real life summer greens fell away like the leaves in a fall windstorm, and all that was left in my artistic rendering was a sparsely covered tree - bare and almost naked - in all of its truth.

First Impressions

A subject has a personality that I would like to see in the finished painting, and my goal is to be true to my first impression.  As I started this piece I liked the strokes and my approach, but as I corrected the drawing to match his personality, I sacrificed one aspect of his personality for another, and lost the wild and free quality I originally saw in his face.  I started again with a fresh eye, and I felt I was again on track with my original vision.

Gerrie's Escape

Recently I had a much needed getaway to Saugatuck Michigan.  It was a drive that should have taken around 2 hours, but it ended up taking all day because of the frequent stops along the way.  From Bridgman to St Joe and then to South Haven, I was able to stop by the Box Factory’s Regional Art Exhibit, as well as seeing art in other local galleries.  One highlight of the trip was the wonderful waves that reached 10 feet high along the coast, which I stopped and photographed at every beach I could get to.  I was also able to make a stop for some plein air painting at a beautiful beach.  It’s amazing how much of a pleasure it was to just enjoy all my old haunts, see new artwork, and overall to immerse myself in the arts.