Sunday, January 8, 2012

Rolling



















Still working to shift my focus to painting light and dark rather than
individual objects. I succeed pretty well in the early stages but then
get enamored of specifics and tend to lose sight of the bigger picture.
The bigger picture is right in front of me, whether a set-up or a photo.
But the bigger picture on another level is all of the things to be mind-
ful of: correct values to imply form, color relationships to make the
surface sing, spatial concerns, mark-making, texture, composition.
And yet there's an even bigger thing to be aware of: intention. There's
a wonderful lofty quote by Odilon Redon on the Powers of 
Observation site.

“I would prefer to claim with Pissarro that the art of painting, for those who 
know how to use their eyes, resides in an apple on the corner of a table. 
What could be more stupid than painting an apple! And yet to make of 
such a simple fact something that will be elevated to beauty, painting 
will have to engage all of its means; it will have to be solid, flexible, and 
rich in substance, suggestive too, so suggestive that it will have the luxury, 
the grandeur of revealing man’s presence in the apple — the apple surrounded 
with an atmosphere of thought.” 
From "To Myself," Odilon Redon

If I keep sight of this one, albeit very large intention, maybe everything
else will fall in line.



Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Chubby Pear

























This time of year always feels like a hibernation period just when
I need to be energetic about a new year. I wanted to see if I would
paint a single object differently after working on multiple-object
paintings. I saw Carol Marine's latest post this morning and am
amazed at how beautifully she fits 5 apples into such a small area.
Another thing to add to my "to try" list.