I keep coming back to the same objects and compositions
because there are infinite ways to paint them. I marvel that
the same medium and tools in different hands yield entirely
different results. With each piece, I try to be aware and
conscious that I need to begin differently, be aware of each
stroke and be attentive to how that stroke relates to others,
whether in color, value or texture, but I always backslide,
forget and revert back to old habits. Then the struggle begins.
As an 8 x 6, this panel seemed huge!
Painting flowers, glass and cast shadows turned into quite a challenge!
All the colors and value changes within the vase and the shadow. The
cast shadow required a lot of scraping/wiping and re-evaluating and redoing.
The set-up had a deep red backdrop but I was hopeless in making the
transparency in the shadow relate to it while keeping the background pushed
back. The apple came easily without my usual tendency to massage and
describe and the area above it to the right was so much fun---massive amounts
of dark green paint brushed one stroke at a time on top of already thick light
paint. In the end, out of frustration with the background, I turned away from
the setup and tried to concentrate on what the painting needed to organize the
space. Is that cheating?
This was probably done in March (with a lot of others) in an attempt to
be less airy and atmospheric, more bold in the use of color and brush strokes.
I had been using gesso-coated boards but felt the first layer of paint got
sucked into the surface, so I switched to Raymar oil-primed panels.
I loved them immediately!
