oh, no...muse at play.

above:  judith's pears prior to muse at play

above:  after the muse stepped in it.

 above:  detail of the muse's work..dancing figures, a couple of musicians.

above:  the panel for Judith's Pears with a question?  fireblight?

  note to muse: keep your hands off!  it works the way it is.  (i better sign it before the muse decides to redact the pears.)  i have another 10x40" panel that is fresh and clean.  the muse can get that panel.  and finish the dancing figures.  ugh.  am reminded of writing: sometimes the writer has to run to catch up to the character that has taken over the story.  a completely different story than one was planning to tell. it is a for better/for worst relationship.

best,

with best intentions,

deb.

Progress report: If their mothers knew

grid with thoughts of Poussin's triangular composition.

foiled comp

white aluminum foiled comp

the gilder's oil failed. good, now i can take some chances.

if it's going to fail, might as well do it brilliantly.

now i'm scraping back through the layers.

best,

\deb

ps:  there is a big cruise ship anchored just inside the breakwater.  lots of shuttles flying back and forth.  it's going to be a busy day at bananas.  almost 3000 peeps on the ship including crew.  goodmorninggloucester.com is sure to have plenty of updates to keep you all informed.

the work continues: the wip: if their mothers knew

had to bring this canvas indoors last night to escape the ravages of Earl.  it was a non-event, just rain, good thing i brought it in.  i took this opportunity to work for a bit under incandescent light, and low light.  and started again.  i like the pentimento and heed the advice that some pigments placed over a layer of ivory black may curdle.  i'm making this up as i go along, so who knows what the finished work will be, i surely don't.  not even an intimation, other than there will be figures.

best,

deb.

The WIP: shoes

this morning's work, and the light changes.  i plan to document this work through completion. or not.  is any work ever complete?  my interest lies with the arrested hand.  how do we know when to stop?  when to continue?  at some point a sense arrives, it is done.  

best, deb

the wip (work-in-progress): self criticism/self doubt

it is still on the easel, right outside our front door, on the deck.  the oil paints, brushes, still in place.  it is setting up.  it won't leave me alone, sitting one step beyond my comfort zone.  potential, possibilities.  i think of my artist friend howard kline in Cambria Califonia building and painting/drawing lobster boats endlessly, joyfully, exhuberantly!  hello howard!  these boats don't come easy. 

i'm interested in the underlying structure of this painting.  perhaps that is why i decided to leave it until today.  this morning david said 'don't throw it away.  leave it.'  so, i look again.  i see a small square 'painting-within-a-painting' in the upper left hand corner that has some possibility.  when i see the whole painting based on this design, i think of jaser johns' flag series with a question:  can the rest of the picture plane be organized into 'strips' of the landscape, with an underlying reference to a flag.  the answer is yes.  ok, other options:

scrape the acid green, get further or closer away from the boats.

or i can try to 'kill the painting'.  paintings do not die easily, and i have already made that one step into beyond known boundaries.  pink.  that is what i keep feeling needs to happen.  how to do it without making the painting 'sweet', and how to make the work unto itself and whole.

for now, i will draw.

best,

deb


ps:  i have had many responses with preferences for the varied states of this painting.  the dry state getting a nod twice for like, one for not.  three yes on the way it is.  and i just started to scrape it.  i worry about the panel being poorly constructed.  i have already gouged into the masonite support.

The wip (work-in-progress): the dry state

I scraped off the paper, washed the panel with fresh 1:1:1 and started again.  maybe i will try again tomorrow.  the tide keeps changing, tomorrow i should have at least 2 horus before it has changed too much.  then, i will have to start another painting.  i need to just look at the painting as painting and realize i will never replicate the beauty and complexity of my source material.  the pic of the view follows.  and no, i don't paint from photographs, although a pic can simplify the masses and bring understanding.  it's the color experience that is wanting in my work today.  tomorrow may be better, or not.  and this panel may need to be trashed.  will see.

best,

deb.

The WIP: Faces I Remember

two pics, same work.  top with white balance, bottom with automatic setting

My friend Paul Frontiero aka Capeannpainter recently posted about taking pictures of his artwork.  His issue is the photos lean towards blue.  One of his readers suggested he use the white balance feature.  I have never tried the white balance, so I did.  My simple $100 kodak digital has a white balance with three simple settings: daylight, florescent, tungsten.  I used the daylight setting, with close-up.  The white balance worked!  the top pic reads true.  I also tweeked the contrast a bit to get the pic closer to the drawing. 

 media for this face with no name (for now) is gesso, conte crayon and aluminum leaf on canvas, 14x16".  The composition is simply two shapes that i am in the process of complicating.  I use this same composition to start landscapes, standing figures, still life.     I have accumulated quite an inventory of these faces during the past three years.  some with names, some without.  This one has been on the drawing table for 3 weeks, and may or may not be done.

click the pics for close-ups.

best,

deb.

The WIP (work in progress): The Wedding Reel

this will show at The Peabody Historical Society & Museum, Peabody MA

August 15-October 18, 2009

wip (work in progress): oncorhynchus nerka

that's my kitchen workspace above. below is the sockeye. aluminum and combination leaf on panel with oil and wax on reverse glass. detail below:

The WIP (work in progress): Hake panel 4 continues

I have added gold leaf to the front and gilded the panel behind the glass with aluminum leaf. refined the drawing, pretty near done.

The WIP (work in progress) panel 2 continues

In the big pic you can see my reflection in the mirrored sections.