The Learning Curve Continues

I have no artwork to post today... well, I could dig something up from days gone by, but I actually just feel like writing.

I was at the studio this afternoon and got working on the larger version of "Lit" which felt really good. I'm excited that I actually feel a bit motivated to get some work underway. The four days of plein air painting last week seemed to be just what I needed. It has turned cold again, but I'm okay with being back in the studio because I know this cold spell won't last forever and Spring truly is on the way.

Anyway, I had my four plein air paintings set out on my table at the studio and two other artists that were working in their spaces came over to say they liked what I did last week... but then an impromptu critique ensued! It started with one of them saying I needed to be careful when doing the horizon line of a river or body of water- it should be level and not on an incline because water doesn't flow like that. The painting she was referring to was "River Thawing" and I was quite confused at the time, but I think I am starting to understand what she meant. When I painted it I was looking down the river (not straight across to the other bank) and my eye saw an angle, but maybe in the painting it reads like there is a slope to the river which, of course, is not the way rivers run unless they are going over some sort of water fall. This is where things got interesting, if not a little heated! The other artist piped up and said that this angle didn't bother her, she felt it made the composition more dynamic. My head was going back and forth between them as if I was watching a tennis match! What bothered her was that the water and the grayer edge of the ice were about the same size making it look like two equal bands running across the width of the painting and as a result this section was quite boring. Humph and how about that?!! I can see that point too! How does a person miss these things when they are painting? I caught it on "Ice, Water, Snow, Frost", but missed it on this one. I actually really like "River Thawing", but maybe with these suggestions I can make it even better. I'm thinking if I drop the left side of the bank down a bit to reduce the angle of the horizon line then maybe that will help the flow of the water look more natural. After that maybe I will tweak the grayer edge of the ice so it differs from the size of the water itself. Lots to think about. I am thankful for constructive critiques... if done right, I can really learn something.

Speaking of which, I feel I have so much to learn that I am overwhelmed most days! This is possibly one of the reasons why I have had a hard time getting back at it after our car accident. During the couple of months I was in too much pain and too uncomfortable to go in and work at the studio, I kept looking at and finding all kinds of art blogs. I've thought it before, but in these months it really sunk in.... I know very little about what I am doing in this art world! All these amazing artists can write about their knowledge... values, temperature of colour; warm and cool, how light works, etc., and although I get the gist of what they are saying, I don't think I have the full understanding so as to put it into practice- especially where colour mixing is concerned. I don't mean to make it sound like I don't think I have any clue at all and oh, poor me, but I have realized that when I paint I am not relying on a whole lot of theory! Right now I am painting, I guess, from my gut- what I like, what I don't like... my choices are intuitive rather than, well... informed! I don't necessarily think this is entirely a bad thing, but the unfortunate result of this self awareness is that I am feeling like a bit of a sham! I don't think there will ever be a day that I think I know enough about art. Therefore this desire, passion and quest of mine will be lifelong. But I can think of worse things! :o)

Thanks to all of you who take the time to leave wonderful, supportive comments as you watch me climb this learning curve. It is a steep one and I'm happy to have you join me on this journey!

Against The Sky

16x20

acrylic on canvas

I really enjoyed painting this piece this summer when I was at Emma Lake. It came from an idea I have been attempting for several years and every time I have tried it, it has never worked out the way I was seeing it in my head. This painting is the closest I have come and so I felt pretty excited about it. I wanted it to have a feel of nearness to the trees and looking up at them. I also wanted to capture how the trees can sometimes look like silhouettes against the sky. The underpainting/ ground is a layer of Raw Umber followed by a layer of Anthraquinone Blue. I then used the "sky blue" colour to cut in all of the negative spaces and therefore reveal the trees, adding more colour along the way. This is the painting that took some heat in the critique that I mentioned in my August 31 post. I'm over the upset of that... it hurt at the time, but in the end I think it turned out to be a cool representation of what I had in my head, it felt good painting it and it was exciting seeing it unfold before me... especially because it was such an experiment. I was using a photo I had taken the first day as a resource, so after painting en plein air all day I would stay late at night and work on this in the studio by looking at the photo on my little digital camera screen (thinking the entire time that a laptop would sure be nice). Anyway, hope you like it... the curator did, so it will be in my show! Yay! And for the last week or so I have been working at the studio on a larger canvas based on this idea... so stay tuned, I'll be posting it soonish. 

Fury

Fury

24x10

acrylic on canvas

sold

This little baby is a bit of a departure isn't it? I think I will put it in my show because it perhaps introduces another side of myself... a side I am still discovering. I did it this summer when I went to a week long painting workshop at a northern lake in Saskatchewan this past July. The class was held at the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus which is a satellite to the University of Saskatchewan and is the world's best kept secret. It has a fascinating rich history which helped shape the art world in this province for many years. I first attended a class there in the summer of 2000, went back again in 2001 and then along came my kids and subsequently my hiatus. :) I finally managed to suppress my mommy guilt enough to return in 2007, 2008 and now 2009. I love it there. It is my happy place. The place where I am not a wife or a mommy... I am just me. It is a place that is helping me figure out just who that is..

But, back to this painting I posted today. It is named "Fury" and not by accident, I might add. I painted it in the evening immediately following the last critique session of the workshop. I had been one of the last students to be critiqued and had just finished hearing ( from a very obnoxious lady in the class) that I should do something with the big red blob on one painting (it was an unfinished piece) and that my paintings had all been done before and that I should loosen up in my technique (I've heard this comment before). I was stunned into silence and later burst into tears in private with my dear painting friend, Debbie, who said all the right things. About half the class went down to the beach to paint the spectacular sky as the sun was quickly setting. After I regrouped I was so angry. I hit that beach in a serious fury (well, painting-wise anyway). I was all emotion and I laid it down on that canvas for the world to see! The next morning the instructor (and probably the artist who has the most influence on me) said, "Whoa, where did that come from?" I had to giggle because it came from some deep spot I didn't even know about before then.

Now, I am all for critique sessions because I can learn so much from really good discussions, but when comments are made that are in  no way constructive, that is where I have a problem. That is likely why I bristled at hearing the comment Edward B. Gordon received about his paintings being "trivial". How is that helpful to him as an artist? And who determines what is trivial? And why do I have to loosen up? And is there something that is inherently wrong with being tight? And...and...and...you're not the boss of me!!!!

On a lighter note, I was beyond pumped today to actually discover I have some followers! I am so appreciative and hope my little stories and paintings always make them glad they checked back in.