Finishing Up . . .

   There is little difference between the first and the final draft of my new painting. . . just did a little "cleaning" up and toning down where I felt it was needed.                          

"Connections"
oil and mixed media on canvas.  50x70cm 
final version

This canvas was first prepared with a base of gesso and stucco to give texture  and relief to the surface.

I continued using broad spatulas and large brush stokes to create  color fields and to blend colors one  into the other.

As always, my interest is in the anatomy of the human body, the internal anatomy, and, in this case specifically,  the spinal column.

RED . . . Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad R. . .

Connections   oil on paper applied to wooden panel   50x70cm

Something new!

I have always avoided reds, don't know why, or rather I  do know why . . . too strong, too dominant, too . . too everything I guess. I considered them  too difficult to handle.

But here I deliberately chose red, alizarin crimson red to be exact, ( with touches of cad. red to warm up a little). After my sessions of mentoring with Janice Mason Steeves, I now feel I can defy my self-made taboos and restraints without consequences. It is completely liberating .  I enjoyed working on this piece, a real challenge and intend to continue with reds and new color schemes from here on.

Not only my color choice was liberated but so also was my method.  Again thank you Janice. I began with very thin washes of color (color, oil and turpetine) and watched as they dripped and intermingled down the paper as if they were watercolors. Remembering the importance of tonal contrasts I kept track of the lights and darks as I constructed my composition. Brushes were put aside in favor of spatulas, palette knives and . . . my fingers, also in line with the neccessity to "play" with my paint, to feel it glide onto the support, (which is paper, prepared with gesso and applied to a wood panel.

Again I am continuing my theme of anatomy using the spinal column as the central "figure"!

Just want to show you another "red" painting done awhile ago. There's a difference???? A change?
 

Figures -  oil, cold wax on canvas,  64x47cm

Thank you for visiting.

Digesting my Paintings and Moving On. . .

Connections - 50 x 70 cm  oil on paper

As usual. . . It  takes time for me to digest my paintings!

This last painting, published in the previous post, was missing something that I couldn't put my fingers on.  I
kept constant watch,  looking at it in every way possible,
from a distance, upside down, in black and white as Janice taught me. . .  Until. . . .finally it struck me that it lacked COLOR, strong color.. . . .It was grey and lacked contrast.

So I went to work.  I built up the colors.  Greens and violets that were vibrant and gave it more interest. Lights and darks that reinforced the structure.

And, Voilà.  That is:  Ecco!  Here  you have the last version.

(That is for now!X&zz)

Playing . . .the Game of Painting

Connections    50x70cm        oil on paper

I have finished the last  painting that I will be presenting to my mentor, Janice Mason Steeves, in a few days.  This time, I can really say that I experienced the "fun" in painting  that Janice has always said is a must.  That loosening up that eliminates any tension, any self created fears of making "mistakes". janicemasonsteeves.art blog.

First, I layed in my lights and darks using an idea from the value studies done previously for Janice. I decided to use a limited palette of blues, yellows, greens and black. My brushes were large as were my spatulas.  I didn't want to fall into the temptation of creating small details and minute forms so LARGE painting instruments were best.

As usual, my forms are  internal anatomical shapes  but this time, once they were in position  in the overall  design, I began to have fun distroying them. At first I used a large, homemade bamboo pen that I made years ago and "drew" into the wet paint breaking up the solidity of the forms. Then, using only my spatula, I built up the negative space around my forms with thick layers of paint concentrating on lights and darks, forms and movement. Again, I wanted to lighten the forms by breaking into them so I chose to use a brayer which picked up  and deposited color  creating movement and light within the forms.  I scraped and rubbed away the color. Nothing was "sacred".  Nothing untouchable.

What I wanted to achieve was a less formulated composition, to express the strength that is an essential part of these forms without making the whole too heavy.

I was in a rush to begin working for my fourth and final session with Janice but I wanted to work on a panel, not canvas.  I  had to wait too long for the delivery of the ordered  panels so decided to work on paper.  I sized the paper with gesso, pinned it to my painting panel and began.  Maybe the use of  paper gave me the strength to mess around, to "distroy" and to go ahead again.









These are the instruments I used. Spatulas, a brayer, my bamboo pen and . . . a Ferrari red spatula sent to me by Janice and "fun" to use.








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A Revolution is in Progress

quick schetch for new work 1

 A Revolution is in Progress . . .








 There is a revolution going on in my head . . . in my work.

 At this point  I am at my third session of the mentoring program that I am following with Janice Mason Steeves, amazingly talented abstract painter and teacher.

     see link below


    http://janicemasonsteevesartwork.blogspot.it/                                                                                       
                                                                                                

quick schetch for new work 2

These schetches  were part of a preparation exercise. Quick work, playing with color and forms, working on drafts of architectural drawings, done for Janice, my mentor, in preparation for my 3rd session. They were the basis for my next paintings, 50cm x 70cm, still in the finishing  process.

Still in the finishing process. . . what I thought was finished for the third conversation was only a "brutta copia" as they say in Italy and means a "rough draft".   I am working at making amends. . .!!!

THEN. . . after discussing my work, Janice gave me a new homework assignment.  I was to do small excercises in value.
Black and white value schetches looking for the solutions in design, balance, working only with black and white. This has worked wonders for me and is coupled with the notions of limits . . .simplicity . . . balance.

my value studies

These value studies were fun to work on and became, slowly, revelations for me. The forms can be strictly geometrical or anatomical as mine are. Each square can hold  7 forms (or less). They, in turn, will be divided into various values . . . from the highest, white, to the lowest, black.