Saturday, May 12, 2007
ArtPact #18
"You are stalling", she said.
Y'see, after a lot of hesitation, I finally jumped in and did the first painting of La Sagesse. I was very intimidated, as it's a great photo and very easy to screw-up. So, NOT painting it would make sure I don't. But then again, I do want to paint it... Typical for a first painting - I guess there's no way to avoid this.
"I'll make several versions of it", I told myself and The JohnnyB, and went ahead with the first version. As expected, I turned out copying what I saw, clinging to the photo, trying to capturing every little bit that's in it, rather than creating my own painting from it.
It was frustrating, and I could not tell what's wrong with it, so I just stopped, and - being very frustrated - I decided I might as well have some fun, and did two in my sketchy-line style with some light washes, which I have recently started to explore. It was fun. Not yet what I want, but - it's also about enjoying the journey.
On Thursday I went to our critique group meeting. It was a very reduced-forum, only the three of us: WebbieM, RabkieM and myself. It was actually quite pleasant, and each of us ended up getting a lot of attention and critique of her work.
WebbieM nailed down what was wrong with my first painting: I was using hues & tints, and then tones.
OK, a quick lesson in color: 'hue' is pure intense color, out of the tube. 'tint' is the hue mixed with white or water to lighten its value, and 'tone' is the hue mixed with its complement to create neutral grays. Confused? Wait - let's also add 'shade', which is the hue mixed with black. Hues and tints tend to be more intense and bright and cheery, while tones and shades are tuned down, more grayish and a bit more moody. Somehow, all my paintings end up with tones and shades, and I keep trying to get to cheery, but that's not part of the lesson, and not what you are paying for.
So, I was using cheery hues and tints in the sky and ocean, while the figures and their shadows were all tones. Doesn't quite feel right. Then, RabkieM pointed out what was wrong with my sketchy one, and I was very grateful for their help.
After the meeting, I was telling RabkieM how weird it is that I cannot bring myself to paint portraits since I started taking WackieM's advanced portrait workshop, and instead I'm doing figures and other stuff.
RabkieM gave me a reprimanding knowing look and said, "You know what you are doing, don't you!?".
"What?", I asked with angelic eyes.
"You are stalling".
"Me? stalling?", I faked insulted astonishment (like, Duh...).
"Yes. I am only saying this because I do the same. It's just like doing the laundry or washing dishes or finding little house projects instead of painting. You should be working on your self-portrait, which is the homework we got from WackieM, not escaping to this beach scene!!".
Ah, I really hate it when people are right.
I went back home, and proceeded to work on the first La Sagesse painting, keeping in mind WebbieM's comment. Yup, the 'after' painting (the one on the right) looks more unified. Not quite a bright Caribbean beach, more like a beach on very hazy day, or at dusk, but hey - at least it has a consistent mood.
But RabkieM's words kept echoing in my head.
And so, the next evening, I decided that she really is right. A couple of weeks ago, The JohnnyB took a photograph of me in the same pose of the self portraits I painted from life at the workshop. I printed that photo, dug out all those tissue papers that I prepared a month ago, got the guts to finally tear them up (the first tear broke my heart, but once I got over it, I proceeded to slash them, pogrom-style) . . . . .
. . . . 4 hours later - I came up with this:
"Self-Portrait #3", Collage on matboard, 19"x16"
I was having soooooooooooooo much fun, it must be illegal in some states!!
And now I am hooked on collage!!
So - I owe a big, Huge, IMMENSE Thank You to RabkieM.
The Beach Boys can wait....
previous ArtPact
Labels: Art, ArtPact, Major Achievements
"you are stalling" could have been a Second Sentance Of The Month. :)
The collage is fabulous! I'm amazed it looks so much like your painted one!!! What great work.
and if I can quote you again, "It's all about enjoying the journey".
love that.
# posted by 
: 5/12/2007 7:29 PM
Yes, it was quite a sentence, but I really appreciated hearing it, as it gave me the needed push.
And - Thanks!!
Although I came out somewhat cross-eyed in this collage (well, I couldn't see anything after I was done... this baby took hours of very concentrated work up close), I like it much more than my painted portrait. In fact, this one looks more like me. (and so, yet again, I have changed my blog photo...).
Remembering that the journey is no less important than the destination helps a lot, in many domains in life. Makes you appreciate experiences and people much more.
Hey Nava . . That is a WONDERFUL piece of art . . . scuze me, (ahem!) Art. I had a painter in one class who used this sort of collage then developed a painting from the collage. Her paintings were amazing! Great work!!
Hey Mike, thank you.
Part of my collage quest was to find a cure from the eternal soft-edges I go for all the time. Can't have just soft-edges with a collage, at least not until I find the way ;-)
Cool idea to take some of the fun shapes and create a painting based on this. Design by copying from myself, Eh?
WOW!!!
I mean it, Nava. I may over use an exclamation point (or 2) but, I was all ready to say how beautiful the 2nd set of La Sagesses are and.. wow!
I'm really not a collage kinda guy, but you don't see many that are that realistic. Very. Cool!
Methinks that stallin' might just've been what you'd learned stewing in yer noggin'. Kudos!
Hmmm... Up close, the realism goes away. But, even when large on the screen, from a distance I think the Lack of softness makes it more appealing somehow.
OK. Oh, and I really do like that brighter beach scene from the 2nd set. Very nice. :)
Michael, Thank You!!
Yup, most collage artists go for non-objective or landscape, but I am hooked on figures and portraits, and my aim is to combine realism with abstraction.
Paintings always look less realistic when you look at them up close. They (who?) say that a painting is best viewed from a distance that equals 5 times it's height (if I recall correctly). Getting closer mostly shows the technique, and you loose the big picture.
And I really like what you said about steaming rather than stalling, but - truth to be told, I actually wasstalling. But thanks for the vote of confidence:-)
i'm lost for words.
my jaw hit the desk top when i clicked on your latest self portrait. (the same place my jaw hit the concrete when i came off my bike last friday 13th april as it happens. double ouch!)
so thats what a collage is? where do you exhibit your stuff?
if you don't you should. now. u are one talented lady.
but when you do make sure its not in a restaurant. the soup splatter will be intolerable as the jaws of stunned diners hit the minestrone.
oh nava, i lied to you. i wasn't lost for words after all. can u ever forgive me?
Post a Comment
<< Home
The collage is fabulous! I'm amazed it looks so much like your painted one!!! What great work.
and if I can quote you again, "It's all about enjoying the journey".
love that.
: 5/12/2007 7:29 PM And - Thanks!!
Although I came out somewhat cross-eyed in this collage (well, I couldn't see anything after I was done... this baby took hours of very concentrated work up close), I like it much more than my painted portrait. In fact, this one looks more like me. (and so, yet again, I have changed my blog photo...).
Remembering that the journey is no less important than the destination helps a lot, in many domains in life. Makes you appreciate experiences and people much more.
Part of my collage quest was to find a cure from the eternal soft-edges I go for all the time. Can't have just soft-edges with a collage, at least not until I find the way ;-)
Cool idea to take some of the fun shapes and create a painting based on this. Design by copying from myself, Eh?
I mean it, Nava. I may over use an exclamation point (or 2) but, I was all ready to say how beautiful the 2nd set of La Sagesses are and.. wow!
I'm really not a collage kinda guy, but you don't see many that are that realistic. Very. Cool!
Methinks that stallin' might just've been what you'd learned stewing in yer noggin'. Kudos!
OK. Oh, and I really do like that brighter beach scene from the 2nd set. Very nice. :)
Yup, most collage artists go for non-objective or landscape, but I am hooked on figures and portraits, and my aim is to combine realism with abstraction.
Paintings always look less realistic when you look at them up close. They (who?) say that a painting is best viewed from a distance that equals 5 times it's height (if I recall correctly). Getting closer mostly shows the technique, and you loose the big picture.
And I really like what you said about steaming rather than stalling, but - truth to be told, I actually wasstalling. But thanks for the vote of confidence:-)
my jaw hit the desk top when i clicked on your latest self portrait. (the same place my jaw hit the concrete when i came off my bike last friday 13th april as it happens. double ouch!)
so thats what a collage is? where do you exhibit your stuff?
if you don't you should. now. u are one talented lady.
but when you do make sure its not in a restaurant. the soup splatter will be intolerable as the jaws of stunned diners hit the minestrone.
oh nava, i lied to you. i wasn't lost for words after all. can u ever forgive me?
