Thoughts in the USA

"? Well, the kid who played the reckless Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has grown to a top-notch actor.

So we went.

I did not come out of it a groupie of horror movies, but Will Smith played his role incredibly.

Since we caught this movie only now, we saw it in an old quirky cinema, that sold stale popcorn. The place smelled of pee, and by the look of the chairs, those responsible for this odor did not bother to go to the restroom to leave their mark. And, to top it all, as one of the characters was saying the finishing sentence of the movie, the end of that very last sentence was cut in the middle (I kid you not!) and the lights went back on, leaving us no chance of seeing the cast or the director. I'm pretty sure won't be going to that theatre ever again, but now I am soooooooooooooooo glad we went to see it there, as the screen was small... I wouldn't want to watch this one on a full screen. Hey, in some places, it played in iMAX!!!

The movie is bursting with nocturnal zombies all over the place. And yes, it was scary. Not the constant roaring and the glaring eyes of those creatures, as much as the impact of the terrible silence that pulls you into the reality of the movie.

Right as we were going out of the movie theatre, I heard someone calling my name - and it was webbieL from our watercolor club. I was still overwhelmed by the movie, so I guess I acted very weird (The JohnnyB states I was looking around very nervously). I was still in that freaked-out state as we drove back home in the dark empty streets, wondering when will the first zombie stick his unpigmented face in the window and roar at us with sharpened teeth.

When we got home, The JohnnyB was so thoroughly amused by my reaction that he took me by the hand to check that all the closets are safe and the house is zombie-free.

OK, OK - laugh all you want. But - - - - now The JohnnyB is feeling sick... he even took Airborne.

Coincidence??

I dunno.

One thing's for sure: I'm gonna check his hair, eyes and gums in the morning. You don't mess with the plague.

Labels: Damn Technology, Movies, Scary

# posted by Nava @ 1:31 AM 7 comments

(Also published on "Unchain My Art").

Not a new painting, but rather a rescued one.

This one has made quite a journey along the Via Dolorosa... starting as quite pristine clear washes (well, very pristine for my usual style!) through a miserable correction attempt that led to a valuable lesson and then to a frantic quest of redeeming it - I think it is now done.

I brought it to our critique group on Thursday, and the responses were positive. The 3 group members who were following the saga on my blog said that had they not been clued in on the turmoil, they wouldn't even know there was a problem with it. LimaB even called me after the meeting to file an official request that I do not touch that painting, as it is really a good one.

"Please, PLEASE don't touch it, Nava", she pled, knowing the power of my self-destructiveness.

Well, needless to say, I did go into it today with a brush (sorry, LimaB), but just to add some very final touches, which I actually think have improved it. Now the left cheek is not a flat surface, but finally has form.

So, counting my losses: I have lost the clean washes of pure color, and some of the white of the paper.

But - I managed to maintain the white shape, as well as most of the shapes in the painting and the pure color in the important parts. For someone who is not a shape painter, with a chronic tendency to dull all the color - this is a MAJOR achievement!!

And, I have gained a lot of fun, as in my rescue attempts, I got into the careless mode, so I allowed myself to used some stamping and gouache, which add depth and interest. And let's not forget that this incident inspired a sentence of the month post.

Bottom line - I think this final version is much more a "Nava" painting, and it does capture the essence of the person much better than the clear cheery one. Hmm... does that mean I actually need to thank The JohnnyB? Or is it my natural inclination to take an OK painting and bring it to a point of disaster so I revive it and take it beyond? Ah well, that's just too profound for a lazy Saturday afternoon...

Labels: Art, ArtPact, Major Achievements

# posted by Nava @ 2:53 PM 0 comments

"Nooooo, this no pink! This red!" said the guy at the bakery with utter self-conviction.

Yesterday when I ordered this cake (raspberry filling), I specifically asked them to not put pink or purple on the cake.

"It's a guy's birthday", I informed the bakery dude. "Please use blue, or green. No pink. Please!".

And today, he looked me in the eye, assuring me that this is not pink. Y'know, I'm an artist. I kinda know about color. You simply cannot tell an artist that this is red. This is sooooooooo pink! And a horrifying one!! And - they also put a rose...

But - I didn't argue. I took this manly, masculine creation and presented it to the birthday boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THE JOHNNYB!!!

(and this font is not pink, either...).

Next year, I'm baking the cake.

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Labels: Birthday, Desecration, Food, People, Stating The Obvious, WTF?

# posted by Nava @ 7:44 PM 6 comments

And I can only blame myslef. (which makes it all even more annoying!).

Y'see, while the magic eraser indeed lifts the color very efficiently, it is not a time machine. Nor is it Superman. Thus, it does not bring back the pure white of the paper. What it does is create a shape that has an opaque-ish residue of the paint. This can be a beautiful effect, but not when you want a glowing pure area. AND it bruises the surface a bit, so now you have a different texture that - when painted on - stands out.

I know, this is all very "Duh!". But don't be so smug - if you're a painter, you know very well that once you have a brush in your hand, your left brain shuts down and all logic and common sense take a backseat to the right brain that cheerfully rushes forward with a stupid grin.

The thing with watercolor is that you can never get back that pure white. If you want to have the white of the paper showing, you have to save, protect and guard it with your life. (Hmm.. maybe that's why I hardly ever have white in my work - with my style of painting, the chances of me leaving the white of the paper untouched are slimmer than a super model.

So now, with a partly erased eye, a scrubbed face and a lost glow, Salminen looks like he is about to cry. I almost did!

Went to bed, totally pissed (as the most annoying part is that I can only blame myself!!!), and in the morning informed WackieM that I am going to shove my head in the oven, as I have destroyed the painting. I also wrote why I did it.

She gave me some helpful advice about situations when you have a good painting that you think of changing, then comforted me with the it's-only-a-piece-of-paper mantra, and then provided me with the sentence of the month, as she wrote:

Labels: Art, Sentence of The Month, Stating The Obvious, Venting, Wonders of The JohnnyB

# posted by Nava @ 6:10 PM 0 comments

I'm almost recovered from the intensive and extensive 5-day workshop, and have some time to breathe. I got several comments on the breakthrough I've made at the end of the workshop. Retrospecting on the experience, I did get a lot from it: using shapes to create interest and introduce abstraction to realistic paintings, applying value bridges to achieve gradation and softness. Also, I am notorious for being the master in knocking back bright colors, and I think this workshop has finally convinced me to spare some of the color and leave it pure, so it can sing among all the neutrals. (and yes, color can sing! All you need to do is listen).

So, a big part of it is thanks to the tedious process of exactly following the rules that John Salminen gave us, and doing his process, step by step, grunting and hair-tearing included.

However - around the second day of the workshop, I realized that if I hadn't taken Mike Bailey's 'Watercolor Beyond The Obvious' class (twice!!), I honestly don't think I would have gotten all the things that John Salminen was teaching. Looking around at the workshop, you could easily tell those of us who went through Mike's class (which also comes with its share of hair tearing and being kicked out of your comfort zone), from those who didn't; the latter looked utterly puzzled and didn't quite know what to do with all that knowledge that was so generously showered upon them.

So Mike - I know I've said it to you many times, but it's never enough:

THANK YOU!

This class you're teaching is truly, utterly and absolutely invaluable! And the fact it keeps proving itself over and over again, even more than a year after I took it, speaks for itself. OK, now you can go blush at your convenience.

Y'see, sometimes, when the rain is plenty but the soil is too dry, the abundance of water form paddles or flow away rather than penetrate, enrich and bring new growth. It's the same with art (and many other domains). The more you know, the more you can absorb additional knowledge. And once you found a really good teacher - you don't let go. You take the same classes over and over again.

'cause even if the class is the same, you are different. Each time you start from a higher place; things you already know get deeper meanings and connect with other bits of knowledge; things that were Greek to you suddenly click and make sense - and your level of knowledge is spiraling upwards. And this is what growing is all about.

I consider myself very lucky to have found several such teachers (four, so far). Now, if I only had the time to be a frequent taker of their classes...

And, to two of these teachers (who are actually closer to being mentors!) who read my blog, Mike and WackieM: I often wonder if you are aware of the impact you have, and I think it would be so cool if one day I could be the same to some artist who's doing his or her first steps in the ocean of creating.

A friend from my hi-tech past once asked me, "you are taking this class again??? Why? did you fail it last time?".

Quite scary to think that I also used to think like this only 5 years ago...

Labels: Art, Little Lunch for Thought, Ode to other blogs, Stating The Obvious

# posted by Nava @ 4:27 PM 2 comments

The workshop is over. As always, mixed feelings of "I am finally free to paint on my own!!!" and "Ah, I wish it lasted a bit more".

The last day started with a demonstration of how to paint a reflective surface - in that case, John Salminen painted a quarter sheet of a rainy street scene. He just did his magic, and did a pretty cool little painting.

We then proceeded to work on our paintings, continued to a potluck lunch, in which w'all sang "Happy Birthday" to John, who kept his cool and went for the startled-yet-amused look. He blew out the candles and shared the birthday cake with us.

Then came the last part of the workshop: the dreaded critique session.

Each of us put their painting of the easel. Since there were 18 of us, we had to pick only one painting per artist: either the abstract on which we worked for 3 days (some of us kept working on it until the every last moment today), or the piece we did to incorporate the lessons into our own style.

While it would have been nice to get my nonobjective one critiqued, it was more important for me to get feedback on the one that is closer to what I would paint after the workshop. Especially since I was struggling with it. During the morning, I tried to figure out why the portrait does not work. One of the workshop participants came by and commented that it's the colors I used - and she was right. It's true that once you have your value pattern right, it doesn't matter what colors you choose. However, since I was not just going for likeness, but rather tried to capture John's essence and personality, the colors I was using were just wrong; they were too vivid, too sweet, too obvious. in the 5 days we got to know him, I got the impression that John is a complex deep person, which calls for more subtle, neutralized colors. Lime green and orangey pink totally do not describe him! Plus, the background was way too distracting. So, I said G'bye to the intense colors that were in his face (to the horror of a couple of the participants) and started to go over them with more, shall we say, manly colors. I then toned down the garish background that was fighting for attention, and it was starting to look much, much better!

When it was up for critique, after come inevitable self-diminishing comments from John about his looks (mind you, he's quite a looker!), he gave his comments about my painting - and I could finally breathe... It is so intimidating to have someone look at a painting of himself, but since John is an artist, he was not concentrating on the likeness nor sued me for making his face fatter than it is (can you say Ernest Hemingway?...). I was very happy with his comments, especially when he glorified the lost edge of the face in the white shape, complimented me on the rich neutral colors and said - listen to this - that the painting has luminosity.

Never, ever, has a painting of mine been connected with this word. (When I shared this bit of his critique with WackieM, she almost fainted laughing - see, she knows my work!). Apparently, these value bridges and shapes had a major impact on me. I usually just blend everything together, and pretty much avoid shape. John Salminen is the first instructor who managed to make me paint shapes rather than a big blur of colors and then lines. And y'know something? shapes are so much fun!!!

So, this is where the painting's at right now. It still needs some work on the face (The JohnnyB demands that I fix his protruding forehead and transplant hair on his bare temple...), it screams for some major work on the background - but I am starting to like it. (go to the buttom of the previous post to see the updated slideshow).

oh, Oh, OH - almost forgot!!! while we were having lunch, John stood up, announcing there's one bit of business that needs to be taken care of. He asked the workshop coordinator to pick a number between 1 and 18.

"16", she said.

"Number 16 gets the demo painting", he smiled, checked the list in his hand, and added, "Number 16 is - - - Nava".

And so, I am the owner of a John Salminen painting!!!

How.
- - - - --- Very.
- - - -- - - - - - - - - - Cool!!!

And now I feel indebted. I promised John that when I manage to paint a good portrait of him, I will send it. Like, painting exchange. OK, OK, so he is John Salminen and I am only Nava, but still!

Of course, when The JohnnyB came home and was promptly asked which of the three paintings is his favorite, he pointed at the painting that I won. Story of my life.

Labels: Art

# posted by Nava @ 10:10 PM 4 comments

")

That's what they keep telling us, in so many words. Take the time to think; plan; consider your next step; take breaks; put the painting aside for a while and come back to it - but never rush. Ever.

Today I did.

Actually, I was rushed, as the workshop ends tomorrow, and the instructor emphasized it's important that we bring the painting to a finished stage. Don't ask me why, and I did ask him why we cannot put it aside so we can have time to decide what should be the final touches. He said he'd rather have us finish it, and - since didn't want to be a troublemaker, I went for the last stage: using acrylics for covering some areas.

"Acrylics in watercolor?", I hear the gasp of some watercolor puritans.

Yes.

When worked into the paper straight from the tube with very even brush strokes, acrylic paint dries flat and dull, emphasizing the transparency and luminosity of watercolors and making them sing and show off all their stunning attributes.

I followed instructions, obeyed the orders (although my poor neighbors got real tired of the complaints galore I chanted the whole time...) and applied acrylics in some areas of the painting. I just couldn't let it be all boring and flat, though (sorry - not my painting style), and as you can see in the bottom right corner, I managed to have some fun strokes with it. Still - rushing it was not wise, and after fulfilling my civil duty to try and bring it to a finished stage, I stopped in time, before I totally screw it up. It really does make the watercolor areas shine! I'll probably come back to this painting in the future - pending the verdict of our critique group (they will be utterly shocked to see me bringing a non-objective painting!).

And then, my dear readers, THEN I finally got to the part of the workshop that I've been waiting for: doing our own thing, and apply what we've learned to our own style.

I browsed through several photos yesterday, trying to decide which one to do, but I knew that once the instructor lets go of the leash, I'll probably cheerfully gallop back to my comfort zone: no white, neutral colors and very close values all over. But I wanted to kick myself out of my comfort zone (otherwise, what was the point of struggling for these last days!?).

What would make me actually try and incorporate what I've learned in this workshop?

This morning, I had the revelation in the shower, the modern times Eureka! As I told you, I kept taking photos of John Salminen, the instructor of the workshop. He has a great expressive face, wonderful hair, beard - what more can you ask for? (OK, I would ask for a hat, but I'm not pushing it). So - if I do a portrait of him, it will kinda inspire (even force!) me to use his ideas, as the subject sometimes dictates the style. Just like I could not do FergieJ in neutral colors.

Now - painting someone's portrait is always intimidating. Doing it when the someone is an esteemed workshop instructor, during the workshop itself, while he is walking around and critiquing the work, and all the participants keep coming to look at the progress and check for likeness... that is just - what: crazy? Ambitious? Insane? challenge? stressful? bound to fail?

I'd say all of the above - - -

- - - obviously, I went for it!

Took a reference photo, did my drawing upside down (thank you WackieM), found my white shape (mouse included), surrounded it with light values, added darks, started to develop value bridges, and got very close to tears, as the first stages are always hideous and discouraging... As WackieM says, every painting has its teenage stages, which you really don't want anyone to witness.

But - it's starting to come along. I got several comments that if I am after likeness, then it's quite successful. I know, I know - right now it looks like last night John had a bit too much to drink (see the red nose?) and got into a pub fight that gave him a nice shiner. Well, don't jump to conclusions - wait till it's finished.

In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow:

One more day to go!!!

Labels: Art

# posted by Nava @ 6:46 PM 1 comments

John Salminen's workshop, Day 3.

As BearGal likes to say, the first day of a workshop always start with an ecstatic "ah, this is going to be the best workshop ever!". The second day, you keep your optimisim with "well, let's wait and see". Then comes the breakdown, "what the hell am I doin' here!?". The next day is "hmm... I may still be able to save the painting", and the last day it's pretty much "I am soooooooooo outta here!".

Well, I jumped ahead: I wanted to be outta there on the first day, and what-the-hell was yesterday, big time! But - today was in fact really fun - we introduced collage into the painting. Some were appalled by the idea, pondering "Why would I want to cover parts of my painting with printed material!?".

As the instructor put it, "so you can say you did it!".

Honestly, I admire his patience. I guess one just has to adapt some serious survival skills when delivering many workshops to many people. Most of those who take workshops (and I know I'm optimistic here!) are open-minded and have a genuine desire learn; but there are always those who pay a bunch of money, dedicate days, energy and materials, schlep themselves to wherever the workshop is taking place - just to sit and do their thing, without paying attention to what the instructor says. Well, to each his own. It's quite amusing to look at the workshop participants and see how the same types keep occurring: the whiner, the rebel, the follower, the attention grabber, the one who never bothers to listen (but then bothers everyone around), the talkative (I am grateful to WebbieM for suggesting the use of an iPod, or in my case, an MP3!), the conqueror who keeps sneaking into your space - - - Ah, the joy...

So, after 2 days of gnashing my teeth and curbing the mutineer Aries in me that kept alluring me to throw everything to the wind (yup - I'm usually the rebel!), today came the reward.

I did a few collages with tissue papers I have dyed (one of them is The JohnnyB's favorite!), but never used magazines for that, so today was a very new experience.

The instructor told us the secrets to combining collage with a painting: start subtle, going with pieces that have the same value and color scheme as your painting. Avoid recognized symbols, words and objects. As tempting as they might be to use, they will distract from the painting itself. You want to enhance your painting, not let collage take over it - unless you want to turn it into a full blown collage. John delighted us with a story about a woman who took his workshop, did a great abstract painting, and then collaged an image of Snoopy in the center of interest. Why? 'cause her granddaughter loves Snoopy, and she wanted to give her a painting.
As a homage to that little tale, when my time came to get final OK on how I placed my collaged pieces, I found a pair of tacky green parrots in one of the magazines, and planned to put them in my focal area, just to see the reaction. But - we had to rush it, as a photographer from a local newspaper came to take some photos of the workshop for a cover story about our organization, so I had to give up on that, and just told the highly amused John about my vicious plan. Sometimes, it sucks when duty calls.

Here's the current stage of the painting. There are quite a few pieces of collage in it - can you distinguish them from the watercolor paint? The JohnnyB could hardly tell most of them, even in close inspection.

Tomorrow the workshop is taking a turn: we can choose to work on our own thing, and the instructor will walk amongst his admirers and advise how to incorporate what we've learned into our work - which is the real challenge. I am extremely curious about this part!

Labels: Art

# posted by Nava @ 5:14 PM 2 comments

Do not trap the mouse - that was the big challenge today, the second day of the workshop with John Salminen.

Remember the big white shape we each found

? One of the requirements was that it is continuous, as the eye needs to see white as a continuous shape. Scattered whites will cause the eye to jump all over the painting, rather than smoothly follow. To make sure we do not forget that, the instructor told us to think of the white shape as a maze with a mouse that's running inside it. the mouse has to be able to run around without bumping into any obstacles or having to jump.
OK, we all tried our best to keep that in mind.

Now that we all had a nice white shape, we were to come up with a dark shape. As opposed to white, a dark shape can be broken, and the brain will connect the parts and see it as one shape that's underneath the white. John warned us that blocking in the dark shape will immediately make the painting look terrible. The extreme contrast is so striking it seems almost garish and makes the white shape seems to float on top and the darks are way underneath.

Yup - he is right.

The next stage was to go for linkage - create value passages that will tie the white and the darks. This is done by gradually building up from white to light to middle values (and the same for the darks), making sure to keep our shapes interesting and - - - yup, to not cause any distress to the mouse.

Labels: Art

# posted by Nava @ 5:45 PM 4 comments

The process he is taking us through is as far as can be from the way I paint, and I keep fighting my inclination to rebel against it with all my might - which is a good sign, as it means I'm gonna learn a lot. Today was the first day. He gave a short talk (while I kept taking photos of him - he has a great face!) and then had us begin the labor. First, we did simple drawings of four objects he that chose:
1. Empty paper bag
2. Head of a spray bottle
3. Tape dispenser
4. Piece of plastic with a clip.

Yeah, I know... v-e-r-y inspiring.

Then, we took a tracing paper, and started tracing the four drawings on top of each other, so the objects got totally lost and became one big random jumble of shapes. Oh yeah, it looked like a terrible mess!

Next thing was to transfer this grand drawing to a full-sheet of watercolor paper. Aghast, we looked at each other and at him... I mean, this is one complicated arbitrary drawing! But, with a blue-eyed smile, he suggested that we fold the tracing paper to get 16 rectangles, then draw 16 rectangles on the sheet of watercolor paper, and transfer the bits of that jigsaw puzzle, one rectangle at a time. Well, that was perhaps the most boring thing I did since I started painting. Excruciating would be an understatement...

...an hour or so later, when we all looked 10 years older, we were then sent on a quest to find "one big white shape" in our drawing. Not just a shape, mind you, but a good one. What's a good shape? Ah - it should be irregular, unpredictable, oblique, connected - and touch the edges of the paper (at least 3 times). And it needs to occupy a third of the space. How do we find it? by connecting lines from the shapes galore on our paper. Oh, and make sure it has a dominance of either geometric or curvilinear lines.

We each worked on finding our big white shape and went to get it critiqued by him (I got mine approved without any corrections - yay!). I went for a curvalinear dominance (not a big surprise for a figurative painter) and proceeded to the next step: surround my shape by painting a light value in the negative spaces around it.

Finally - color gets in the picture!!! we get to use our brushes!! But wait - we have to consider temperature dominance: do we want the painting to be cool or warm?

Labels: Art

# posted by Nava @ 6:01 PM 2 comments

- Mother color (namely, one color that's used to harmonize the whole painting, either by mixing some of it into all the other colors, or by having it as an underpainting or as a glaze).

- Design Element that will be dominant in the painting.

- And - a Basic Compositional Design.

Challenging? You bet.

Took me more than a week to gather the guts to go for it. Partly because we are to work with one image, and stick with it throughout the month, changing and altering it based on what the dice have in stock.

"Wait, but didn't you take that crazy class, where you painted 20 full-sheet versions of the same thing??".

I did.

"And didn't you do this class twice?"

I did.

"So what's the big deal?"

Ah - commitment. Committing to one image, knowing from experience that I'll get tired of it after a couple of versions - that is the big deal!

See, playing with arbitrary colors is easy; emphasizing one design element is also fun; but, when we come to composition - that's when I become the absolute master of finding excuses why I can't do it, too busy (hey, our Annual Party is in Saturday - lots and lots to do!), too cold (our furnace died for 3 days, and I was miserably frozen blue), too hard to find an image, too chicken!

It wasn't easy to choose an image. I didn't want to go for a portrait yet again. While many artists are intimidated by portraits, that has become my comfort zone. Unfortunately, heads and faces are attached to bodies, so I know need to kick myself out of that zone before I totally forget how to draw/paint the rest of the figure.

I had several image candidates, which was another wonderful excuse for procrastinating - until I recalled an image I took 3-4 years ago at the Renaissance Faire. It was the first time we met these two comedians, Moonie and Broon, and totally fell for them. They were hysterically hilarious, totally silly and extremely skillful at what they do. I took a lot of photos that day, one of them shows Broon doing his fire-swallowing act. I've always wanted to paint this image, but kept postponing it, as the head is extremely challenging on it. It's tilted backwards, tongue stuck out - it looks wrong even in the photo!

And yet, as I said - sometimes, you've gotta get out of your comfort zone, and dive into the water, head-first.

I threw the dice to pick up my 3 categories, and the results were mean. Yellow-Green as the mother color (ewwwww!), Direction as the dominant design element (hmm), and an asymmetrical composition. Well... that didn't make me happy at all.

But I sat myself at the table at 9:30pm last night, and started to lay yellow green and other colors on a piece of Tyvek. Now... that was not my sharpest move, as Tyvek really calls for texture, and - for those of you who are still following, this painting is supposed to be dominated by direction - and too much texture will compete with it! So, in my eternal wisdom, I managed to even up the challenge for myself.

But, I already started, and I'd be damned if I gave up.

I thought I'd just put one layer, let it dry and continue the day after . . .

. . . at 1:30am, I found myself gazing at what I think is the finished painting. At least for now.

So, here it is. Sure is harmonized by the yellow-green, has a clear direction (what do ya mean what direction?? diagonal! work with me...), and is asymmetrical.

First challenge combination is met.

Next.

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Labels: Art, ArtPact

# posted by Nava @ 6:54 PM 7 comments

No, you don't get to choose... it's a lottery thing. Which means you may end up with an incredible painting, and you may end up with, well, not. The same goes for your own painting: whoever gets it may be totally thrilled with it, hang it in their house and treasure if forever and ever, or they may just shove it someplace or even toss it in the garbage on the way home.

So how do you select a painting to give? Do you choose your best work? Do you choose your worst? It needs to be an artwork that you feel comfortable to have your name associated with it, like enough to sign your name on and not worry about it being perceived as hideous. On the other hand, it shouldn't be a painting that you absolutely love and want to put in a show.

Tricky. Very tricky.

WebbieM suggested that I take a painting I really like, and make another version of it.

This idea is based on the known fact that you can never ever reproduce a successful painting; so this way you are bound to get something close enough that you don't mind giving away.

Good advice, Eh?

Only problem: being the ultra-spontaneous painter that I am, I would go nuts if I tried to copy one of my paintings. Instead, I decided to take a painting that is just OK, and upgrade it so it's good enough to be exchangeable.

Took the first version of the Sikh man, and worked on it for an hour or so.

It turned out much better. In fact, it turned out so much better than it became too good to give away... I think I am still too attached to this image, so the mere idea of someone getting it and not appreciating it - - - no way!

.

Back to square one.

I browsed through the pile of past unfinished paintings I have, and bumped into the ones I did in Don Andrews' workshop, where the infamous sarong saga took place. I did several paintings in that workshop, none of them got to be finished nor turned out successful, so I decided it's time to take one of them and improve it. I chose the one of FergieJ who modeled for us when the paid model stormed out of the workshop.

The original was a nude painting, but since we're talkin' painting exchange, I figured I might as well dress her up a bit, as some people have an issue with nudes. (Yes, even some artists. Go figure).

Worked on it quite a bit, touched and changed, accentuated and blurred, and got lost in the process. It was great fun!

As for the result - I'm thrilled with the fact I've actually managed to keep the colors vibrant and not tone them down completely (as I tend to do); I like the composition much better than the original one; I love the texture - - - Uh Oh, do I like it too much to give away, again?

Y'know, I'm putting an end to this impossible quest of finding a good-enough-yet-not-too-good painting.

I hope that whoever gets to have it will like it. I do.

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Labels: Art, ArtPact

# posted by Nava @ 4:41 PM 8 comments

Welcomed the New Year in Sonoma.

Nice B&B.

Great food.

Fun olive oil tasting, wonderful cheese tasting, wine shopping, soothing drives in rural areas, and some incredible art.

Beautiful (cold!) weather.

Tired.

Happy 2008!!!



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Labels: Holidays, Photohgraphy, Time Out

# posted by Nava @ 4:41 PM 6 comments