Painting:Stage Two

This painting is surprising me, I did not think the color scheme would hold up, not my usual palette. The pigments that make up the reds, blues and greens are derived from the phtalocyanine chemical compound, called Phthalo by the paint makers. These are modern pigments, very intense in color and tint. Beginning painters abuse these pigments, seduced by the bright color they provide. I rarely use them but this painting might change that. I have added raw sienna and yellow ochre to tone down the phthalos. What next?, I'm thinking the tulip might lose some of the pink, leaves on trees?, do I need that swan?, we'll see.

Snow Scene

I have never painted a snow scene, the frozen stuff is just not a part of my visual vocabulary. Atlanta gets a few days of snow each winter, yesterday was one of them, nice.

Above top:Outside my studio yesterday afternoon.
Bottom:The next morning, the melting has begun.

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is not a sporting event, it is a television event. If you boiled down the whole 4+ hour broadcast to just the action on the field, the running time would be about 12 minutes. A majority of those gathered around the big screen today will only be interested in the chicken wings and the other 228 minutes. I enjoy it all, now pass the cheese dip.
Above: 1969, Joe Namath, quarterback of the NY Jets, in Miami before Super Bowl III, the catalyst of everything we'll see today, thanks Joe.

The 104 Million Dollar "Walking Man"

This past week Sotheby's sold Giacometti's bronze sculpture "Walking Man" at auction for, $104.3 Mill. (foreground above). It was the top price ever paid for a work of art. What I always wonder is, what would the artist's reaction be if they were alive to witness such a phenomenon, would they feel pride or disgust? Giacometti spent a period in his career unable to finish anything. He would carve his plaster pieces with a penknife to the point where he could carry around his sculptures in a cigarette pack. Eventually the whittling reduced them to a poof of dust, gone, nothing. Yea, Giacometti would probably feel a bit of disgust over such an obscene sum.
After the sale writers were speculating that this could be a signal that the art market was bouncing back. No, but "blue chip" artists at auction are and definitely Giacometti, the rest of us will wait for the "trickle down".

A Painting: Initial Phase

These past 2 days I have been putting the first layer of paint on the picture you see above. During this phase I can flirt with being an impressionistic painter, detail is not a concern. What do I want to accomplish with this initial pass? Most important, develop a color scheme (I had in mind "70's prep", do they still make the pink shirts and ties with green whales?), establish the dark and light areas, shadow and light. What's going on in my head right now? The sky is a big question, how do I treat the clouds, will I tone down the color, how am I going to coordinate all the green hues, hmmm? After so many years in the studio, this stage of uncertainty and possibility is what keeps me at the easel. Check back for stage 2.

Supreme Decision?

I try to keep politics out of this blog, but a decision by the Supreme Court (Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission) last week has caused me to make an exception. This 5-t0-4 ruling, lifts the ban on the amount that corporations can contribute to those running for political office. I am not naive, our politicians' wallets are tight with cash from "special interests", but this opens the floodgates, say goodbye to the grassroots "paypal" candidate. Defenders of the ruling are proclaiming that this is a victory for those wishing to exercise their rights to, Freedom Of Speech, (are you kidding me). The CS Monitor has a reasoned view of what just went down, for a dimmer outlook there is Keith Olbermann. Let those in office know your opinion, email your Congressperson or Senator, they will enjoy hearing from you.

Back In The Saddle...

...well sorta. I didn't get much painting done over the holidays and as usual after a layoff, the urge to paint was pretty high as I got back in the studio last week. This craving; to mix color and slap some paint around presents a problem, before painting can commence at least a day of drawing and preparing the picture plane are required. That wasn't going to cut it, so I got out the watercolors (my medium of choice in the 90's) and after an hour of sketching I was ready to go. Three days later I had a painting. Itch scratched.

Above:"Untitled Study", watercolor on 140lb. Arches Hot Press (my favorite paper)