25 October 2007

sunset city


oil on stitched canvas
40 x 61.5"

forest


oil on 2 stitched canvasses
13 x 46" total

portrait


Had some leftover paint after working on other things in the studio today, so used it for this portrait. Not entirely sure I like it, but portraits are always good practice - so what the heck, the leftover paint was not just wasted!

12 October 2007

play



Sometimes - often, in fact - playing around with images of the paintings in Photoshop is very helpful. Seeing the work in a different medium, different scale, different context, helps to keep things objective.
And, in some cases, gives me an idea of where to take the next step!

11 October 2007

A Tree for Mother

So, mom wants a painting, but doesn't really jive with the city/abstract stuff.
Therefore I am trying to make her a little landscape of sorts.
Here is the stitched, stretched canvas:


I am pleasantly surprised to find that the stitching lends itself very well to organic shapes. This idea seems self-evident now - all those little threads and uneven bits of the canvas cut & torn, of course! - but sometimes the eyes of the painter are blind to concepts right under the nose.

Funny, because I have tried landscapes from time to time over the years & have never felt that any of them were very successful, but now suddenly with this sewing technique, I am feeling excited about perhaps having finally found a way to do it well!

The painting has begun, and this is where they are at so far:


Haha - don't worry, mom, the colours will be toned down a bit in the end. Getting some bright hues underneath it all helps the colour to glow in the finished painting...

skyline

Struggling with colour here:


Seems too many different things going on.

Desaturated the image in Photoshop, and liking it much better this way:


Funny how much more depth can be felt in this simple black & white.
So, how to get these broad light & dark effects, depth of field, without muddying the colours?
Some ideas swirling round the ole brain here, going to try some things out...

industrial dawn

Some time ago I made this little painting:


it measures just 27 x 27cm

Then I decided to make a larger version. It measures 90 x 90cm.
Here is the first layer of paint - red acrylic, watered down a lot so it will settle into the textures of the stitched surface:


By now it looks like this:

life in the aquarium...

from here:






to here:


Figuring it's about 2/3rds finished now.

07 October 2007

the fence


oil on 8 canvasses
each canvas measures 38 x 43cm
total work measures 152 x 86cm

Damn.
There is a spot on my camera lens, visible in the upper 4 canvasses.
Have to get that cleaned, if possible.