2.28.17

Donation continued/Finished...for now

I once was told that a painting is never done until it's sold. 

I can think of lots of other things I could try to do to this little series of panels and taking a risk is always a good thing. I could go deeper in the blue areas. I could try to glaze back some of the busy cutout areas. I could clean up more edges or maybe do something with the vertical green stripe. I could add another dark blue grid pattern over the others -- maybe get a little more depth -- as if peering through shadowed buildings to see a bright sunrise. But this would be trying to add a narrative element to what was intended to be an abstract painting -- art that doesn't attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures. I could do more.

Or I could leave it alone.

2.27.17

Donation continued/Phase 10

Pulled off the tape. Touched up some of the edges and toned down some of the spots of blue or yellow that seemed too big or screamed for attention by glazing them with a little orange. My first thought on the blue lattice was that it was too pale, but I liked the periwinkle color (the orange under the blue was giving it a slightly purple hue) and the slight transparency seemed right. 

I decided to sit and stare at it for a while. Could it be that I'm done? 

2.26.17

Donation continued/Phase 9

Tape -- tape -- tape!

I altered the direction and sizes of the "cutouts" hoping that would give more visual interest. I realized after I was done taping that I had laid the cutouts closer than I had with the orange version. The "grid" would be thinner, but since I was painting it blue I thought it might work. Fingers crossed. I decided to keep some of the original painting peaking out at the top of each diptych. With the first diptych -- partially out of choice and partially out of necessity (there were some stray sponge marks that still needed to be obscured) -- I decided to do some "floating" blue lattice. As the four panels together it looks like a lot, but as two diptychs I thought I would achieve my goal -- strong orange lattice cutting through a "sea" of blue. 

Paint -- paint -- paint!

I made a decision to glaze two layers of white paint first and then glaze with cobalt blue. The finish should be matte so as not to take away from the glossy orange. Commit! I felt good about it until I started with the blue. Had I gone too light? How would I know? Once the tape came off it would be impossible to get the same pattern. My mind was way ahead of where I was -- planning for how to fix the "mistake" that hadn't happened yet. Second blue layer of glaze and I'm doubt my abilities as an artist. My judging mind was in full force -- "a true artist, an experienced artist would know exactly what to do." Really? I knew this wasn't true, but it was part of the conversation suddenly. An abstract piece plucked only from my mind does not come with a "how to" booklet. I'd proven that I could solve problems when I chose. This new application of paint would be no different. I would likely like it and likely see areas for improvement. The whole process of painting is that discovery process. Knowing that I still had difficulty embracing that. Self doubt is a terrible -- but ever present -- thing.

I took a photo of the piece with blue tape and blue paint so that I could see what the piece looked like with just plain big blue shapes. If I disliked the blue lattice when I took off the tape, I would move in this direction. 

I'm almost late for an organ recital at Symphony Hall. The reveal will have to wait for later.

 

2.25.17

Donation continued/Phase 8

Phase 8 -- step 1

And now for something different. 

The painting was now too busy -- where was your eye supposed to go? The part I felt most strongly about was the orange "lattice" that stretched down each set of panels. That needed to be protected. Everything else could go away. Perhaps multiple washes of blue would make everything else recede and the orange would pop. Perhaps even going so far as to paint solid blue everything that wasn't part of the orange lattice. Perhaps all of my correcting the sponge marks was pointless since I was going to paint over it anyway. 

I got out my trusty masking tape -- the blue kind this time -- and divided the area I wanted to protect from the area I wanted to paint over. I liked the blue tape -- would my final choice be that blue? And how would I achieve that look? I've had problems with tone all along. It would have to be a dark blue color. Did that mean the hue would be dark or the tone would be dark? Was I adding black to one of the blues I'd already used. I started to worry about going dark. I'd done that with the sponge marks with little success. Perhaps I should go light -- then I could always add more glazes to make things darker. It would be easier than going the other way. 

Phase 8 -- step 2

But that much solid light blue -- or dark for that matter -- the orange lattice would certainly stand out. The thought entered my mind that I might want to do a blue "lattice" in those areas instead of something solid. That would tie the orange into the blue and all of the underpainting wouldn't have been for nothing. A few hours of worry and I decided to go ahead with the lattice plan, but the patches of blue, green, orange, and yellow seemed too bright. I suspected they would pull focus away from the orange lattice and I wouldn't have solved my busy-ness problem. I decided to glaze over the areas I was about to lattice blue. More masking tape and odd trapezoids of orange glaze.

The effect worked to tone down the yellow, green and teal. It was subtle but I thought it was necessary.

Phase 8 -- step 3

Phase 8 -- step 3

The next step was to tape in all the negative space for the blue lattice.

2.23.17

Donation continued/Phase 7

Phase 7 -- halfway

No more sponge marks!

That is what I've decided needs to be done. I have to figure out a way to cover up these chocolate brown spots that won't add an unrelated element -- like a new texture or different kind of brushstroke -- and will fit into the overall "grid" design of the piece. 

No new elements!

I decide to isolate each spot and paint over them with an opaque color, but I've applied these marks haphazardly so trying to create patterns is proving impossible and some of the spots overlap so there are larger areas that need to be obscured. 

Masking tape becomes my new friend. I begin cutting stripes of tape in half lengthwise and putting borders between marks where I can. In cluster areas I try to lay out small shapes that cover up as much of the sponge marks as possible while still keeping the "grid" element intact. At the same time I'm trying to hold on to the orange "lattice" that cuts through each panel. 

The colors I choose are: the yellow I used to make the "blinds" effect, orange because I want to tie some of these back into the original piece, the green I used to create the vertical line, a light teal blue that has been rattling around in my mind for a while, and the dark ultramarine blue that the large brushstrokes in the original piece were done in. 

Phase 7 complete

I decide that the best approach is to apply color randomly through I do consider applying them in bands (top to bottom or horizontally) but I decide that will -- particularly with the blue -- create to strong a "line."

When I remove the masking tape the sponge marks are, for the most part, gone, but I'm unsure about the "confetti" effect I've created with the other colors. Its placement seems random and some of the color spots are too big and too bright (particularly the teal, but I like the dark blue because tonally it needed that -- and maybe more?)

Painting is a never ending series of decisions. With acrylic paint I could experiment and if I don't like something wash it off before it dries, but with the masking tape approach this isn't really possible. I have to commit.

2.22.17

Donation continued

Taking the day off but thought a change in perspective might help. What if I stop looking at all four panels at once and start to see them as the two vertical diptychs I've been planning on presenting them as?

There are parts I like and parts I don't like. And now that brings me back to the precious conversation. I had a teacher who told me to let go of the parts that seem to special to paint over -- that to have a new thought you have to let go of an old one. But couldn't I let go of the parts I don't like and hold on to the parts I do? 

I've got to stop trying to make it work and just have the conversation. Why is that so hard to trust?

Painting 1

Painting 2

2.21.17

Donation continued/Phase 5&6

Phase 5

Time to try to be bold -- try to go dark and try to introduce a new color -- but maybe I didn't go bold enough because I was married to the transparent washes and unwilling to commit to really dark (like black) and unwilling to commit to a new color (something blue). So another day of panic.

The colors I chose to mix were: my warm yellow with a drop of black and lots of medium -- making chartreuse, my warm orange with a drop of white and medium -- making creamsicle, and I chose a pale teal blue that I used un-toned but with lots of medium. The idea was to do groupings of triangle elements in different places around the panels. As soon as the creamsicle went on I was concerned. It looked like flesh. The chartreuse and pale teal were so watered down that they barely registered. Four coats later I hated what I'd added. The shapes weren't crisp. Paints had run. They colors and tones didn't harmonize. And in a few places I had managed to "damage" the surface of other blocks of color making what I thought were unsightly gashes. (I can over dramatize at moments!) For some reason I thought taking a sponge and trying to add dark spots of texture would have hide these gashes. Very little thought here -- just reaction. And by the time I'd finished I thought the whole thing was destroyed and looking muddy. 

Phase 6

So now what?

Another lattice -- this time with triangle cut outs in a wash of a transparent dark red. I considered blue -- like cobalt blue or something even darker -- but wasn't ready to go that far -- will I ever?

It certainly made the panels look busy, but it did tie the creamsicle, chartreuse, and teal elements that I thought were just floating into the world and I like what is happening on the outside edge of the green vertical lines (I think it was time something happened there.) 

I sent a picture of it to a friend whose opinion I value. His comment was "ok you're starting to come upon something much more interesting." And here I thought I was getting close to being finished. I decided to take a day off and come back to it with fresh eyes. I'm sure I'll wake up in the middle of the night with a new inspiration -- or at least that's what I'm counting on. The question I'm grappling with is how do I give it a "focus" even though I believe that a successful abstract painting asks your eye to keep moving over the surface and not rest any one place for too long. 

2.20.17

Donation continued/Phase 4

Tone and a big element -- a lattice of that covers more than fifty percent of the panels -- more on some, less on others. I block out the openings in the lattice and try to paint the lattice itself. At first I think I need to mix eighteen versions of paint -- red, orange, yellow -- a warm and cold version of each -- and a light toned version and a dark toned version of each. That way I can paint an ombre (colors that shade into each other) effect. But I realized a fast or more efficient way to do this would be to lay down the gray tones first and then paint the colors over the gray. I decided to do the left two panels from light at the top to dark at the bottom -- the right two panels -- dark at the top and light at the bottom. Four washes of gray tones later I was panicked. Could I have made something so ugly. The washes looked chalky and uneven. I didn't want to totally obscure the colors underneath. Ugh. But I was committed and decided it was time to add color. The cool red looked too purple. The warm yellow looked too green. And for some reason I wasn't carefully laying the colors down in stripes. Instead I was randomly applying it to pieces of the lattice. By the time I got to my cool orange I decided I need to do a wash of that color over the whole lattice in order to make it not look like a very sad rainbow. Suddenly it did what I hoped it would do -- create movement across the canvas and begin to break up the blocks of light toned colors. A happy day!

2.18.17

Donation continued/Phase 3

I'm not sure where inspiration comes from -- wish I did -- it would make things a lot easier. An interesting aspect of working on abstract paintings is that I'm not trying to make the painting look like something (a landscape or figure or still life) but I'm still trying to make it look "right" -- whatever that means. The conversation is within the borders of the canvas itself. There is nothing outside to compare the image to. It is what it is -- or what I make it -- so the decisions are mine alone. It is a difficult place to feel insecure. I imagine that a lot of abstract painters fall back on technique at this point. Or they have a strong vision in their head that they are trying to visualize. I'm just trying to have a decent conversation.

I decided that the painting needed a couple of big elements. I decided to create "double arrows" of a warm yellow pointing toward the center of the panels. When I finished applying the paint I was reminded -- yet again -- of the need for tone. I applied a glaze of color which shows up if it passes over a white patch but all but disappears over the orange or brown. A little too subtle.

2.17.17

Donation continued/Phase 2

I'm already fighting the "precious" problem (that when I like a result I worry about spoiling it) I often face as I work on a piece over time. The whole point of glazing is to layer transparent washes over other elements so it will a battle with myself. Maybe this is why I have avoided working with this technique. Today was an attempt to add tonal elements to the pieces. Tone in painting means dark or light (where a hue/color lands on a grayscale -- how much black or white is added to the original color). Tone is not my strong point. I have a friend who is colorblind and so most of what he sees is tone. I'm attracted to color so I keep trying to pick contrasts and intensity rather than thinking about grayness. I chose a red color and added a drop of black and a drop of green to get a chocolate brown which I washed on shapes that cascade along the horizontal axis of the four panels. I also want to add some opaque elements along the way hoping to increase the feeling of depth. I decided eight thin yellow lines might be nice (one friend described as a double helix though I thought of them as a broken venetian blind). These I placed across the vertical axis though a different friend cautioned me about tying the four panels together with such a strong element. More glazing will take care of that -- I hope.