WIP underpainting — charcoal and paint
WIP — more paint
WIP — colour blocking
“Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” Barbara Kingsolver
I love this quote. What is it that I have to say? I’d rather let the painting do the talking.
WIP — photo references for my next two paintings
“The painter needs all the talent of the poet, plus hand-eye coordination.” Robert Brault
I read an article last month that changed my mind about working in series — it’s something I haven’t been interested in doing… until now. Here’s an excerpt from ‘Reasons for Artists to Make Art in Series’ which I found on www.artbusiness.com:
“In a way, you can compare making art to writing a novel or composing a poem. Very few ideas can be adequately expressed in single chapters or verses as compared to how thoroughly they can be treated in entire novels or poems. The same holds true for art.”
The author, Alan Bamberger, went on to talk about a series providing context and taking viewers on a journey, and I had one of those ‘a-ha’ moments. How many times have I seen a work of art and then visited the artist’s website only to be confused by seeing artworks that have nothing to do with the one I first saw? Don’t get me wrong — I love variety. There’s definitely a point at which, for me, seeing art that is too much the same turns me off. Fortunately there are many different ways of working in series so that a body of work tells a story or appears connected, and that’s what I’m interested in exploring.
I’ve spent the last few years painting all sorts of things in a variety of different styles and I have a pretty good idea of what wakes me up and holds my attention, creatively speaking. So now, as well as going off on my experimental tangents, I’m going to start organising my art into novels and poems — two metaphors that make complete sense to me. And that brings me to today’s post. I’ve started working on a series of aerial landscapes based on photos I took on a memorable flight over the Canterbury Plains in 2013. More WIPs to follow soon.
WIP — sketches (please click on the image for a clearer view)
Work in progress, acrylic on canvas
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” Pablo Picasso
“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or a path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realise your potential.” Joseph Campbell
I’ve been busy making digital art prints for my Etsy shop… the first ones make use of a leafy ink doodle that I drew a few years ago (the prints are available here) — and even though I enjoy working on the computer, it’s been weeks since I held a paint brush and now I can’t wait to get back to my easel…
Magnolia study – ink and watercolour, 140 x 170 mm, 2016
Magnolias at Mona Vale, Christchurch, 2013
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London
