Worked a bit more last week on the larger piece for the Working the River series. 72'' x 48''. I enjoy working in acrylic for quick dry, easy layering and glazing. Coming along.
Stacks...
Stacks, oil, 40 x 18
At school, a professor challenged us to make a painting a day if we wanted to learn how to paint, not a wimpy 8 x 10", a substantial work. I wanted to finish this in a single sitting, however, the format is a bit large to tackle in one day. Took about six hours over two days to complete this first in a new series of oil paintings, Working The River.
The goal for the series is to lose the muscle memory of painting in oil since I was 15 and become as free with color as I feel with more recent pastel experiences. I've been tied to a traditional palette in oil and wondering why the pastels are so much brighter when I hardly pick up a brown in pastel. The goal for this series is to abandon all browns, ochres, earth siennas and umbers to create strong browns or lovely grays from clear reds, blues and yellows.
Near Santa Fe...
Still getting reacquainted with water media. Gouache and watercolor pencil painted from a photo taken during a trip to Santa Fe. Something small to do in the gallery without making a big mess and often pieces remain “unfinished.”
In Alaska, historical is a log fort from the Russian occupation or a Native American village site.
I was stunned when I first came “outside” by the “ancient” architecture of Seattle, then the magnificence of European construction blew me away.
As I render these beautiful buildings, I ponder on the question of elegance reaching toward heaven and how many poor and ill could have been helped by the same monies and time spent to construct religious edifaces all over the world. Yet, something in every culture and denomination drives us to make incredible sacrifices to erect sacred structures.