I've been in an artist block for a while. Blaming being busy or not being able to concentrate, but maybe the truth is that I have not made time for doing what I love. So, sometimes you just have to push yourself to do. No excuses, just do. I once said I thought that if God has given you a talent that you should not waste it. That it might even be a sin if you waste a God given talent. I need to practice what I preach.
I got out the paintings that I had been belaboring over, and I set them out against a piece of furniture across the room where I could critique them. Getting away from your work always helps. My studio at the moment is a drawing table in my bedroom. I always back up and look at my work as I paint. Another funny thing that I do is squint at my subject matter and at the painting in progress. I used to be near sighted, and never used glasses when I painted. This I thought was an advantage.
After studying my paintings, I'll pick up the painting and be able to adjust a little something here and there and fix the painting. I do this with all my pieces. The final touches that make a painting. This also keeps me from over doing. Knowing when to stop is an art. A painting can go from nice to over done in an instant. This type of disaster still happens to me.
I paint from photographs. I like using them as a guide not a bible. Photographs are not true to life. If you copy a photo. Your paintings will be off., surreal or photo realistic. I use photos as a jumping off place. I like my art to have atmosphere and feelings.
I begin with blocking out the darkest areas with a thin layer of color. I'll then progress to medium shades and lastly to the thicker light highlights. Off course this is the way that you are supposed to work with oils, and naturally I have had to learn the hard way. I do not draw out my painting. I only use brush work. I approach it almost as if I am sculpting it. The layers of paint forming a tapestry of colors a delight to my eye and senses.
One time years ago a friend of mine looked at one of my paintings and said that the back ground on the still life that I was working on seem to have movement to it. The atmosphere around us is not still. Why should the atmosphere in a painting appear flat? A flash of light, a passing cloud, a breeze all cause motion. Painting Plien Air, is difficult because you are constantly chasing after a fleeting moment only to have another flash before your eyes. When I paint from my photos, I am able to take these flashing moments and compile them into an impression of the time.
I have studied nature and the world around me for great lengths of time. Sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle, I have glazed upon clouds and mountains, fields and rivers, gaining a perception of the way things are, and how nature works. I must learn to see what is really there. If you really look you will see the orange glint off of the trees as the sun sets, the sparkle of flowing water and haze lying close to the shore line or shrouding the mountain top. I remember being with my grandparents and hearing my mother's father say as we looked at sunset over snow, "The Heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the firmament showeth His handiwork." I suppose that somehow I am trying to pay tribute to the beauty of our world and to the heavens. I love nature. When I could still walk I took great joy in walking up into the woods and hills, beaches and shores. I loved the woods of Vermont and Virginia. I have been privileged to have live in two of the most beautiful states. Also have been blessed to be able to have traveled across our country.
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