Date: 7/01/2011
Artist's Comments: This week's session with Lori focused on applying thick paint with a large flat brush while using a limited number of brush strokes. When painting with a smaller brush, we rely on heavy blending effects to create round shapes. By limiting ourselves to a large flat brush we were forced to be attentive to each stroke ensuring it carried the right value and was applied in the correct manner. The goal was to provide the sense of perspective and 3D shape using values instead of blending techniques. We started by mixed 3 shades of each of the main colors remembering to make large piles to allow us to work with big globs in each stroke. It was difficult to stop myself from wanting to over-blend each stoke into the rest of the painting and as I continued to lay more and more paint, I enjoyed seeing the shapes come to life. Although still life's are not my favorite, I am slowly appreciating how they allow us to focus on capturing the subtle value changes in a color while provide us with the opportunity to practice applying this discovery. The next time I'm outdoors, I hope to be able to put this lesson to practice without getting distracted by all the elements in plein air painting. I finished the lesson quite quickly and have to admit it is easy to "put the brush down" on subjects you aren't 100% thrilled about.
I then decided to sketch a small shoreline vignette. Recently I have been intrigued by abstract art particularly those where there is a sense of a horizon or other landmark but the viewer is able to make that interpretation. I wanted to try to explore finding a middle ground between plein air painting and abstract art and this is my first attempt. Not a seller but I think I will keep it as inspiration for me to continue my thoughts on developing this as a new style.To view other paintings in my collection, click on the section labeled "View all SitaScapes" located at the top right of my blog. I have categorized my paintings by the month as I complete them.
