Limited Palette Plus

Of course limited palettes can be boring after some time, especially for the artist. It is fairly easy to continue bu adding just a touch of something new as in the two paintings below, both done on yupo with acrylic paint.

Coastal Colours

"Coastal Colours" utilizes quinacridone burnt orange, anthraquinone blue and zinc white, but also quite a shot of relief from cadmium yellow in the sky.

Last Leaves

Tiny surprises of cadmium red adds interest and contrast and directs the eye to the "last leaves".

Both paintings were "imaginary" - my latest mode.

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Paintings too bad to throw away

Sometimes there are embarrassing paintings - impossible to leave in the garbage, identified as yours!
There are options:

- if on canvas then good old gesso cures all ills
- if paper and watercolour, then a dunk in a sink might remove most if not all and the process can begin again
- if paper and acrylic, good old gesso can come to save the day again or even gesso over watercolour to scrape out colours and images
- if paper, interesting pieces can cut out for a later collage
- if paper, the painting can be cropped to leave a smaller but more interesting composition
- of course, yupo and terraskin allow more flexibility in removing an wiping out images.

This painting is a good example of a rescue of a painting gone wrong. This is acrylic on terraskin, and renovated with the inspiration of a very good teacher, D.D. Gadjanski. See her work at www.ddgadjanski.com/‎  and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/DDGadjanski‎

Lonely Beach

The lightbulb series continued

How many modern artists does it take to change a light bulb?
Four. One to throw bulbs against the wall, one to pile hundreds of them in a heap and spray-paint it orange, one to glue light bulbs to a cocker spaniel, and one to put a bulb in the socket and fill the room with light while all the critics and buyers are watching the fellow smashing the bulbs against the wall, the fellow with the spray-gun, and the cocker spaniel.

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Resolutions Revisited for 2013

I really hate New Year`s Resolutions  but as I get older I realize that there is only so much time for me to turn into the smartest, best looking, rich and famous person that I hoped to be. So I will settle for working at being the best painter I can possibly be.
Here is my brave resolution for 2012:
 `I will paint more watercolour on Yupo paper, continue exploring abstract painting, particularly abstract landscapes, investigate the creative possibilities that collage offers, continue my series of "old men", try new acrylic techniques and look into all the options for watercolours without glass and frames.
PS. Visit more art galleries.`

I did manage to one more "old man" to the series and intend to get back to more, as these seem to have an emotional resonance for me. I did paint about four new paintings on Yupo, so enough for awhile. I continue to be excited by abstract painting and one of my most favorite this year was an abstract.(more later) I would like to do more in abstractions of landscapes, but I think this will be a learning curve. I have not done collage, and don't feel a pressing need to try it until a subject speaks "collage". I am still not sold on watercolour without glass and frame, but I think it may have to do with my choice of subject and so this is an ongoing goal.
This has been a busy year, with group exhibitions, including the Toronto Watercolour Society's juried exhibition. " Tea Buds" has also provided the opportunity for a one-man show. The Yonge -Lawrence Art Walk is always a success. In the new year, the first challenge is to prepare again for my own Studio Tour in May.

Somewhere on the Web, I came across someone showing their most favorite painting of the year, for whatever reason - not necessarily because it was the best. In that spirit I am including my favorite.

Why did I choose this? It is called "Reed Flute Cave #1" and reminds me of a recent and fascinating trip to China. It is a very abstracted  view of these fabulous caves near Guilin. I also love the brilliant yellow which brightens up whatever room it is in. It actually is one of three done one after the other and with increasing divergence from the cave concept:

Happy New Year to my blog pals!

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Welcome a New Decade

I mentioned in a previous blog that I would think about "creativity resolutions" for the new year. This list will probably haunt me by next year and it  is not world- changing, but you have to make an effort.
In  2011
 I will paint more watercolour on Yupo paper, continue exploring abstract painting, particularly abstract landscapes, investigate the creative possibilities that collage offers, continue my series of "old men", try new acrylic techniques and look into all the options for watercolours without glass and frames.
PS. Visit more art galleries.

Good news for the new decade! According to Robert Genn, a Canadian painter who produces a regular newsletter called Painter's Keys, about art and other arty thoughts - "Fine art is on the way in. In our gadgety, thing-happy society where Walmart and creeping meatballism threaten, painting is hot. Old fashioned as the shoeing of horses--about the same methodology for the last six hundred years--art fills a vital human need for life enhancement. Art reboots the cerebral cortex, teaches new skills to underutilized hands, arouses dormant sensitivities and promotes latent passions. If need be, art gives us something to talk about besides the kids, grandkids and celebrities, hence making us more interesting people. And it's cheap--a month of art supplies for the average Daumier is about the same as a round of golf."

Think about art and click on this video link. The paintings of Van Gogh are set to music, the lyrics of which have been changed to reflect the art. Enjoy and happy new year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dipFMJckZOM