City Bugs

This one was created about a year ago, but I never posted it. Someone special in my life admired it and so I will send it to her, but first it gets a little on-line time.

I enjoy working in this process. I added a very thick layer of acrylic, then a thin layer of gesso and a painting layer in oil. I let the first oil layer dry completely. Then I came back in and layered thick knifed on paint with Cold Wax Medium by Gamblin mixed in. When the surface was covered in thick paint I began to scratch out here and there, no reason, much like termites would eat away at wet wood creating their own design. 24 x 18 inches.

Slop Painting 2

So, lets see. A Slop Painting from August - September 2010. I painted Woman on the Beach, In the Garden, a study of oil mediums for my teacher Eric Shearer, and a Black, White and Gray Layer painting. This one is not as complex as the previous one but I liked it so I decided that it is finished!
14 x 11 inches.

Slop Painting

Why in the world would an artist call a painting that was created with care a Slop Painting? I would because that is exactly what it is. When a painter sets out on a painting session a palette of paints is created by squeezing out the quantities of paint one might think they are going to use. These blobs of oil paints are then mixed and cajoled into an assortment of colors as the painting session continues. Often quantities of other paints are squeezed out and added to the palette as the painting calls for different colors than anticipated at the beginning of the painting session. After anywhere from 3 - 7 hours or more of painting an artist ends up with a palette of meticulously mixed and created colors with added mediums on the palette.

At a certain point in time the painting session comes to an end, maybe there is hunger or maybe there are other life necessities pressing in for time, maybe the muse has gone or the paintings are loaded with wet paint with nowhere else to go at the time. The reasons for ending a painting session are many. What to do with the wet paint still on the palette?

Some artists will come back to it in a few hours or even the next day - oil paint does take a while before it completely dries. Some artists scoop up all the left over paint and toss it into the garbage. Some artists may just leave the mess of beautifully created colors to be dealt with at a later time. Personally, I cannot put paint into the garbage - landfill, bad for the environment all that. However, paint I must because it is the way in which I express myself. Some people give lectures, some play music, some talk - the list goes on people like to express themselves. I paint regularly and as often as I can and I use my "left-over" paint in what I call Slop Paintings. The beauty of this is that the complexity of color in these paintings comes from a minimum of 15 painting sessions from a minimum of 5 other paintings. I hope you enjoy the Slop Paining presented here. Size 36 x 48.

Angle Lady

Angle Lady is an Oil Painting of tall proportions. She is painted on a 24 x 48 inch canvas. Originally I was going to make her in Black and White and Gray only - but that was not who she wanted to be. You could read all sorts of things into this one - that she wants to be chiseled, modeled, or that she's on fire or icy. Who knows. I did create her curves in angles on purpose, but what purpose I am not sure myself.

Woman at Beach Edge

So here is an almost abstract image of my mother looking at my children swimming in the ocean in Florida. I left the children out. I was sitting behind her drawing. The moment happened almost a year ago - the painting was made recently. I began with a layer of orange and red and painted the whites and blues on top adding only a little red and orange back in as I went along.

This painting is 24 x 24.

I am feeling like I will be painting more women alone on a canvas as I go forth the next few months or so...check back in. Thanks.

Woman With A Mandolin

I painted for 7 hours straight with a live Costumed Model in a workshop taught by Karen Lynn Ingalls recently. Karen’s blog is: http://karenlynningalls.blogspot.com. This workshop was my first ever chance to paint with a live model. 

I loved hearing the other people scrapping paint or chatting quietly. I enjoyed the workout of trying to get everything down that I could see and feel in a pre-determined time frame. I knew I had to capture the energy and the calmness of the pose during the class because it would all go away when class ended. Woman with a Mandolin represents 3 solid hours of the workshop, painting non-stop capturing everything I could, including adding some of what wasn't even there. I suppose this is a bit how plein air painters feel as well – capture it or else, you don’t. I started by representing colors the way they were but then, I didn’t. The model didn't seem to mind her blue hair when she saw herself. The canvas size is 24 x 48.  

Our model was Lindalou, she and her husband, Michael Ryge, are singer/songwriters - playing folk/Americana music. They've got a website, where you can also listen to downloads of their music, at http://www.lindalouandmichael.net/ They often play around Calistoga, CA and are definitely local favorites.