Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Hi guys,

Lana, thanks for commenting on what a "colorist" is as opposed to a "value-ist."  I'd love to hear a running commentary of the next painting you do.

Yesterday's long soliloquy helped me focus in on process so much.  I don't remember who said it, but I agree with, "How do I know what I think until I read what I've written?" or something to that effect.

I took a break from "Value Study 2" (working title) and pulled a book from the shelf at random.  Here's today's quote from Nita Leland, p. 17, "The New Creative Artist."

"Thinking you have no talent can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  'Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they're yours,' says author Richard Bach in Illusions.  A positive attitude accelerates your development as a creative person.  Believe in yourself.  Release and regulate the flow of your inborn creative energy to reach your artistic potential."

I'll send my work in progress when I get camera and canvas in the same space/time continuum.

Lucy

Going Back to Drawing

Good morning,

We are still pretty much snowed in here, but as my friend Karen said to me, "It doesn't matter to you what the weather's like; you never go outside."  She's right, of course, but as I told her, "I love to LOOK outside."  So I'm enjoying how the shadow of the chinaberry tree is such a brilliant blue across the snow.  We don't get much snow here, and especially snow that lasts for days.

 I'm fortunate to have found a photo I wanted to paint on the flikr "The Commons" file.  If you don't know about the commons file, you're going to love me.  Go to flikr, go down to the bottom where you can click on "The commons."  Up will spring links to photos from the library of congress, among others just yours for the downloading.  I like the ones of the Paris Exposition of 1900 myself.  This week I found three that I liked that I hadn't seen before.

So for the first time in a while I am painting from a photo.  Painting from a photo takes me back to values.  I posterize the photo in photoshop, change it to three values.  I mean, three values.  That's black and white and black and white mixed to a middle gray.  Surely I can handle three colors, especially if I have spent most of the previous day drawing the scene on my canvas.(Using the grid system, mostly. I use vine charcoal, then I lightly dust off some of the charcoal, then I spray it with workable fixitif.)  But wait, I forgot to tell you about the cool site Tommy found for me called, I think,  I'll check on this later, blockposter.com.  They let you print your photo the width of 4 pieces of paper, so a photo would consist of 16- 8 1/2 by 11" papers if you tape them together, all of which I did so I could see this amazing photo of a glass negative from 1900.

I started with black and filled in the darkest spots.  Then I went with the middle gray. As Michelle knows, I don't apply my paint to the canvas like I was painting a wall;  rather, I fill in shapes.  And I always have either a kleenix or a paper towel in my left hand to wipe most of the paint off.

Painting from a photograph winds me up after the looseness of my more intuitive style of painting.  And I need both.  The photograph reference allows me to think about value and perspective.  It lets me play with light and shadow.  Right now I am reconstructing the church tower and have put a center line down the tower to see what about it bothers me. And I'm at the redrawing stage.  I always say I'm going to photograph each step of my painting but I never do. My camera's downstairs where I've been taking fruitless pictures of thankful birds eating #50 pounds of bird seed in three days!

I'll post my picture sometime in the next few days for you comments.

Hope you're having a creataive day.

Yesterday's Interview

I was privileged to be interviewed yesterday by Bill Henson, publisher of the free York County Magazine for the "center spread" artist profile (I always knew I'd make a centerfold one day, hahah!)  Bill has interview over 60 artists and is very versed in art (to the point I was a bit intimidated.)  Having him interview me helped me make some sense of my art.  For instance, he asked me what my favorite color was, and that started a lengthy dialogue that ended with my showing him my painting called, "Value Study."  I told him I was a value-ist.  And he understood.  I told him color was the last thing I thought about.  I told him that my earliest paintings I actually painted them in 3 values then glazed color over that.  He found that fascinating; I thought most people did that.  Who knew?

I'll be interested to see the interview, which comes out this month on the 14th.  I'll be raiding stores for extra copies for my friends and family.  Thank goodness it's free!

How do you feel about color?  Is color a primary reason that you paint?

Beginning at the Beginning

Hi my friends,

I hope those of you who agreed they'd like to have a place where we can post our pictures and get suggestions will join this group.  I tried not using my name, but Art Buddies, or Art Buds were both taken.  We can move the group or change the name, I don't care.  And someone else can take it over (hint! hint! Susan?), but until then, let's see how we do.

I will post my latest and comment on it.  I'd love comments and suggestions, and then I hope you'll post what you're working on and let us all comment on your work.  I'd also love to do something intellectual like all reading the same book or commenting on a quote or something.  We'll just see how it goes.

The latest canvas I haven't covered over with gesso (yet!) is called "In Praise of Tulips Past Their Prime."  It is not the best thing I've ever done, but I don't hate it.  It's 36" square and was painted over at least three failed previous paintings, which gives it some texture and depth, I hope.  I don't think it's finished, but I don't know what else to do at the moment but look at it.

Some things I'd love to hear from people are:  if you love gesso the way I do; if you paint over and over a piece of canvas; how you know when your painting is finished; if you have read "The Painter's Keys" by Robert Genn.

I'm issuing an invitation to my artist friends to join me in this group.  When you come by, I hope you'll tell us a little bit about yourself and what you'd like to see us do in the group.  I hope you'll also post something you are working on or have recently finished.

Thanks, and I hope to hear from you,

Lucy