Thursday, July 29, 2010

Jul 29 - Detail shots of the Wolf Painting in Progress

I thought I'd show you two of several detail images of the wolf painting that is coming along on the DVD.

Can you see the layers of paint at this early stage? These two images were taken right after the cameras stopped rolling for the "first pass" on the easel--covering the canvas. Layering with acrylics allows for nuances that might not be there with thicker applications of paint--as with oils. One major reason that I love the acrylics! I painted with them for almost 15 years straight before returning to oils.

The wolf "Yuki" who was the model for this painting died suddenly (age seven) right after I started the painting. Mysteriously eerie, as the photographs were taken years ago. I just heard about it yesterday.

It's my birthday, and I'm celebrating by having had a breakfast out and I will be going to swim and play tomorrow. Then the weekend will see serious digital editing for the DVD! I don't count the years I've lived, but count the good times I've had instead!

Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Jul 26 - Painting the Laser Glass Samples

I'm sitting here with a much-deserved pina colada after working on the glass panels today. The two panels are finished to a certain point, but perhaps will see more changes tomorrow. LONG day...(slurp).

Glass doesn't photograph well and these multi-layer laser-etched panels are no exception. The images I'm showing you cannot convey the four laser sides that have been etched, nor the vision of the client's needs for her project. I'm working with a palette of colors found in a Chanel scarf, and working on two separate glass sheets, each 18 x 18 x 1/4 inches. I managed to get them upright using a set of tie/key holders that Ken Middleham had created and left in his workroom. The glass is VERY heavy. In this first image, you see the way I've lit it--both from the front and rear so I can see not only the paint as I apply it, but also the way the light will show through it when it is installed. Whew... I've only been concerned with one dimension in painting up to this point! This is quite a new challenge.

This second image is of the panel (on its side) that will be behind the first panel. It contains the larger areas of major color for the design. It's truly difficult to show you where this is going/has gone, and I apologize for that. However, I do hope to have better imagery tomorrow. Hey, unfinished painting to the left, behind it!

I do a LOT of wiping off--as the paint will not adhere to the non-lasered portions of the glass. Yet another challenge!

So please stay tuned.

And on another note, we're starting to set the dates for the 2011 workshops with the folks back east. How does October sound for Georgia? Florida might work out that way, too!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Jul 25 - Glass and Painting, Horse Head

Oh Wow. Hard to describe what my brushes did today--this imagery doesn't do it justice. Therefore there are FIVE images in today's posting to try to convey the dynamics of this painting on etched mirror glass, etched on both sides. The first image on the right is the mirrored glass which has been sand blasted on both sides in an interesting pattern, neither side a duplicate of the other, but similar. You can see it especially in the horse's ears where my painting on the backside comes through but is covered by the etching on the front surface.

How to describe this? The mirrored parts of the image CONSTANTLY change as one walks by the image. The horse head is constant, unless lit from behind, when the image takes on another character entirely! The first image is outside, with the vegetation reflecting in the mirror. YES, it is a PAINTING. But on glass!

This is the first of three I did this afternoon--this one a commission for Ron Wood's client of his horse. Simple in design, but elegant and modern in presentation. The Color System painted it, of course, and I used traditional acrylics. Technically this painting is a warm up for the big commissioned sample coming up this week. I have the glass pieces here in my studio, and will be painting them tomorrow, in between the wolf painting DVD. Busy as a one-armed paper hanger!

The second image with the brown border is the back side of the mirror, which is not to be viewed. The brown portions are the mirrored backside area. I had fun painting the eye! The next image is the original etched mirror, before I started painting on it. Here it is backlit, almost a black and white image.

You can see that the eye area was nothing more than an apricot-shaped white etched area before the brushes hit it. The black areas are the mirror. Talk about having to adjust and THINK about values as I painted it! The mirror changes the painting at every viewing. Look at this next image, taken indoors with the dining area reflected in it--a whole new painting! Almost like a collage, and yet it is the same piece of mirrored glass.

And not to be saying that one can paint one painting and get infinite variations, however look at what it turned into when I put it outside and photographed it with the blue sky on the mirrored image.

This is an incredibly creative way to make art, and I'm excited to continue to work with Ron Wood on his projects, using my brushes on his elegant sand blasted and laser etched glass.

One painting, infinite display and showing options!




You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.