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Newest _ tseweN

Crazier things have happened. I may have gone a little bit overboard on the gray tonight. I like it though, or I'm fine with it at this point. I gots to do more. My paint needs to dry before I can. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just use acrylics.

BLAST AT HIGH DECIBEL: Deadmau5 - Strobe

Self Portrait

In this self portrait I'm trying to use more cerulean blue in the shadows. Hopefully it will show through when I go over it with a warmer wash. I still feel like all my figures come out a little cartoon-ish. Slowly getting better though I guess.

HEAR ME NOW?: I have been putting off the ear in case you were wondering. Listening to: Phonat - "Sonic," The Bloody Beetroots - "Awesome (feat. The Cool Kids)," Neelix - "Disco Decay (Felguk Remix)." Thats soo electro.

Urban Abstractions

Urban Abstractions

I spent my afternoon at the studio today and introduced a new color to the painting. It's a neutral gray, pushed more to the warm side with cadmium red and burnt sienna. I was hesitant at first to introduce a warmer color but I like how it is interacting with the blues and violets. I have yet to effectively use my palette knife for this painting. After a couple of failed attempt today, I'm considering using other flat edged objects to apply the paint with, such as a credit card. Just something wider than my palette knife. After a recent visit to some of my professor's studios I find myself wanting to experiment with other forms of application in my painting. This is kind of open ended, and I'm open to suggestions if you have any. But ya, thats all for now. It is really late and I went out tonight, so I think it might be bedtime. Goodnight and Good Luck.

Urban Abstraction

Urban Abstraction

So this is as far as I got in class today. Obviously I continued with the abstraction, moving it into the other set of still life objects. I really like how this one is coming together. After I finish with this layer of the dark blue, I'm going to try to add a more neutral colors to accentuate to vivid colors I already have. I feel like with more neutral tones in the pictorial field my brighter colors will have more of a pop to them. Thats the goal at least. Well, if no body else likes this crap, at least Pat does. I love my Pat.

Abstraction Begins

So as you can see, I started adding in the fractured urban imagery today. This is probably my favorite part of these paintings, when I get to go nuts on the still life objects I've created. I start off by blocking everything, so to speak, with a dark color. Here I've chosen to use a dark blue, comprised of raw umber and pthalo blue. I really like the combination of the green blue and violet, but the red in the background is starting to clash. I think those areas will eventually be covered up when I finish painting this layer. I've been trying to use thinner layers of paint recently both in my figural work and here in this abstracted still life series. I think today I was fairly successful, letting the lights of the background show through the blue, in the blocky forms on the left side, of the top painting. More to come on that painting within the week...

The bottom painting, I just recently started, and once again I'm trying to use my palette knife a lot. I'm also trying to be more reductive in my process. In the lighter brown areas I wiped the paint away when it was still wet to create forms. It's a learning process. I added in the halo there for a vague religious reference. I'm personally not very religious, I just like the implications that a halo has. We'll see where this one goes, but I like it so far.

Well thats all for now, I think that pretty much brings us up to date on all my work. I'll be posting more after I paint more, hopefully by the end of the week. To anyone who might actually be looking at my blog, post comments, let me know what you think. I love criticism.

Other Paintings

Other Stuff

These are some other paintings I have been working on. I try to work with a model whenever I can because it is good practice. I've bee trying to use more color in my figural renderings, and its hard but I think everything is working out OK so far. I just started using a new glaze for the shadows that i like a lot (thanks Sue) and I think it will really help the finished product. The painting on the left is more abstract. I used palette knife for the majority of the paint application. There are references to figures in the lower half, which got mixed reviews during my critique. I like them though, i like the implied depth they bring to the painting, which otherwise comes off as quite flat. This painting is playing with the perspective of the viewer similar to my other ones, however, it uses completely different means to accomplish that task. I liked using the palette knife though, and I plan to incorporate that thick paint application in my other work. Anyway, thats all for now, more to come soon.

This one is in progress. After I finish the still life i will go back over the top with the fractured urban/industrial looking imagery, like in the cup series. This is a much larger canvas and I'm working with a lot more objects than in my prior work. I'm experimenting with the forms in the under painting, using different sized objects at different depths within the pictorial field. I hope to once again achieve the same push and pull effects like in the cup series, and I'm excited to see where this painting goes.

The Cup Series

The Cup Series

I figured it out... So, these are three paintings out of my latest series. I start off by painting a still life, (this one consisting of one cup per painting) then I create a fractured urban looking environment over the top of that still life. This creates a skewed sense of scale, not allowing the viewer to establish his/herself within a recognizable area. The shapes that are subsequently created in these compositions both recede and pop out at the viewer depending on how you look at it. I find these paintings to be quite playful, and entertaining.

how does one upload pictures from one's phone.

Lets figure it out.