 |
| Male Nude Study, oil on canvas, 12" X 8 1/2", 2018 |
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Harmony
I didn't know I was looking for it until it was starring me in the face - harmony. Harmony is the overarching quality that has eluded me in regards to painting the figure. With still life and cityscapes I could more often than not achieve a cohesive whole. But depicting human flesh is another story. Embracing a limited palette has given me at least a glimpse of harmony on the canvas.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
The Bliss of Ignorance
When I started concentrating on the figure fourteen years ago I would leap head first into ambitious projects that were well beyond my level of competence. I didn't know what I didn't know. This blissful state of ignorance led to some moderate successes but also to stacks of failed paintings.
Over the years I have accumulated some knowledge in regards to painting the human figure. But along with lessons learned comes an awareness of the difficulties and potential pitfalls. This awareness has left me hesitant to try anything more complex than short term studies. Is it possible to overcome this timidity and regain some of that early fearlessness?
Over the years I have accumulated some knowledge in regards to painting the human figure. But along with lessons learned comes an awareness of the difficulties and potential pitfalls. This awareness has left me hesitant to try anything more complex than short term studies. Is it possible to overcome this timidity and regain some of that early fearlessness?
 |
| Male Nude, oil pastel on toned paper, 11" X 9", 2017 |
Saturday, February 3, 2018
A Touch of Fever
I talked about reworking older paintings in a previous post (see 8/27/16). I seem to have the "fixes fever" again. While photographing some older works for a website update, I was confronted multiple times with defects so obvious and correctable that I couldn't ignore them. So now a half dozen more pictures have endured makeovers. I sincerely don't want to spend my time rescuing old paintings. Let's hope this fever has broken.
Much of my work is no longer in my possession. More than once I have visited someones home and spotted a painting of mine that I haven't seen in years. Viewed with fresh more educated eyes I would like nothing more than to spirit it away for a little touch up. In the long run it is a good thing that I no longer own these pictures. Mercifully, they can remain in their original imperfect state.
 |
| Seated Nude, oil on canvas, 14" X 12", 2013-2017 |
Much of my work is no longer in my possession. More than once I have visited someones home and spotted a painting of mine that I haven't seen in years. Viewed with fresh more educated eyes I would like nothing more than to spirit it away for a little touch up. In the long run it is a good thing that I no longer own these pictures. Mercifully, they can remain in their original imperfect state.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)