Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Surrounded

Walking into an art supply store is like walking into the proverbial candyshop.. Desire rules supreme.. I made a vow not to buy any new canvases until I use the ones I have...And most of them are quite small.. great for studies, experimenting, learning. But they always end up looking like 'pictures" to me...

I guess that is why I am attracted to larger sizes. I feel like I want to recreate the experience of being in or close to the ocean..The stillness or movement, the vastness, the color and form.. It never seems big enough. However, practicality takes over. My studio can only accomodate a certain size.. already it is difficult to stand back and look at the painting without some serious maneuvering. Painting larger also takes a whole new set of technical skills and supplies..as well as time.

When I am on my board, waiting for waves, I am constantly trying to figure out what color the water is.. Last week, on a particularly beautiful still morning, with LONG waits between tiny sets, I was shutting one eye and then the other, looking at the water around my surfboard, when I noticed that each eye saw the water as a different color.. The left eye saw more green/teal and the right eye saw more brown/green... Which was correct? No matter how I turned, it was always the same.. Could it be the angle of the early morning sun? Different eyes? Since I spend so much time trying to figure out just what color it is I am looking at, this discovery was quite a surprise.

The images below are small studies (8"x10" on board) done mostly from memory.. A mini test for myself. Have I learned anything? I think one thing I love about painting water is it's constantly changing nature.. impossible to hold onto.


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