Turbulence

Just finished!  The reference for this photo came from a stormy day at Fort Point.. I was watching the waves and wishing I had my camera, then realized I was holding my iPhone.  Shot lots of waves but when I noticed the frothy water right next to the wall, that really caught my attention..

I had intended to paint this in color, but used an oil paint put out by Gamblin art materials once a year called "Torrit Grey" It's the color they mix together when they clean out all of their equipment from a year of making oil paint. So this is recycled sludge, so to speak.. Appropriate in many ways. 

On a personal note, I notice that sometimes my life is reflected in the paintings I end up working on.. 

"turbulence" oil/canvas  20"x20"

step 1 

step 2
 

Moving on...

I have been on the proverbial plateau for a while, not inspired by much and not painting., although thinking I "should." HOWEVER, a change is in the air.. Could it be spring? The rainy days? An inspiring visit to San Francisco galleries ?  In any case, here are my latest offerings:

Along with glassy water, which is my idea of heaven, I am strongly drawn to the moving energy in the water that produces a swell which eventually turns into a wave.. "Pulse" is inspired by that energy..

"pulse" oil/canvas, 18"x36"  2012

EVOLUTION OF A PAINTING

"On the move" is a reworking of "horizon". I had been looking at "horizon" for some time now and although I was happy with it when I finished it in 2008, I had developed an uneasy relationship with it in the past few years.. (it worked as a study, but not as a large painting anymore) So, I decide to let it talk to me and see what was needed, willing to sand the whole piece and start over.. Figured I could always dump it if I ruined it.. Got ride of the horizon line first and added a fog bank that had caught my eye in the water a few weeks before .. that changed from a bank of fog to the way the fog feels when it is almost upon me, but not quite..like gazing into the unknown... added some foam in the foreground and more texture in the water.. I am happy with it now and feel like I am trying to spot something as I gaze into the fog.. So it never gets tiring.. Fog more "impressionistic" than my normal style of painting..

"on the move"  oil/canvas   2008-2012

"Horizon" ( as is this painting no longer exists) 

"Name this painting!"

Just finished this one. It has been on the easel since October...

I have NOT been working on it all that time.. Nov, Dec, and
 beginning of Jan. were filled with other life stuff.

Any idea for a name?

This was the underpainting.. My intention was to apply transparent layers of color to attain a luminosity.. As usual I  had no idea what I was doing. I think there is a methodical way to achieve what I was going for based on color theory,  but I sure don't have the experience or knowledge.. yet.

Water moods : 16"x20" grid arrangements

 All the 16"x20" paintings I finished actually make a very interesting "large" painting.. I just threw these together, with a bit of an eye for color placement, but didin't really spend much time with it..  Just wanted to give an idea of what an arrangement could look like.. These photos were quickly shot on the floor of my studio (nice carpet, eh?)

The last one

I took a "staycation" last week, surfed almost every day, enjoyed our "summer" weather, clear calm warm, and nice waves..When the waves weren't good, it was just so darn nice being in the water I just paddled around, or sat on my board..stayed out with no "have to go home and work" voice in my head.. However, I am always looking looking when I am out there. Even surfed in a red tide one day.. They should call it "burnt sienna tide" and it only was that color when the sun shone on it.. 

  At home I stayed out of the studio, didn't think about painting .. I can feel the energy of something that wants to find it's way onto a canvas, just need to be patient about it..  Just like these past days, the waves have been good but I need to be patient and let them come to me , which they eventually do... 

  Ah, the things I learn from surfing.... 

"prussian sea" 16"x20" oil/canvas

"Prussian Sea" is the last of the 16"x20" series.. "Prussian " refers to the color of the oil paint I used..

4 more sixteen by twenty

On the journey (which is stalled at the moment with one more to do) of completing a number of 16"x20" paintings.. While each stands alone, I am thinking of displaying 9 of them together in a grid pattern.. all flush against each other. Seen all together they give a great display of the many facets/faces of water.. No titles yet for this bunch.. 

"Pulse" 16"x20"  oil/canvas

"Return II " 16"x20"  oil/canvas

"All that glitters" 16"x20" oil/ canvas

"Morning Flow" 16"x20"  oil/canvas 

Silver and green

Moving right along. My goal is to do 8 of these 16" x 20" paintings.. Exploring different angles, colors , light. etc..  Four down, four to go...

"silver swell"  16"x20"  oil on canvas

"green sea" 16"x20" oil on canvas

Longing for beginner's mind

Why I haven't posted recently:

1)  Finished "the color of water ?" series.. yikes! what next?

2)  Excessive ukulele practice/play

3)  Child #2 moved into her own place and started a new job.

4)  surfing

5)  distractible mind (so what else is new?) 

6)  what next? (again) 

7)  designed a tee shirt for the Berkeley Ukulele Club..by hand... THAT took a lot of time..

8)  and all the other life stuff

 Now that I have a LOT of water paintings and explorations under my belt I don't feel quite so much like the beginner I was when I started all this.  I also feel like I am starting to repeat myself..and when I stop seeing new things, well... I lose interest and move to other things.. I know I have just scratched the surface with the water paintings.. ah, for a return to beginners mind.. 

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few"- Susuki Roshi

SOOOOOOOOO.. I decided to buy eight 16"x20" canvasses and just paint as a practice.. Move quickly from one to another (yeah, right!) .. They actually look pretty cool when I hang all of the same size together.. Here are the first two.. (not including the 4 completed canvasses I already have)   

"Peachy morning" oil/canvas 16"x20"

"Shallow" oil/canvas 16"x20"

The color of water series

 "What is the color of water?"

 The one thing I know for sure is that "capturing" color on canvas is even more difficult than "capturing" movement.  It's varied and changing essence is dependent on surrounding atmospheric conditions, global location and what microscopic particles are in the water itself. 

 If nothing else, I learned a lot about the pigment that comes out of a tube of paint and how to work with that color to change it in so many different ways... It has helped me see these minuscule changes when I am out in the water... Always something new to see..I can see how artists may spend a lifetime trying to understand what they are seeing.. I am still looking! And looking forward to starting a new exploration...

As for the color of water? I still have NO idea! 

                                                                            

"the color of water #1 " , 24"x30", oil/canvas

"the color of water #2", 24"x30", oil/canvas

"the color of water #3", 24"x30", oil/canvas

"the color of water #4", 24"x30", oil/canvas

                                      

The obvious question...

What is the color of water?

the color of water?  #1  24"x30"  oil on canvas

This question has been my companion since I first opened a tube of paint and attempted to paint the element I adore and spend so much time in... I know, I know, water technically is clear, and reflects it's surroundings, but still....the beginning of a more methodical exploration perhaps? Especially in relation to pigments. 

A two month process, with interruptions.

"Giving way to Light"

oil on canvas 48"x48" (This is the second largest canvas I have painted..The other was 48" x 60")

 The process goes something like this:
1. choose photo to work from
2. grid photo and canvas and transfer as an underpainting in a wash of raw umber or something similar. This is often the most exciting part of the process as I watch the image appear on canvas. I also love the loose "drawing-like" slightly crude quality.
3. Start applying color.
4. agonize over color..do I want it to actually look realistic? This so far has been impossible, but it keeps driving me.
5. Mom visits from Maryland. Spend time with her. I paint only sporadically.
6. Daughter graduates from college, spending time at home before and after before she disappears to Papua New Guinea for the summer. Time to be with her. I paint only sporadically.
7. Life quiets down. By now I seem to have lost my momentum and can't remember what colors I used and where.. I start plugging away, but with none of the intensity of the beginning.
8. Painting too big to see properly in my small studio.
9. Take painting outdoors where I immediately see all the spots in it that need adjusting. Fix them.
10. Finished! Take photos for blog.
11. See in photos all the spots that don't work.. I am impatient.
12. Fix the spots.
13. Proclaim it is as good as it can get without ruining it. Take new photos, which NEVER depict the true color.
14. I am SO DONE!
15. Blog time

This process took place over about 2 months..I wasn't painting all the time and I try to keep track of my hours...but once the process gets interrupted, I start to loose interest or just forget to do it. (People are always asking how long it takes to paint something like this..

I am planning on updating my website as soon as I have a good day for outdoor photos and a good camera. Soon I hope!

Back in the groove... I hope!

Yet again I was knocked out of my "painting groove" ... Lighting installation, the holidays, the surf trip in January, various projects, other things in life, lack of energy (except for surfing) , distracted mind... lots of lame excuses... I did manage to actually finish two paintings:

(No title yet, any ideas?) 18"x36" oil on canvas

"Return" 16"x20" oil on masonite.

A big swell last weekend ( 40'+ waves for the Mavericks contest) ) washed all sorts of driftwood up on the beach..I was like a kid in a candy store! Fortunately, this is all I wanted to carry. I notice yet again that the garage door really needs painting, and hey... I'm a painter... but think I will start with painting stuff on the driftwood... when it dries out... ( setting up for "Return" photo)

My husband built a box to support my son's computer monitor, so it would be at eye level... Beautiful wood and my contribution to this birthday gift was to paint the front drawer. Originally, I was going to have some wood showing (see below) but, well, I just got carried away... Kinda hypnotic, painting all those lines. It is just a perfect resting place for this reclining Buddha... Hopefully Brock will build another one just for it.

In preparation for painting the box.. lots of experiments, acrylic on wood.. above is just one...

Quicksilver Blue

This is not the ocean, but a small tributary of the Choptank River in Maryland. Most of my reference material comes from here in California, where most of the time it is either foggy or clear or stormy. Very rarely are there puffy white clouds in blue sky, as one sees so frequently on the East coast...at least not in the early morning when I tend to be in the water... I had been saving this photo for quite a while, but when a piece of aluminum appeared for me to paint on, I knew I had to use it.. I would like to know how to paint thin glazes so that the reflective quality of the aluminum surface somehow works with the paint.. Instead of just being covered up... This piece has a tiny bit of that quality..

Shaded Sea

Once I concentrated on the final plunge, all went smoothly...

"Shaded Sea" oil on canvas (24"x30")

Water therapy

oil on canvas 24"x30"

"The cure for anything is salt water-sweat, tears, or the sea."
-Isak Dinesen

Morning/Mourning

I stopped this painting midway when I had to go back east when my Dad passed away...finished it when I returned..
Oddly enough, I couldn't take an accurate photo of it as every photo turned blue...Only when I put it against the yellow wall with no zoom was the color accurate. Must be some setting on the camera I have yet to understand..Can't crop too close either as it is blurry...Too bad my perfectionist leanings don't extend to this blog.. otherwise the photos I take would be a lot different...Being impatient isn't very helpful either..

Old/new

Avoiding "real" work, I turned to varnishing the small studies. I ended up arranging them on the floor...Lots of old pieces, but seeing them in a new way. Fun for me...

Up against the wall!

( "The Wall" oil on canvas, 24"x24")
When I began this painting a month ago, I thought I had a clear idea of where I wanted it to go...I wanted to somehow convey the experience of being in the water on a clear sunny glassy day, looking on as a wall of white water comes rushing at me.. Stopping it in motion for just a second to explore the reflections, the shape of the moving foam, the angle, what movement looks like when it stops...The experience is always breathtaking for me.
Well, it started out quite nicely and I was enjoying myself.. then I hit a point where the relationship started to change, and I wasn't quite sure why.... so I have been attempting to make it work for me, painting and repainting, and have finally just decided to let it go and call it finished....If I keep at it I am afraid I will really mess it up..
I have a lot of ideas as to why it "isn't quite there" (for me anyway) so hopefully they will inform me the next time I attempt something similar....This seems to be a part of my process.. Learning by mistakes...wonder what this one will teach me?

And on another note. This sweet kitty ( Tigger) is the source of the occasional cat hairs that find their way onto the paintings ....This wave is oil on aluminum....an experiment with a new surface...Very nice and smooth....Just for fun..