Late October Pieces

The top one was made today.....a very windy day after the night storm. It's a collage painting that started with the blue sky and simple white collaged on top. The bottom piece is all painted....no collage....on heavy Whatman paper. I alternate mostly between these two methods. I am thinking that I may make some, not that many, but some...larger pieces on paper, to the largest size of 22 x 30 inches.

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Trout Pond, Overcast

 

.... a little sanctuary near the village, public land with 2 trout ponds, forests, hills, and streams,....I enjoyed all my time there through the years. Acrylic collage painting on archival paper 9.5 x 13.75 inches, image size 7.75 x 10.25 inches.

These collages often start with one piece of paper, or sometimes 2 colours together that start to create a mood that was pervasive at the site. In this case, those 2 piece were the grey of the sky and the not quite fully dark green/black of the trees. I was hoping from the start that I wouldn't need to cover up too much of the grey, and am glad I was able to keep most of it. You never really know what will remain in the picture. In the attempt to get everything working together in a beautiful balance, anything might have to be sacrificed....

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Farm at Dusk (Sold)

The leaves are mostly off the trees...the sweet smell of moldering foliage in the dampness of evening. I often walk by this farm...it'll be cold and dark by the time I get home. Acrylic and pencil on unprimed Somerset paper 7.5 x 11 inches.

Here's a useful tip for those who work with water soluble paints, acrylic, watercolour, opaque watercolour. I made this on Somerset paper and there was a very watery undercoat of pink to start. This paper, though fairly thick, and archival, buckled a lot in the drying process. Not a problem!....when this happens, I wait for the piece to fully dry (at least overnight, so that the acrylic not only dries but cures a bit). I spray the back of the piece with distilled water, and with a fairly large housepainter's brush, I brush it into the paper. Repeat in 5 minutes after all the water soaks into the paper. Next I put the piece in between flat boards, with absorbent paper beneath and above it. Now put a pile of heavy books on top of your boards. Leave your painting there for a few days. Check to see how the paper is drying, and replace the absorbent paper with other sheets so that the painting paper fully dries. All the wrinkles are gone!

www.harrystooshinoff.com

Trout Spot

Acrylic collage painting on Somerset paper 7.5 x 11 inches.

I'll take a moment to briefly explain why these pictures range from fairly representational, even realist in some cases....to fairly abstract and even nonrepresentational in other instances. Here is an example of a piece that is not very realistic.

Sometimes the intention is to record how the world looks. There are many reasons for this, and there is much that is endlessly fascinating in the way the world arranges its visual effects on a minute-to-minute basis....there is Never a shortage of wonders to look at in the world, and one does Not need to go far to prove this. Look at the corner of your desk, look outside your window, look at the ground, go for a walk and point your face into any little bit of visual complexity. You will not run out of ideas based on visual observation in your entire lifetime as a painter, and to paint the appearance of the world is a laudable goal for an artist.

But.....just as one writer said of Monet, "...he is just an eye, but what an eye!" At times an artist will turn to a Different intention.....so there are times when I sit down to paint and do Not wish to record only what I see. Sometimes there are memories, images in the mind's eye, that ask to surface as well. Sometimes there may be only a sensation, a feeling, a reaction to some event, that asks if a visual equivalent is possible, in relation to itself. So abstraction and semi abstraction are useful directions to deal with these impulses. As well, recognize that there is a great deal of historical convention on which all of this rests. While there Is inventiveness in each piece, there is also much to borrow from. But whatever the painting ends up looking like, in my case, it is always About something in my life and world.....it is not without associations.

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Interview on Savvy Painter Podcast

Thank you, Antrese Wood, for all the hard work, thought, and interest you put into the Savvy Painter podcast interviews! I've listened to many of the conversations you have in your list, but your interview with me reminds me that there are many more sessions that I still want to listen to at the Savvy Painter. If you're interested in art, take a look at some of Antrese' lineup!

Savvy Painter Podcast

Home Way....Day's End (Sold)

Acrylic and pencil on unprimed Whatman paper, 10 x 13.75 inches, image size 8.5 x 12 inches....the somber days of October, but very beautiful if you're out near nightfall....

www.harrystooshinoff.com  

Night Rain

Acrylic collage painting on Somerset paper 7.5 x 11 inches. I'm using a bit of a new technique for me here.....in the sky some of the grey is painted on, over the collaged paper, and then partly wiped off with a wet rag. That helps one grey transition into the other more easily. It also lends more sureness to the fairly intuitive mark making that goes into each passage, since something can be wiped off completely in one second if it doesn't seem right. The wet rag and pail of water are always right beside me when doing collages, so I can always wash my hands and wipe clean the gluing surface....

www.harrystooshinoff.com    
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Nightfall, October 13 (Sold)

 ....the quick changing minutes before dark. Acrylic collage painting on archival paper 7.5 x 11 inches. The collages are very different from the paintings, because in the collages the first mood is made by placing the first 3 or so colours. This is different than painting the colours in because the colours can be chosen AND changed in a second. I have 1000s of these colours beside me. The mood of the work ends up subtly different in the collages.

www.harrystooshinoff.com  

Thanksgiving Collages

 

Acrylic collage paintings on archival paper 7.5 x 11 inches. The paintings feel much different and are done differently than the collages. When I start a work one of the first questions is 'should this be a collage or a painting'. As well, sometimes there is much paint added after the pieces are glued, and sometimes there is nothing added. Those ideas are there at the start. The collages also tend to be a little smaller. One of the key beliefs in the collages is that it should be possible to create all that is necessary through the interaction of 5-10 colours and shapes. So it follows that there should be no extras in the work...only essentials. Both the collage and painting processes allow and encourage both adding and subtracting. The final arrangement can be discovered either through putting on, or taking away.

 

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Climb at Dusk (Sold)

 ...into October....the weather has changed, with frost just around the corner. Acrylic and pencil on unprimed Whatman paper 10.25 x 13.75 inches, image size 8.75 x 12.25 inches.

"....Or else he could elect an art class. He'd never taken one - art hadn't even been offered at the academy - how hard could it be? During the summer he'd often studied Sarah's drawing of Ikey Lubin's and even wondered what role it might've played in pulling him, against his better judgment, into Lynch World. Would he have enjoyed Ikey's as much if he hadn't seen it through her eyes? He liked the idea of getting people to see things as he did without them even being aware of what he'd done. Now THAT would be a trick worth knowing." 'Bridge of Sighs', Richard Russo

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