September Yellow

I was struck by the intensity of the yellow bean fields in early September. They are rather brownish now, but there were a few days when the color was peak. 10" x 9" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

Design

For some of my students, this will be a first assignment to deal with some elements of design, primarily positive and negative space.

1) The little pen sketch was done near my wood pile. I was looking at how the tree shapes also create shapes in the background. A good design must account for this balancing of shapes. The background shapes should always be considered. Students will be asked to produce a whole sheet of these thumbnail sketches, assess which ones might seem more successful, and then use the best ones for the basis of 3 painted works.

2) The paintings won't be overly large. Map all the shapes firmly with pencil, watching that you are aiming for a pleasing balance between positive and negative shapes. We will be in the small forest by the studio so it is important to base your designs on observation. It is quite thrilling when you are able to see your own observations about the world reflected in your artwork.

3) Count the colours. How many are there.....maybe 5 plus black India Ink line? Develop a colour scheme that has some range of light/dark, warm/cool, bright/grey and mix 5 acrylic colours for your composition....simply FILL in the colours. You are learning something about colour theory, and you are learning that the business of painting is, on a simple level, really about moving paint from one place to another. Move your paint with pleasure and effectiveness. Learn to do it easily. Be able to paint a sharp edge easily by mixing with appropriate amounts of water. Hold your brush in different manners to see how all this affects the way paint moves on the surface. WATCH the paint like a cat watches a mouse!

4) Work quickly so that you come to see yourself as effective....progress comes easily...this does not need to be a big struggle.

5) For our purposes here, mix all colours and watch that you are also looking at opacity so that the paint covers reasonably well. Avoid too much transparency.....mixing is required. Some pure colours will be too transparent without mixing.

Above Millbrook Trout Ponds

Here, I'm higher than the treetops of the forest below....looking far into the distance. Every so often, I feel the need for a stronger element of design in the work. In a series of 3 small works, all done in one sitting, only collage was used, without my customary painting stage at the end. Working only from memory rather than any visual aids, also allows for greater play with pure design.

Time seems very short these days so if I'm absent from here, please check for new work on Flickr and in my Etsy shop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paintbox1/

End of Summer

From the latter part of August. Acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Aspen and Sedum Shoots

Carrying on from the last post....all these 3 small paintings were done in the same sitting, and all were done from the brief scribbled sketches shown. Acrylic collage paintings, listed on Etsy.

Aspen Shoot

From a series of 3 small images based on little aspen shoots forcing their way through landscape fabric covered with layers of gravel....this an amazing fast growth tree developed in Manitoba called Andre the Giant, no longer cultivated....interesting to see how it will force itself through inhospitable environments. The little sketches are 30 second little mental notes.....the painting is done with the sketch propped in front of me. 5" x 5" acrylic collage painting, listed on Etsy.

Formation

On an evening walk I studied a fascinating cloud formation...a number of small shapes almost swirling around each other, perfectly harmless looking during this summer of sometimes threatening storms, but it looked interesting in it's separate shelf up in the sky. Earlier in the painting the formation was described much more completely and accurately, but I purposely destroyed it. Though there's almost nothing left up there, it seems to suggest the effect more that what I had previously. 9.5" x 7.75" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

July Sky

5" x 4.5" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

Wheat, Harvest Ready

The same field from the painting shown yesterday...and this from a few days ago when the wheat was harvest ready. It's since been cut and this field looks vastly different again.

Acrylic collage painting on archival paper, 8.25" x 7", listed on Etsy.

Remembering June

At a certain point the summer becomes bittersweet.....time passes too quickly. This wheat field was harvested 3 days ago....tomorrow I'll post the collage painting of that. Acrylic painting on gessoed paper, 11" x 9.5", listed on Etsy.

Burning

9.25" x 7.75" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy. The strong, healthy greens of mid July, and by all appearances, a rubbish fire well back on someone's property.....perfectly under control, but it makes a dramatic visual impact.

Haze

There is a heat spell on now. Today the haze is extreme so the picture I'll paint later on this evening might continue with this theme. 9" x 7.25" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.
SOLD

August Green

Growing up in Saskatchewan where one can see for miles in all directions, I still have a deep attachment for the distant view. 9.5" x 7.5" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Early August, High Ground

I found a new trail....a path leads upwards from the trout ponds to an old railbed....early August on a warm, pretty morning....looking miles into the distance over a forested valley. Acrylic on gessoed paper, 9.25" x 7.75", listed on Etsy.

August 5th

Each year I try to do a few pictures somewhere along this very lonely stretch of road. It winds through some interesting area....from extreme hills to vast fields like this....and I have very seldom seen anyone on the road....the whole place seems very deserted. Acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Sky, July 30

10" x 9.25" acrylic on single ply archival matte board, gessoed both sides, listed on Etsy.

Discount Offer....2 days only....August 10th and 11th : 10% off purchase price of any artwork in my Etsy store, provided you send me a digital picture of you holding the painting in YOUR landscape....wherever you live, play, think....it can be town, country, city. At the time of your purchase tell me you want the discount mentioned on this blog.

Shield

A number of these close tree images were made. Summer is shifting into another gear.....the darkness of the green is like a wall, filling the frame....at the time it felt both melancholy and protective. Acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Chickabiddy Copse

This copse, a constant companion, pulses in a certain way in July.....the foliage is so thick and rich and healthy this year,.....a pleasant steady murmur in the breeze. 10" x 8.75" acrylic on single ply matte board, gessoed both sides, listed on Etsy.

Tree Farm

7.25" x 7.25" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Cloud Pass

10" x 8.5" acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Toward Evening

A fast moving cloud formation after a summer storm....the shadows of late afternoon evident...still a bit of time before dusk. Acrylic collage painting on paper, 10" x 8.5", listed on Etsy.

Wheat Field, Summer Peak

Island, Gore's Landing

This is an area so rich in possibilities....Gore's Landing is 10 minutes from me...and minutes in any direction provide fascination that calls out to be recorded in some way. This makes it difficult to travel in my time off....there is too much to do right where I am.

10" x 8" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

Dusk, After the Rain

In a number of images I wanted to get a certain brooding quality from the trees and approaching darkness. In some works also, I want the composition to be very simplified......just this thing...and not a relationship of a whole lot of things. 7.5" x 7.5" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

July 11

8" x 10" acrylic collage painting on masonite panel, varnished, listed on Etsy.

July 23

8.5" x 7.5" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

July Wheat

This wheatfield is much lighter and more yellow now....the wheat is maturing quickly and summer is shifting to another stage. 8" x 7.25" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

Gore's Landing

Gore's Landing is a lovely village on the South shore of Rice Lake....this island is close to the shore and appears to have cottages or homes. There are a number of such islands.....a beautiful early Saturday morning in July.

Acrylic collage painting on paper, 9 x 7.25 inches, listed on Etsy.

Saturday Cloud

10.5 x 10 inch, acrylic collage on paper, listed on Etsy...a very pleasant July Saturday morning, blue skies with dramatic clouds floating through the whole day.

Home Lane

9" x 8" acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy. The summer has been cool so far, and I hear many complaining, but the weather seems wonderful to me....perfect for painting and working, plenty of both rain and sunlight, growth very healthy and still holding a beautiful range of greens, with often surprising configurations of clouds animating the skies.

Plain and Simple

Acrylic collage painting on paper, 9.5 x 9 inches, listed on Etsy. A perfect summer day. Very often the first decision or two set the tone for everything else. The intense blue was the first piece placed....I was thinking of the clear coolness of this summer.

High Sky

From July 7th, acrylic on gessoed single ply matteboard, 9.75" x 8.5", listed on Etsy.

Tree Farm

...a shady corner of an abandoned tree farm on a Sunday morning...the place was very well run at one point but is looking derelict recently. Much time was spent on the collage stage of this work...happily cutting and gluing little pieces...in a way akin to building something, like nailing a sculpture together. There is a certain realism to the light and atmosphere that I was pleased with. 7.5 x 9.5 inch acrylic collage painting on paper, listed on Etsy.

Saturday Morning

This is the image referred to in an earlier post....the sky was repainted 3 times and it still failed to satisfy...something was too predictable or too busy or too methodical or too conscientious. This was the stage it was left at. 8" x 10" acrylic on masonite, listed on Etsy.

July Blue

Fast clouds moving in over the tree tops...painted on July 9th, acrylic on gessoed masonite panel, 8" x 10", listed on Etsy.

High Summer

Two paintings from a bit ago that will not be listed on my Etsy site.....most everything I do WILL be on the Etsy page but I wanted to put these here so they won't be gone forever. "High Summer" and "July Sky".

Passing Storm

Evening clouds....the storm had just passed. Acrylic on gessoed masonite panel, 8" x 10".

There is no particular way to direct the work other than to say "I would like to see something like....." This was perhaps the 4th in a short series of cloud paintings. I don't know how to paint them when I start, and once the 5th one starts to look too much like the first, it is time to juggle the general formula again. A very common concern in all the work is to do something 'natural'...and what is natural may not be that obvious. I just finished a painting for example, in which I painted the clouds 3 times over, only to wipe out 3/4 of the work. I then scribbled over the wet paint and with 3 quick brush strokes re-entered some passages which were previously much too overworked or perhaps too predictable.......this solution was much less of a copy, yet more natural and life-like. At least that's how it looks at the moment....perhaps tomorrow it will look different again.....nailing any of this stuff firmly down seems next to impossible.

Fast Sky, July 9

8" x 10" acrylic on gessoed masonite panel. Listed on Etsy. I painted 5 of these cloud works in a row, over a number of days, but today's painting was a collage painting, treated in a different way again...so this series may or may not continue. Storms came and went today, and the temperature has cooled down again. The skies change dramatically from minute to minute.

Sky July 10th

In the last few days I've been painting on gessoed masonite panels, 8" x 10". The skies have been very active but there have been no violent or dangerous storms....crossing fingers.

Big Blue

9" x 9.5", acrylic on gessoed single-ply matte board, completed on June 30th, 2009, 11:00 a.m., listed on Etsy.

Sky Paintings

This from a while ago, and part of a series of paintings dealing only with sky....sometimes with just a hint of the earth below. A number have been completed so far with more to follow. 9 inches square, completed on heavy, acid-free, gessoed artist's paper, soon to be listed on Etsy.
SOLD