The Painter

Sunset Reflected.
Approximately
4.75 x 10.5 inches.

I started "The Painter," by Peter Heller last week, which is about a violent, brooding, and reclusive artist with anger issues. You can read a review here.  One assessment from the reviewer struck me as very true--it's hard to read about a painter and the art he creates without wanting to see the art. The art sounds fabulously whimsical and interesting.  The protagonist is like someone I'd prefer not to meet. I'm fairly certain that I'm not going to finish the book.  For the most part, it's so.....angry.  But, when Heller talks about art, and the process, it's very interesting.  Here's a quote:

High Horizon Line Landscapes

I am drawn to landscapes with high horizon lines.  I'm not sure I can explain why. One of my favorites is Last Light, Tuscany by Salliann Putman. You can get a feeing for her painting style, here, but I can't find a link to that particular painting online.  (Drat!)

I tried two, using very similar palettes of indigo, phthalo blue gs, phthalo green, and indian yellow.  They are both about 4.5 x 5.5 inches. Even though they have the same palette, they sure have different moods.

Two Pears And An Apple

I had a full sheet set out this morning, and could not decide what to paint.  I pulled two pears and an apple out of the fruit bowl and fridge (the apple), and set them on the opposite end of the paper.  It's a study in yellow, blue, and purple.  The painting is alla prima (no drawing) and I started by establishing the shapes with the yellow (indian yellow) and then adding more definitive shapes and shadows.  It's approximately 14 x 10 inches on Fabriano 300 lb rough paper.

At one time, I was doing a lot of these still lifes, which you can see here and here.  Lately, I haven't painted as many, but I probably need the discipline of the shapes and values.  Watch for a few more.    

A Painting Edit: Peggy's Front Door

 My neighbor, Peggy, has some beautiful contrasts between her flowers and her wood work.  A lot of the wood is painted a warm, cheerful blue, and the flowers are a glorious jumble of colors.

Peggy's front door is flanked by two pots of pink geraniums, which contrast nicely against the door.  I spotted those while out walking the dog.  I, of course, tried painting them without looking at the door, taking a picture or any practical photo reference. This was complicated by the fact that I just opened a new tube of Indigo, and am switching from Holbein to Daniel Smith.  The paints are very different.  The Daniel Smith is more intense and I got a wee bit carried away.  Can you see how dark the leaves are among the geraniums? Can you see how I lost the shape in the geraniums and have some out of control bleeds?  (If you're reading this on my newsletter, you'll have to click through to see the changes.  If you're not subscribed to my newsletter, you definitely should--you can do that by clicking HERE.)

Great Lakes Redux

Last week, we were back at Lake Huron, visiting the Pinery Provincial Park.  A second trip, after our Great Lakes Adventure earlier this year.  (The Pinery is south Grand Bend, Ontario.  It's lovely.)  When I say back, I mean our 10th trip there in August for the last 14 years.  Almost always with my parents.

I'll say again, the Pinery is lovely.  This is the view looking towards Grand Bend from the beach.  The paintings is approximately 7.5x5 inches with carbazole violet, quinacridone gole, cobalt blue, phthalo green, and phthalo blue.  It's on a scrap of 300 lb paper (maybe Kilamanjaro from Cheap Joe's).  Scrap means that there's something on the back!