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.