Fresh Paint: Broccoli

Newly Completed Work:

Broccoli
Oil on panel
5" x 7"
February, 2006

In Progress

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working on two large canvases simultaneously. One of them is the development of a large landscape from a small field sketch from Mexico. I hadn't really expected it to be a simple translation from small to large, but I'm surprised at the degree to which the two are diverging. I've now made fairly radical changes to the time of day, position of the sun, and color of the light... it's truly a different painting, and the process of discovery has become intriguing to me.

The other painting is a largish (for me: 20x24) still life. I've taken a few images of the work in progress.

The Model... images and items from Mexico:





A very quick preliminary sketch to work out composition/placement:






Placing the objects on the canvas with a thin outline of raw umber:





A color wash establishes the basic tones and values:

working B I G

For the past year, I've been working small... really small. I think the average size of the paintings might have been 5x7 or thereabouts. Come to think of it, it's possible that the biggest paintings I've done in the last year were a pair of 11x18 plein air pieces I did over the summer. This wasn't really conscious; it's just that on some level it's good to do a lot of work, and on another, small pieces are a lot easier to sell.

Everything moves in cycles though, and I'm now in the middle of a body of large works. I've decided to treat the paintings I made in Mexico as field sketches to be developed into larger works, and I'm also doing several companion still lifes based on Mexico-related themes, to be placed next to the landscapes. At the moment, I have 2 large (for me) canvases in progress (I'm lucky beyond words to have two studios to work in, so I can engage in simultaneous projects without undue disruption); in my home studio, I've got a 20x24 still life well underway, and in my downtown studio, I just began work on a 24x36 landscape (of the city of Guanajuato, painted from the surrounding mountains).

After working in one format -- very small -- for an extended period, it's a real liberation and excitement to make a big shift... literally... I have 6 canvases 24x30 and bigger, primed and begging for paint. Images to come soon.

And... about last night's open studio... the lights look great, I had some sharp new frames on a few pieces, a pretty decent crowd, and most importantly, I sold some art... so all in all, a good night.