Waiting

Waiting, 22" by 28", Oil and wax medium on canvas, 2011

Thoughts on painting

So I tried to use non-toxic paint thinners and such but it just didn't feel right to me. I'm back to using odorless thinner to thin my paints and clean my brushes. I keep the patio door open to ventilate the fumes . . . but I kind of like the smell of linseed oil. There's something comforting about it. It's almost like that smell puts me in the right place to paint. Hmm.
I've also been experimenting with Dorland's Wax medium! It gives the oil paints an almost chalky consistency . . . and it's not as glossy (which I was hoping). I find the colours have a more silent quality about them: glossy paints are loud and jump out at you and the matte colours are strong and subtle.
I've also tried my hand at using house paints! That's a lot of fun and I'm excited by the results. It's no wonder that the abstract expressionists (like Franz Kline) used these types of paint because they retain the brush strokes as they dry (unlike oils that sometimes drip off the canvas). So I'm finding using house paint and using big brushes useful in my exploration of the figure as container or contained by space. The paintings are taking on a gestural quality that I enjoy: lots of energy and movement. But you still get the sense that the space is being broken up . . . there is a division of space that's somewhat ambiguous as to what is the positive and what is the negative. Reminds me of a painting I did a few years ago that I sold to a co-worker who has since moved on.

Orchestrating Space, 18" by 24", oil on canvas, 2007

I'm having thoughts about adding a realistically rendered section, say the torso, to these paintings . . . but will it defeat the purpose . . . like saying yes and no at the same time? Hmm.

More painters I like

Turning Figure

Turning Figure, 24" by 24", Oil on canvas, 2011

detail

Similar in style to my series called "The Body" but the motive has changed. This painting is more about the way the eye travels when looking at the figure than it is about creating new forms and shapes. This isn't about the delight in shapes although there is a playful/energetic feel to it. This painting is about seeing. It is also about how colour affects our perception of mass/form.
I used a few different methods with this painting. 1. I taped a brush to a metre stick to do the linear work (allowed more freedon of movement: using the whole arm instead of just the forearm) 2. a cold wax medium (you can see the great textures it holds below: the play of heavy and light, solid and textured vs. light and soft, smooth).

Contained

Contained, 18" by 24", Acrylic latex on canvas, 2011

Container

Container, 18" by 24", Acrylic latex on canvas, 2011

Franz Kline inspired paintings

Here's a couple of paintings inspired (knocked off :)) by Franz Kline. I really like the energy and motion that is present in the negative shapes . . . a possible solution to the body as container? The space around the body is as charged as the body itself?
I think erasure and the pulling and pushing back and forth of the lights and darks may add a presense to the figures.
I'll have to push this a little further I think . . . but wow! Fun! :)

Parallel Projection

Latest cube painting. I'm really enjoying making these and I like that they act as an armature for everything I know about painting in the digital age. (more on that later :)

Parallel Projection, 18" by 24", oil on canvas, 2011

Vitamin D

Five artist I like in Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing by Phaidon.










I like the diversity of subject matter and ways of executing ideas in different mediums via drawing. It's very inspiring for me since I'm exploring new ideas and methods myself. Oh how I miss making "purdy pictures" a la Cezanne lol

Bent C

Bent C, 18" by 24", oil on canvas, 2011