Energy and movement with paints and strokes

This 52x48 inch oil on canvas was completed in the studio over the course of several weeks.

I've continued to try and find ways to create movement and express the energy. This work I believe does both by the use of color and the way the paint is applied to the canvas. It is heavily layered with multiple colors using pallet knifes and the sides of the paint brush.

Transfer of energy to canvas

This is a detail of a large canvas 44x48 that I am working on.

Since I paint with abstract expressive color using an impressionistic style rather than working to create a likeness as a realist might, it frees me maybe more to let the energy I feel transfer to the canvas.

This detail shows how in a combination of brush strokes and palette knife I am able to make the energy transfer. The color also helps because it creates visual textures.

A break is often good

Due to all the graduation parties, my daughter Hannah getting married and the usual spring fix-up chores and gardening chores -- painting time each spring suffers.



By mid June things settle out and my routine news -- hopefully it will be like previous years where after a break I am refreshed and approach my subjects with a new energy.



This 24x36 inch painting --oil on canvas -- was done from a photograph in the studio. I was on Blue Herron trail in the Mississenwa State recreation area when suddenly the trail went through a stand of pines. Most of these were in perfect rows, probably some state conservation project, but now they were tall and the lower branches all dead from lack of sun. They appeared to be shaking hands with one another.



This was done with a wash of color that was then balanced with the addition of color added with brushes. Finally, texture and interest was added with multiple sized pallette knives.



"Pines shaking hands" $1,000 Framed. To purchase this picture see contact us at http://www.avonwaters.com/

Size does matter: style can transfer to larger formats

"Up in the Sycamores before the Spring Bud" -- $400; if you wish to purchase this 20x24 inch oil on canvas painting, see http://www.avonwaters.com/, contact us or click on the Etsy.com button on the right of this blog.

I've finally figured out a way to convey the style and textural richness that I create with my smaller works into larger sizes. While in Bogota Colombia, I bought some interesting small and oddly shaped palette knives.

Up until now my style has been schizophrenic, my smaller pieces having a heavy impasto and my larger pieces having more broad thin paint. More recently I managed to be able to add interest to the areas that had of broad color by adding brush strokes of a small brush on its side, but this painting is truly a break through because it uses the heavy impasto of the palette knife that I use in the smaller paintings using the pallet knives from South America. They create a brush-like pattern when held one way and can create the familiar tonal smear when used more broadly.

The obvious revealed: exaggerating light

"Dead Pine in the Woods" -- $140; if you wish to purchase this 9x12 inch oil on canvas painting, see http://www.avonwaters.com/, contact us or click on the Etsy.com button on the right of this blog.

This painting is of a dead pine tree I found in the woods at the Mississinewa Lake recreation area in Indiana. Forty years ago, I remember riding in the back of the car into this area as the dam was being built. The houses were abandoned but not yet torn down to make way for the new flood control reservoir.

Had I not made those trips, I would have not been able to recognize the significance of this pine tree and several other pine trees that were in the middle of a thick woods. This is really the reminisce of what used to be someone's home and the pine was part of landscaping around the circular drive. In the woods I came upon a slight clearing. The circular shape told me that this pine was once the landscaping in the center.

The style I picked was once again the use of a palette knife. The challenge was creating contrast. In the deep woods, the light is very subtle and this painting exaggerates the light source to create more contrast and interest.

Using color to create depth perception

"Fence row" -- $140; if you wish to purchase this 9x12 inch oil on canvas painting, see http://www.avonwaters.com/ contact us or click on the Etsy button on the right.

This is an experiment in perception using my love of intersecting plains. Here, a row of trees creates a natural divider or fence row between two small open fields. Behind these horizontal planes is a vertical plane of trees greening in the spring and bathed in light.

The use of the cooler blues with the lavender creates the depth perception I wanted. It looks easy, but in reality it is very difficult to get the fields to recede against the much warmer and more intense greens of the trees. To do this, I have had to play with the color saturation by graying the paints and using small amounts of white. Then there's a yellow green scumbled over the lavenders and pinks.

Shadows and Shape as inspiration

Shadows and shapes inspire
"Barn on curve" -- $165; if you wish to purchase this painting, see http://www.avonwaters.com/ contact us.

This 12x16 oil on canvas is a study I've wanted to start for a while – barns. Indiana and the Midwest are full of barns of all different shapes and sizes. I've been doing woodlands and still am inspired the shapes created by the shadows cast by the tree trunks and the shapes of intersecting planes where the ground meets the woods or the sky meets the tops of trees.

But when I saw the interesting shadow cast by the overhang of the roof on this barn, I had to try and do something. At one point I had ¾ of the barn on the canvas and wiped it off. By zooming my point of view in closer and letting the barn take up the right third of the canvas, I felt the shape of the barn then became a kind of visual anagram to the shadow and the negative space the barn created against the trees and sliver of forground.

I will be in the woods most of the summer but I'm sure I'll revisit structures more this year if I find the shadows that inspire.

Every painting experiments with something

"The greening of spring" -- $165 To purchase this painting, go to http://www.avonwaters.com/ contact us.

This 12x16 oil plein air on canvas was inspired by one of the few warm days on a weekend walk to the local state recreation area and reservoir.

It is my first landscape since returning from Bogotá, Colombia and it was inspired by the contrast of the light and shadows on the bright green grass. Seems like in the spring, the grass has a very unique green. Even the green in the lawns is never the same after the grass has been cut the first time and that is what I wanted to try to capture here.

For me, what keeps me painting are the problems each painting presents and the little experiments I can do in them. This one had more experiments than I normally try. Often, if I experiment too much, and things don't go well, disaster strikes -- I got lucky this time.

I also wanted to continue trying to translate the bright abstract colors that I do in my 20x24 and larger pieces, into the smaller canvases – I think I'm making the transition. Up until now, they have only had hints at the expressionist and abstractness that I seek.

The thick impasto paint is also an attempt to carry through with ideas I have about breaking up broad areas with interesting elements. I find if I focus on the spaces between the objects of interest, the painting is more interesting – it's the negative space that creates the interest for the objects.

Brush work

"Clouds Marching," 22x36 oil on canvas -- $600
This is a little more yellow and orange than the painting really is. This became a study of not only clouds but on how I used my smaller brushes on large paintings. Up until now, I had used small brushes sparingly and concentrated on using large brushes and contrasted the layers of paint so the large strokes showed.

Here, I wanted to try to duplicate to a small extent what I have been doing on smaller canvases using heavy paint and the palette knife. By doing so, I could add more interest in the broad areas of color that until now had been much smoother.

I accomplished this in the clouds by loading a small brush and dragging it almost parallel across the canvas instead of using it as one might use a paintbrush, perpendicular.

Learning curve less each time.

“Yellow Church” 6x8 oil on panel – SOLD

This is a poor image with little color and is too dark. When I return, I´ll replace it with one that better represents the work.

This yellow church in the old colonial part of the city of Bogota made me think of Van Gogh’s yellow house. This is the third and probably the final painting I will get to do while in Colombia.

Compared to the previous two pictures, this one I found myself getting used to the different brushes and tolos than I usually use. Doing cityscapes is also very different than doing the landscapes I am used to doing. I think I want to try this in a larger size and use brighter colors, now that I am used to painting this structure.

When I moved to Indiana from California, I remember how difficult it was to learn to use the new light and colors. Compared to California, Indiana was very green and I had to learn how to deal with all the green. In Colombia, the process is much the same -- now I am having to learn how to handle shapes instead of broad plains of color intersecting on a flat Indiana landscape.

The good thing is, I notice the learning curve this time is less than when I moved from California.

Different perspective

“Iglesias de Monserrate” 6x8 oil on panel, SOLD

This is my second attempt at painting in the different light and with different tools than I am used to using in Indiana. With this one I became more free with the paint.

I worked from a picture because I wanted a different persective than most people see this church. It sits about 1500 feet strait up a mountain and is used as a way of knowing where one is when in the city of Bogota. If you look up and the church is to your left, you are in south Bogota, to your right, you are in the north.

By using a photo, I was able to zoom in and place the church on the top of the mountain and make it the focal point, not the enourmous mountain below it.

New light, new color, new place

"South Bogota Barrios" $75 -- SOLD
This is the first time I have attempted to paint when traveling a long distance. I found that a new place with new light and different terrain -- in this case mountains -- I was much more reserved in my approach to the subject.

It required me to solve new problems that my subjects in the woods of the Midwest do not present. Here I had to figure out a way to paint the thousands of homes and still give a hint that they are homes. The majority of homes are red tile with a few that have color. In a small 6x8 inch oil on panel, using an impressionistic style, I decided to treat the mass of homes a mass of color, and only hint at the vertical and angular roofs for the homes in the foreground.

I also used a few splaces of color for the few homes that were painted blue. This appears loose, but the reality is it felt very tight to paint and I hesitated much more than ususal as I struggled to solve more problems than usual in a single painting.

Canvas verses smooth painting surfaces

5x7 oil on canvas
$20 "Flag with pencils"
To purchase this painting, see Contact Us at http://www.avonwaters.com/.
I'm not flag waving patriot. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until recent history that the display of the American flag became so popular. A historical look at its use shows that today it is displayed more than in the past.

This study uses local color and is a little more realistic than I usually paint. I had some 5x7 canvases that I wanted to use. I'm not sure I like canvas when it is used on small pieces – I think I prefer smooth panels for smaller pieces. To me, the canvas texture is too large for the subject. On larger pieces I don't mind using thin paint and having the texture show through, but here I think it distracts from the subject.

Picking a background color

$40 oil on canvas, "Stuffed toy": to purchase this painting see http://www.avonwaters.com/ and "Contact Us."

Unlike previous still lifes, this stuffed animal gave me a chance to do something different. The curves, folds and colors not associated with fruit or vegetables gave me a chance to work on color relationships.

The still lifes are a nice break from landscapes, especially when the cold weather makes it more difficult to work outside or in a cold studio where the heat has been off all week. With each still life I do, I struggle with color. Since I have a desire to use exaggerated color, or expressionistic color, I must pick a color scheme and then try to make it work with the local color of the subject. But it does set up a problem to solve and for me, solving each problem in each painting is interesting for me.

Adding color when little exists

"Foggy morning across the reservoir" This 24x36 oil on canvas was done from a series of photographs taken on one of several warm winter days. This is from the deep wooded area down one of the many access roads in the Mississenwa State Recreation area. It is near the USGS tributary called Rocky run.

The distinctly yellow color comes from an exaggeration of the yellow light of that particular day. Exaggeration of color becomes necessary for me as a result of the grayness of the typical Midwestern winter.

The violets come from the reflection of light of bare trees. This too is an exaggeration that comes from only the hint of violet as the dominate color among the winter grays.
SOLD

Work on display in Wabash, IN

Over the weekend I had three pieces out of three submitted accepted into a juried show. The above three pieces of artwork are on display in the Clark Gallery from now through March 6th in the Honeywell Center, Wabash, IN.

I do hope those of you who live close enough get over to see the show. When I dropped the pieces off it looked as though the quality this year was quit exceptional.

There is an artist's reception from 7 to 8 p.m. March 6, 2008 that patrons can meet the artists. I plan to be there and would love to talk with anyone who comes -- see you then.

Still life offers a change

$40 oil on canvas, "Celery" 5x7: to purchase this painting see http://www.avonwaters.com/ and "Contact Us."

This is one of those paintings that is a break away from my usual and favorite subject, landscapes. By doing a few still lifes, it gives me an opportunity to step back and take a new look at how I paint my landscapes when I return to them.

And the still lifes also let me experiment with color combinations that I may or may not use with the landscapes later. Often, although not in this case, I will mix a color that is unique when placed against another and I can carry it over into the landscape painting.

To see more of my work see http://www.avonwaters.com/.

Adjusting colors

$200 oil on canvas, "Tributary" – to purchase one of my paintings see http://www.avonwaters.com/ and "Contact Us."

Okay, I played a cruel joke on my readers. In the last entry I said the painting was destroyed. The reality is, I wanted to show how a failure can be turned around – that is of course if you think this one is any better.

If you'll compare the two paintings, you will see I have changed the colors of the background woodlands and increased the contrast of the woodland floor and the trees. And as a result of the changes, the reflection of the stream has changed and softened.

Many times paintings don't work out as planned and I must go back into them on a different day. When that doesn't work, they get painted over and no one ever sees them – but in this case, I thought you'd enjoy seeing the process.

To see more of my work, go to http://www.avonwaters.com/

Learning from failures

Not for sale: Destroyed

Sometimes paintings just don't work out. This is one of them. In my effort to get color into my work in the dead of winter, I tried to use exaggerate color but in my effort to do so, I ended up using too much white mixed into my color. The result, a chalky mess.

Because of my working method with color, it is a delicate balance to use white mixed with color without over doing it. Color is releative. Depending on where it is placed, what color it is placed next to, it is perceived differently. I've found that what color mixture works in one painting won't work in the next if I place it next to the wrong color.

I've also found that some very bright paintings are bright because of their color relationship, but when I place them next to paintings using colors from the tube, or with paints not mixed very much, then the bright painting can appear dull. It's a very delicate balance that in this case failed.

Positive and negative space opportunities

$200 16x20 oil on canvas: "Path along a woods" To purchase this painting to Contact Us at www.avonwaters.com.

Since I like color, winter can be a difficult time. But the weather hasn't been warm enough to begin rotting the leaves on the ground. This makes them an opportunity to add color to a scene that is devoid of the usual opportunities that the other seasons bring.

This path was found along the Mississinewa River. Fishermen use it to walk along the river and then take detours to the river's edge to fish. The leaves are still orange and yellow. The defoliated trees have a blue and red cast to them and this contrasted well with the ground color and sky.

One good thing I find about winter is that it allows the trees to cast distinct long shapes across the woodland floor. This lets me work with the positive and negative spaces within the canvas – it also helps create more depth as the shadows recede they become smaller and closer together.

Go to www.avonwaters.com to see more of my work.

Palette knife creates texture in snow

$125 12x16 oil on canvas; To purchase this painting go to Contact Us at www.avonwaters.com.

"West gate" was done entirely with a palette knife. The knife gave the paint a very rich thick buttery texture. Because there is so much white in a show scene, the eye sees subtle differences as it moves up and down, piles under trees and fences – but those subtle changes don't translate well onto the canvas. To solve this problem, the pallet knife gives texture to the snow and makes it more interesting for me.

The photo shows some of the subtle color that is added to the white but not to the extent that the painting shows when viewed in person.

Painting different versions of the same scene

$40 If you wish to buy this painting please go to Contact Us at http://www.avonwaters.com/.

This 5x7 inch oil on canvas was done entirely with a pallet knife, but is the second attempt of the same scene; "Amboy Friends Church west tower." As my last entry indicated, snow is particularly challenging for me as an artist that likes color.

Often artists will do one two or more paintings of the same scene or subject. Most people are not even aware that the artist has "redone" the same subject because the pictures are not shown together like they are here in this blog. Because they are together here, and because some painters will put different versions in a single show or exhibit, the viewer gets to compare. By nature, anytime we compare two things, we tend to pick what we like the best.

But as an artist, when I do more than one picture of the same thing, it is not to "try and do better" but to try different things. In this "same subject" painting, I attempted to use only a pallet knife rather than a palette knife and brush as in the first. I also tried to play with the color more than in the first. If you compare the tree on the left in this, and the tree on the left in the previous painting, they are vary different. In the first, the brush gave me less control than the pallet knife when making the branches.

In other "same as" subjects; I have tried to do something different with color, shadow or even point of view. Because the subject has been painted once, often this frees me to concentrate on other aspects of the painting than I could when I first painted it. Because I'm familiar with the drawing, that challenge is gone as is the composition element and that is liberating – thus allowing the artist to experiment more with different elements of the art. So, for me it is never a matter of "can I do a better job" than I did on the first.

Snow: dealing with a lack of color

$70 If you wish to buy this 9x12 oil on canvas please go to contact us on my website, http://www.avonwaters.com/

Winter in the Midwest and other places where there is snow is so drab. This picture, "Amboy Friends Church West Tower" was done recently after a heavy December snow. I actually did two of these and will post the other one next.

For an artist that likes color, winter is a very challenging time for me – and snow tends to make that challenge even more exasperating because everything becomes white. This is my very first attempt at painting snow. I studied many of today's plein air painters in the Indiana Plein Air Painter's Association and saw how they avoided using a lot of pure white. Most of the canvas has blue, violet or yellow added to the white areas to create interest. White is used very sparingly in their work and in mine. I have done the same, saving the pure white highlights for the most significant impact.

For me, texture plays a vary important role in this since the color pallet is limited due to the snow. I've used a pallet knife to lather on the paint very generously. And because the pallet knife is used, I can add a color to the white and actually mix it on the canvas – thereby leaving trails of color through the stroke. Be aware that the photo of snow pictures seems to add more blue than is really there in the original and photoshop has only managed to remove some of it.

So as an artist, the whisps of color that drag through the white from the pallet knife and the occasional color from building and trees, seems to satisfy my thirst for color. But I really can't wait for spring and the return of more color options.

Symmetry Part II

$40 -- if you wish to purchase this, see my website for email information under contact us.

"Two Hot Tomatoes" is a 3x6 inch oil on canvas that uses the symmetric composition of two similar sized objects but by selecting a strong horizontal canvas, the composition becomes more interesting. Symmetry is the most difficult thing for an artist to capture and make interesting, yet as humans we are drawn to symmetrical objects and construction. We like the reflection of a row of colorful trees in the water or the entrance of a building to be in the center and similar wings going out in directions from it.

But as an artist, something as simple as the reflection of trees in the water along a river so often puts the horizon line in the center of the picture. Because the picture has borders, what is interesting in nature becomes less interesting on canvas.

Had I placed the tomatoes in the center of a traditionally shaped canvas such as a 8x10 or 16x20, the viewer's eye would move from one to the other and back. By selecting a strong horizontal canvas, I force the viewer to sweep across the images and the edges of the canvas help create visual movement that otherwise isn't there with the subject. But still, neither image is dominate and that may bother some. Yet the choice of canvas to move the eye makes it work for me – and that counts for something. As the artist, I'm betting it will work for others too – you be the judge. I look forward to your comments.