Virtual Paintout

Break Time, 8x10 oil, copyright 2010

I think I mentioned some time ago a blog that has a virtual paintout challenge every month utilizing Google Street View.  The basic concept is that the blogger choses an area anywhere in the world and challenges artists to paint based on an image from Google Street View.  This month's choice:  Manhattan.  I couldn't pass it up, so I took a "walk" around the Upper West Side and found another brownstone that caught my eye.

The little painting above is based on this image on 76th.  Street View photos aren't the highest quality and aren't taken with the artist in mind, which means you take what you get as far as angles and lighting conditions.  It makes the whole thing more challenging, but I feel like I had a bit of an advantage in that I had been in that neighborhood only two months ago.  The biggest problem I has was in when to stop messing with it, in particular with the figures.   They are only about three inches high, so details had to be limited.  It wasn't easy, but I think it worked.

I also found an image of the brownstone I painted earlier this summer, but I like my photo much better!

A peachy experiment

Peaches Study 9x12 oil on museum board, copyright 2010

Last week I took the time to experiment a bit with oils, and this study is the result.  It was never intended to be a finished piece, just playing with color and texture.  I've noticed that a lot of artists, especially daily painters, are working in bits of pure color in an almost pointalist fashion rather than blending.  Brushstrokes are very visible and the paint is laid down quite thickly.  I think this is the result of working quickly and not worrying too much about details.  It can make the paintings almost abstracted when this is really pushed.

I'm a bit torn about this technique.  When done well, it looks quite good - I like how the peach on the left turned out.  But I'm not sure I'll take this route on a regular basis.  While I like the boldness of the approach, I generally work a little softer, a little more blended.  It was fun though, seeeing just how much paint I could get on without turning it all into "mud".   There were a few times I had to do some scraping.  And once the piece was finished and dried, I recognized a big mistake - reflections always point directly towards the viewer.  Ah well,  that's what experiements are for.

School days

Waiting for the Bus 18x24 pastel, copyright 2010

Although the local weather has offered no hint of a change in seasons, fall has officially arrived at our home with the start of the school year.  I am fortunate in that both my kids still love school and do well.  Our shepard mix however, does not look forward to it as it means missing a couple of playmates.  Every morning she watches as they get on the bus and in the afternoon sits in a shaded spot waiting for their return.

This pastel took me a bit longer than usual as I struggled to get the corn fields to look like corn and the tree at the end of the lane to stand out from the background trees.  The trick was to exaggerate the highlighs and shadows a bit to keep it all from getting too dull.  And in reality the dog is black, but she kept disappearing into the shadow so I had to lighten her color a bit.

I have submitted this pastel to a monthy online challange at Artists Helping Artists blog, which is an excellent resource for the emerging artist.  It will also be in the Greenville Art Guild's Annual Fall Art Show along with the brownstone painting.  I'll let you know how all that goes!

New York skies

July 20 24x36 oil, copyright Erica Keener

A quick trip back to Manhattan for this one.  Actually, it was painted several weeks ago, but the paint is so thick it has taken a long time to dry.  It's been awhile since I've done any of my abstracted sky paintings, and this one didn't start out that way.  Based on a photo I took from the terrace of our hotel, I originally intended to include a building under construction.  It was a beautiful clear day and the clouds were reflecting in the windows and showing through the unfinished skeleton of the structure.  But as I started layering the blues, they just sort of took over.  Usually a two hour stretch at a time is enough for me - my back gets tired and I start to get bored - but this time I went for about 3 1/2 hours before I quit.  The paint just kept getting thicker until I was almost sculpting it.  Too bad I didn't think about using a palette knife - I'll have to try that next time.

Figuratively speaking...

One Minute Poses 18x24 charcoal, copyright 2010

It has been nearly 15 years (when I was in college) since I've done any figure drawing from a live model, so when the Preble County Art Center began offering Life Drawing I jumped at the chance.  Figure drawing was one of my favorite art classes and I've missed it, especially since it is rather difficult to draw one's own back!

I've gone twice now, and have made a few discoveries.  First, I am quite rusty and can definitely use the practice.  Second, I need to pay more attention to proportions - the heads tended to get too small.  Third, I really need to work on hands and feet - these are even more difficult for me than faces.  

On my Facebook page I've made an album of the drawings and plan on adding a couple of pieces each time I go to see how much progress has been made.   It should be an excellent opportunity to gain some experience.

That's how I roll

As I was recently contemplating a failed pastel of New York (aka a "wiper"), I had a bit of an epiphany about how I work.  I'm really not much of a planner.  I know this doesn't seem too revelatory to those who know me well, but bear with me.

After trips to New York City and out west, I was determined to do a series of paintings based on photos I had taken.  I gave it a lot of thought, went through photos, cropped them and played with images.  In other words, I spent a lot of time planning them out.  But looking back at all my paintings, these aren't the best ones.  The best ones are those that I had no idea I was going to paint until I stepped foot in my studio.  A few involved some minor planning - I did take the time to crop the photo of the brownstone, but it was only a few minutes before I started on the canvas.  And although I had considered the nautilus, it was an impulse the day I finally decided to paint it.

So, lesson learned.  I will have more paintings of the southwest and New York - when I feel like it, not when I think I have to.  Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go paint...something.

Corner storefront

Corner Storefront 8x10 oil, copyright 2010

There seem to be a lot of these storefronts on the corners in New York, and it was the arched windows of this one that caught my eye.   The entire first floor of the building consisted of these arches, and the symetry of it intrigued me.  It is actually a rather ornate structure which I simplified quite a bit.  It is also faced with a pale colored stone block which made for a monochromatic painting.  I took a some artist license and converted it to brick for more color.  This painting was done quickly as I wanted to give it a sketchy feel, almost as if it was plein air.