Parklands #5

Parklands #5, oil on Arches paper, 16x12"

I had a lot of trouble with this painting all the way around.  I don't know if it was the combination of the inorganic and the organic, which the other paintings in the Parklands series don't have, or that I was rusty.  I will chalk it up to both at this point.  I don't like getting rusty but it happens.  I had two different versions of this painting prior to going back in and re-doing the whole thing. The alternative would have been to scrub it. I eventually gathered my long, lost focus and reworked it. I re-sketched the entire composition, resized it all, and tried to squint at my photo to see and compose larger shapes.  I did a lot of overpainting on what remained of the other versions. One good thing about the oil paper that I have been using is it is very rag-like and absorbent, so there is no way to ever get a clean slate. It makes me rethink what color palette I will use henceforth, thus making "take two" more interesting all the way around.

Parklands #3

Parklands #3, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

I've been using wonderful references photos as a starting point for for my paintings in this series, but eventually I reach a jumping off point and focus on what's unfolding.  These painting have definitely been an experiment for me. When I gave up painting in 1990, I had reached a point where mark making was just as much a part of the final interpretation, as the image itself.  When I returned to painting (almost 2 years ago) I thought I would pick up where I left off. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. But that's ok, because in all the experimentation, I had the opportunity to explore different methods, re-learn aspects of painting that where forgotten, and learn what I like and what I don't.  This is still evolving and will continue to do so. For now, I am struggling with working through a painting and not giving up on it. I guess this is a metaphor for  a lot of things in our individual lives - not giving up. I will always be an eternal student, so as frustrating as the challenge can be at times, I welcome it. 

Parklands #1

Parklands #1, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

Yesterday, I went hiking in two different rural parks in the Louisville area. It was a beautiful, uplifting experience that yielded many photos consciously shot to use as references for drawing/painting.  I decided after reviewing them on my computer, that it was time for another series. And since I am attempting to use more abstraction, what better time then now.  Here is the first, which I worked and reworked, wiping and scraping paint on and off.  There were a few moments that I wanted to give up on it, but the photo kept drawing me back in to the actual moment I was there. Plein air painting from memory!!!!  Hopefully, I will be able to begin painting 2 with a bit more spring in my step!