Order Up

                                                                      18x14 oil

This is not a (very) little painting, and neither will be the next few I post. I have been painting almost daily, though. This painting and 2 others will be shipped to Edward Montgomery Fine Arts in Carmel, CA as soon as I get them framed.

I have made it my summer project to work hard on strengthening my compositions. To that end I'm spending a lot more time in the planning stages thinking "link values", "create just a few interesting shapes" think in terms of "most", "some" and a "little"(shapes, colors, values), decide whether the painting is to be mostly warm or cool...I try to work all that out before I begin.  It's kind of like a puzzle to make the "picture" work well literally as well as abstractly.

If I were to describe my desired goal in my paintings it would be to express the gesture of the human form loosely and correctly, with the rest of the painting dissolving into abstraction that supports the figure(s). Within all that I want the brushstrokes to be varied and loose, and the rightness of the paint itself to shine. Is that asking too much?

Step it Up

6x6 oil on gesso board

This was painted in response to Daily Paintworks weekly challenge, which was to center a painting around Pantone's color of the year "Radiant Orchid". It's not a color I often use, so I really enjoyed giving it a try. I love how it sets off the lime green.

Basking in the Glow

6x6 oil on gesso board

I had a commission for a painting similar to one I did a year or so ago, so I painted 3 versions of this still life setup. It was an interesting exercise, as I considered possible ways to crop and light the picture.  Below is the painting the client selected. And below that is the third view (with a different bowl).

At Your Service

6x6 oil on Gessoboard

I'm preparing to paint some larger canvases, and this is a study for one of them. My goal is to create lively scenes with lots of movement, and plenty of abstraction to accompany the least amount of realism required to suggest the scene. Can she pull it off? We'll see....