Monday, August 25, 2008

48) Shadows and Mowed Grass




11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125
Click HERE to purchase a reprint or cards 



Aug 17 sitting at the north end of the run way looking west. The hanger in the background inspired me with the shadows and hanging ivy. From a distance I could only make out the rough image of ladders stacked in the center of the hanger. Later I took a break and walked close to the hanger with Georgia, I was amazed at the difference between the objects I saw from a distance and what actually was stored in the hanger (crates, old windows, rows of benches). Painting what one sees and not what one perceives is fascinating to me. As I sit and observe then commit paint to paper I begin to see shapes and shades instead of objects. This happened in several places including the burn pit of the foreground and the fence along the right side of the work. When I observe and see instead of interpreting objects the flow changes, I am present and not lost in thought (the interpretation of the objects).

Sometimes I see a place or something and say “I want to paint it”, yet I am unsure why. As I move through the painting I suddenly discover why, and that occurred here. The composition allows for movement with connecting colors and contrasting values. The red from the hanger roof curves across the upper painting, which is picked up by the barely exposed gate on the far right then back towards the center from the streaks of dirt in the burn pile. Complementing the reds are the variety of greens in addition to the oranges of the mowed grass and the blues of the sky. Remnants of branches missed from the burn jut out from the purple/red dirt and blue ash.

No comments: