thoughts on art and creative living

I recently finished a new painting, which I’ve decided to title “Cerulean Song”.  Cerulean is the variety of blue that dominates the piece, and since it was created specifically  for a “blue themed” show, it seems appropriate to give some reference to that.  It also seemed significant for music or sound to be a part of it’s title, since it feels like the pregnant woman is being called by the owl’s song.

The ideas for my artworks are always generated by the process.  I didn’t even know that this would be my blue themed piece at the beginning, as I started with a red background.  I did a photo transfer of a collaged face as a demo in my painting class, then started painting the rest of the figure from imagination.  The red hair is the only element of the background that still exists.  (I painted an umber over it, then scratched back into the previous layer with my palette knife).  Here’s a side by side of the photographic image that inspired the face, with the one that materialized when I applied layers of paint.  The image became reversed because of the gel medium transfer:

I generally begin by priming my panel with a lighter color (in this case, orange), then use a darker acrylic glaze (burnt sienna).  The photo collage of the face was adhered with acrylic gel medium, then the paper backing was removed to reveal a mirror image of the face.  I worked on the figure enough that I decided to preserve it once I changed my mind about the color scheme.  For students and other artists interested in the process that goes into a painting, I’m including a few photos of the next steps that brought the piece to completion (click to enlarge):

(1) I created a stencil to protect the figure.  I then proceeded to drip various shades of thinned blue oil paint from the top of the panel.  If you look closely, you’ll see that there is also a plastic bag pressed into the painting.  When pulled up, this reveals some of the underground painting. This step gives me some patterns to work with.  (2) Since the drips started to resemble trees, I decided to go with that idea.  I clarified the tree structure first by removing some of the paint with my palette knife (again, revealing the red layer beneath).  I uncovered the figure and had to remove some paint that had seeped in below the tape.  Oil dries slowly, so I knew that as long as the paint wasn’t completely dried, that I would be able to easily remove any seepage. (3) I further developed the blue tones, but at this point, the dress is green. (I later decided to move it even further into the blue range by covering it with turquoise).  The foreground tree (with owl) is painted on a second layer, on plexiglass.

Because the image is somewhat static, it was important to get some vibrating colors to liven up the theme.  So I created lots of dots of color graduating down from the sky into the foreground.  The patterns in the trees also helps to activate the space, as does the expanding rings that float on the top layer.

This painting will be part of a show titled “Blue Square”, at Vina Paradiso (located at 417 NW 10th in Portland). An opening reception is planned on Dec. 3rd, 6pm – 9pm.   30-40 artists are involved, and, in case it’s not obvious enough, all paintings will be square in shape and blue in theme.

Tonight I’m inspired to use the example of a friends’ collages as the basis for an exercise for a student project. The following exploration of Color, Space, and Pattern can benefit students from the approach of Color Theory, Painting, as well as Mixed Media applications.

All of the textile-based collages represented on this post are the creations of Janet Silver (a fellow artist at Six Days Art Cooperative).

The composition at left is a quilted collage, using a combination of bold and subtly patterned fabrics. Janet selected varied colors of different sized rectangles and squares, in this case, she stitched several fabric pieces to an underlaying fabric.

A similar type of composition could be created using either acrylic paints or mixed media collage:

Color and Repetition

1. Create design that includes 6-10 divisions of space, using geometric shapes or free-form patterns (this number is fairly arbitrary… the aim is to keep it simple)

2. Create each segment in different tones of either CONTRASTING or ANALAGOUS colors (choose 3-4 colors, in a range of varying values).  You could also choose a split-compliment or triad theme for the composition.

3. Create a simple, repeated PATTERN or TEXTURE into each of the divided spaces. These patterns can be achieved by direct painting, or by collaging painted papers.

Combining painting and collage, you can might begin with the painting and then add collaged papers, or begin by painting papers, then decide on the design as you glue them to your substrate. You might choose to paint directly onto tissue papers, then paint more details into the composition. (See my article on creating texture, for a multitude of surface techniques).

Think of ways to achieve a BALANCE of visual weight (i.e. larger shapes counter-weighing multiple smaller forms).  Decide on a COLOR THEME before you begin (analagous, complimentary, split-compliment, triad, etc).  Use a color wheel, and try to match the hues of chosen colors.

If you are skilled at using image editing software, it can also help you to decide on a color composition.  To illustrate this, I’ve taken images of Janet’s quilt/paintings and altered them through Photoshop software, to experiment with different palettes:

The first panel in my illustration shows her original compositions.  By selecting “Image”, then “Hue/Saturation”, you can alter the hue to a gradually shift it to multiple settings.  In addition, you can affect the brightness/contrast, or even invert the colors.  It’s a quick way to make some color choices before you even get out the paint!  This is also a good way to use photographs as a source material for artworks.