And here’s another tomato painting. This time I decided to work from a photo instead of from life. Samantha thought the tomato is too perfect, but she did say that it looked that way in the photo as well. I’m finding painting more enjoyable and less frustrating than when I began back in May and I like the accumulation of images that I’m seeing on my picture shelves.
Tomatoes Three, Acrylic on Canvas Board, 10″ x 10″
I wanted to try something a little different and I liked the idea of black gesso. It’s not exactly a huge departure from what I’ve been doing, but I enjoyed the change.
Lemon One, Acrylic on canvas, 5″ X 7″
Lemon Two, Acrylic on canvas, 5″ X 7″
This is the first time since I started this in May that I didn’t finish the painting in one sitting – and I think it would have been better if I had. I’m just not painting often enough to be able to just dive in right away. The red tomato is pretty shapeless. And I had to go back and adjust the shadows in the bowl at the end as they were not dark enough. It’s all part of the process though. For my second painting I did complete it in one sitting and it went more smoothly, but I really looked a lot better immediately after I finished it then it did the following morning. We’ll see how the next one goes.
Tomatoes One, Acrylic on Canvas Board, 10″ x 10″
Tomatoes Two, Acrylic on Canvas Board, 10″ x 10″
I have decided to create a series of images of the same subject in as many variations as I can manage before I get completely bored and or frustrated. I had hoped to finish this today, but it is still underway. We’ll see how it evolves.
I saw this in a book and thought I would try it – a limited palette, interesting negative space and some outlining. I quite like it and will have to play with this some more I think. You can still see the scratches in the board from the one of the many plaster paintings that I covered over to arrive here – I think it adds interest to the surface.
Series at Red Deer College 2013. I had the privilege of working with Jen Mallinson for five days and trying to pick up from her as much as I could. Jen is an amazingly, talented artist and generously shared so many techniques and ideas with our group that I am well prepared for many months of art practice. This is just the beginning of what I hope to be able to do as I continue to work with her her instruction and inspiration. And all of this is from someone who does not normally ‘do’ abstract work.
Starting a new job this month has completely destroyed my art schedule. My goal has been to practice drawing every day and to complete one finished drawing and one finished painting each week – not necessarily large pieces, but ‘finished’ – as in I actually persevere even though I sometimes am very dissatisfied with them and I finish them. Because that’s the whole idea of practice. I have fallen far short of that goal so far. Tomorrow another week begins and I will keep going.
I did get a chance to do a little painting again. And since I have been very frustrated withe my most recent work, I decided to eliminate one variable and paint in monotone. I had thought that I’d add a number of coloured glazes to bring colour back in, but when I started doing that, I didn’t feel the need to take if very far. My drawing of the support under the pear is horribly distorted (thus the need for more drawing practice) but I kind of like the way the fruit turned out. I had paint left on my palette and a little ATC sized bit of canvas paper handy, so I did another quick little pear to end the evening. Painting with my monotone palette reminded of another painting I did in about 1995 in a class setting. It was on masonite and I threw it away, keeping only a (poor) photo of it. Her skin tone may suggest she was cold, but there were at least two space heaters directed towards her. No models were hurt or placed in discomfort for the purpose of this artwork…
In the spirit of tracing some sort of development of skill, I am adding a few more paintings and a couple of more finished drawings from the last couple of weeks. I am getting very frustrated with my acrylics and debating about switching to oils. I am going to try to hold off though and work through the problems. 
I didn’t spend much time creating finished art this week sadly. Somehow it just didn’t really happen. This is what I did come up with though. I found I let the plastic bag intimidate me for some reason instead of just focusing on lights and darks and tonal variations. I will have to come back to this subject again.
susanne semchuk 