Art

“To depend entirely upon inspiration is as bad as waiting for a shipwreck to learn how to swim….”

“To depend entirely upon inspiration is as bad as waiting for a shipwreck to learn how to swim. To leave everything to natural spontaneity is as bad as to make everything the result of mechanical pre-determination… perfection is the harmonious blending of the two.” – Francois Delsarte

June 18, 2018

Skittles, Apr 28, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Skittles, Apr 28, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Four Cups, May 6, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Four Cups, May 6, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Balloon Dog, May 19, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Balloon Dog, May 19, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Cream Pitcher, May 27, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Cream Pitcher, May 27, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

It seems it’s been a while that I’ve felt torn between trying to finish as many of my old canvases as possible and starting something new and larger. And in the absence of a decision between the two, I’ve either been working on smaller pieces or not working at all. Being a collector of art supplies, I have quite a few small canvassers and panels that I’m filling in short sittings with images that are not all that special to me. Their completion almost amounts to putting in time – but the intention is not a negative connotation. It’s more about keeping at it and removing the expectation of a certain outcome beyond a surface covered with paint that I can call ‘done’. I do have some time set aside in the near future to play with cold wax techniques and that just might lead to something new…

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“Stare. It is the way to educate your eye…”

“Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.” – Walker Evans

June 5, 2018

 

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May is over and so are my daily drawings for the month. I adopted the theme of corners in May. I had thought I’d try to focus on creating small spaces, or on the odd things that I might find in the corners of my house, but that wasn’t always that interesting to me, so I expanded it to include the corners of surfaces as well. I liked having a theme – even if it was sometimes only loosely applied and so I’ve taken up a new one for June. On July 2, I will post my daily face drawings and we’ll see how many of them appear to be human.

“Fear is the enemy of art. But it’s a misfortune to be in complete control and a gift to feel slightly lost.” – Melanie Peter

May 21, 2018

Still feeling a little lost and uninspired these days with my art. And that’s ok. I will continue and see what happens next. Here are a few of my warm-up drawings from March and April – complete with really inconsistent colour casts.

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“[A] mental image is something completely different from a visual image…”

May 7, 2018

“[A] mental image is something completely different from a visual image, and, however much one  exerts oneself, one can never manage to capture the fullness of that perfection which hovers in the mind and which one thinks of, quite falsely, as something that is ‘seen.’” – M.C. Escher

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April drawings complete. It was a bit of a rough month with a general lack of interest in this project. I’m continuing on, hoping spring brings renewed interest.

“Practice by drawing things large… “

April 9, 2018

“Practice by drawing things large, as if equal in representation and reality. In small drawings every large weakness is easily hidden; in the large, the smallest weakness is easily seen.” – Leon Battista Alberti

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I had great intentions at the beginning of March to draw larger and looser. Last year, all of my drawings were 3.5″ X 5.25″. This year I started out with all of my paper cut to 5″ X 7″. I now have paper cut to 8″ x 10″ as well and I did complete 12 larger drawings, but it is a bigger challenge than I had thought. Which could mean that it is exactly what I should work on, but it’s just not going to happen right now. I have too much else going on in my life and I’ve been struggling lately to just sit down and draw. So for April, I’ve retreated a bit and I’m focusing on drawing dishes and just keeping it up. I’m hoping when the spring weather arrives it will bring me more energy.

“Everyone repeats themselves.” – Rachel Whiteread

March 26, 2018

Wine & Pears Five, Feb 19, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20" X 16"

Wine & Pears Five, Feb 19, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″

Wine & Pears Six, Mar 3, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20" X 16"

Wine & Pears Six, Mar 3, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″

I finally finished the last two paintings in this six piece series I started last year. They’re all based on the same still life and my intention when I started was to work with the techniques introduced in the Craftsy class I had completed – I liked the subject matter and the idea of creating variations.

Below are all of the paintings together. I intend to hang them all on my living room wall to emphasize the differences and similarities between them. I will probably try another series similar to this, but I will use it to explore a variety of colour palettes. AFTER I finish at least some of the many paintings I have begun and am currently stuck on.

Wine & Pears One, Oct 7, 2017, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″
Wine & Pears Two, Oct 21, 2017, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″
Wine & Pears Three, Jan 14, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″
Wine & Pears Four, Jan 28, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″
Wine & Pears Five, Feb 19, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″
Wine & Pears Six, Mar 3, 2018, Oil on Panel, 20″ X 16″

“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” – Robert Henri

March 12, 2018

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Another month past and another 28 drawings completed. I think February went better than January. And now it’s March – the weather is warming up and spring is in the air. I hope to be a little more experimental again this month and loosen up a bit. In January and February I worked at 5”x7” and for March I’ve prepared a lot of paper at 8”x10”. I’ve added a few new papers to play with and plan to try working more with both vine and compressed charcoal. And maybe some paint… We’ll see how it goes.