Man Eats Chicken
A few months ago, I decided to do some still life paintings using objects from around the house. I decided to paint this guy.
I started the painting by first choosing colors and...
...doing a little study.
More to come!
Blog
What Shall I Make?
I’ve been searching for something to use as a subject to both draw and paint. So, I thought, why not use some of the ridiculous stuff that's already here? In fact, thinking long-term, I can make runs to thrift stores to look for even more ridiculous stuff, that is, if I start to run out of ridiculous stuff that I already own.
I'm starting off with this old kitchen timer that I picked up somewhere, and a chicken that I use to pose with my little people.
After much maneuvering in front of the camera, I settled on this scene.
This is the start of a drawing, which I'll finish and then try painting in both silk paint and oils.
I Learned So Much!
In a previous email, I wrote about my friend Barbara and her new retirement hobby of making beautiful food presentations. I so admire her push to always be learning that I made a silk painting of her work.
The good news is that I learned a lot from the process of creating the piece. The bad news is that I learned a lot because so much went wrong while I was painting it.
I learned a lot about painting in general, and while I was at, I spent a great deal of time fighting with the medium because silk paint is poorly suited to the kind of painting I was trying to create. So I’ve decided to try out other paints. I’m taking a painting class and will be doing all of the exercises in watercolors, acrylics, and oils to see which one suits me best.
Onward!
Do I really get to eat this?
My friend Barbara Madison Ripps retired after a long career as an elementary school teacher. She now makes beautiful, complex food boxes and platters (called charcuterie) as a hobby*. I so admired her desire to keep learning and creating that I asked her if I could do a silk painting of her work. My finished piece will be part of a new web page of silk paintings that illustrate life-long learning and growth.
One of Barbara’s beautiful platters. Silk painting doesn't lend itself to complex subjects, so...
...the first thing I did is decide what parts to paint, and then...
...I noodled around with color...
...and worked on light and shadow.
I will post the completed piece when it's done, and will be selling prints.
*Contact me if you live in New York's Capital District and are interested in learning more about Barbara's fabulous creations.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
While organizing photos on my computer, I found these images of silk paintings that I made a few decades ago. Sometimes I like to come up with one design and then see how it works in different media, which is why I recreated “Breakfast” as a mosaic.
Noodling once again
I’ve been teaching myself some new, far more challenging silk painting techniques than what I’ve used in the past. It’s involved experimenting and failing, experimenting and failing, and even MORE experimenting and failing. I’m starting to master the techniques, and once I’m satisfied, I’ll be offering prints of my silk paintings.
More noodling
Still noodling around with silk paint.
Noodling
I noodled around in the studio last week, trying out a new silk blending technique.
Anti-frack art
I was cleaning my studio and discovered this silk painting that I’d forgotten about. It’s part of a series that I started, and for reasons I can’t remember, never finished. The orange/turquoise images are how I imagine the microbes that are killed during fracking. This series still appeals me & I plan to finish the paintings. Of course, I’ll post them here when I do.
