Yamabuki

When I get an idea, I often have to put it down on paper so it doesn't disappear.  I've had this image of a solitary goldfish in my head for days and left the sea of blue that I was working on to do the start of a little study in preparation for a large piece to come.

The term nishikigoi in Japanese means "colored carp" and refers to the magical realm of koi fish. The Japanese invest symbolism in many animals and especially koi carp, the common goldfish being the domestic version of carp. Yamabuki: The gold fish represents gold, wealth and prosperity.

This is on 6 x 12 gallery canvas in acrylics.  Its just the bones of it right now but will have more form and depth over the next few days and I'll see what comes of it.

Glazes and lines

 

A few more glazes of blues.  A few more tracery lines of reflection and its starting to come together.

The ease of going larger fuels a need to go even larger.  To search for a new canvas tomorrow I think...and a name for this piece too.

Going bigger

Here's an update on the caustic reflections painting that I started.  I've spent more hours glazing, and making a start on the reflected lights dancing across the hull of the boat.  Its quite an abstract piece at this point and may still look like that in its finished state considering the intimate viewpoint, but the subject is the reflected light from the water onto the hull of a moored boat.

Working on a larger painting makes me shift my thinking as well as the practical aspects of painting.  Working on a bigger canvas (24 x 30") involves increasing size on everything from palette to brushes.  24 x 30 may not seem large, but its larger than my usual size.

I've commandeered an 18" x 24" aluminum tray as my palette.  Other general palettes are too small to allow for mixing the paint and accomodating the larger brush sizes.   I did first look for a sheet of glass in the barn, but couldn't find something that was suitable so figured this would work.  And as it is acrylic paint, it can be scraped down afterwards - not that the tray will be food grade ever again.

I'm a detail freak, so smaller brushes are those that I am most comfortable with.  But for a larger painting, I've moved up to 2" and 4" brushes, with some smaller flats for edging and my favourite 1" scrubby for blending some areas.  Small foam rollers also can work well for laying down colour on large areas and give interesting texture too.

The amount of paint that is required for a larger piece is noticeable as well as the amount of medium that I use to keep the acrylics flowing for longer. All techniques remain the same, its simply a matter of large sizing tools.

Except for smaller details, I need to stand to paint on a larger piece and with hours of glazing, arm muscles get tired.  It may be back to the free weights for me if I want to continue with larger pieces!

Drawing Day 2011

I knew today was Drawing Day and I did want to make some time to create something.  The day was very busy so it wasn't until late this afternoon before I could.

This is a pen and ink piece of a small river close by, done with Kohinoor Nexus Studio pens in a Daler Rowney recycled sketchbook.  I was out on several errands and again to take some photos and decided to stop along the way to make time for this.

One of my stops, as usual, was Middle Cove beach and after wandering the beach for awhile I spotted this harp seal basking on an outcrop of rock near the shoreline.  The seal blends so well with the kelp and rock I hadn't noticed it at first.  Aside from raising its head now and then to check for intruders, it enjoyed its land nap in the warm sunshine.  Click the image to see the larger version.

Caustic reflections

At last back in the studio and trying to take up where I left off on a painting I had started about 10 days ago.  Its easy to get out of the discipline of daily drawing and painting and it can easily be the death of an artist.  I did sketch while I was away, but its not the same as getting my teeth into something more substantial.  Of course then, faced with the 'something more substantial' its a bit of a challenge to wrap my mind around it, but here I am again, brush in hand figuring out where to go next.

The concept for this painting is the hull of a boat with the reflected light from the water.  These lines of light are called caustic reflections ,which are reflected light from the undulating surface of water.  The multiple movements of the water surface breaks the reflections into the lines commonly seen on boat hulls or docks.  The same reflections occur with many reflections in shallow water and on metal surfaces.

This painting is in acrylic on a 30 x 40 gallery canvas.  I'm working on getting the canvas covered in first layers and putting loose values and placement of shapes right now. It looks more like a landscape at this stage I think and I am always a bit hesitant about posting such an early stage of the painting.  Its so different from the vision in my head but all part of the process.  Lots to do on it yet and hopefully some time this weekend to make progress.

Interactive art

 

One of my treats while away was to spend some time with my daughter and grand daughter.  She's four now and its interesting to see how children explore the world and how interactive everything is.  It reminded me of how much of that we lose as adults and how much we need to strive to keep that as artists.

These thoughts formed as I watched her interact with the world and the pleasure she got from art both 2D and 3D.

• Take time to see what is in front of you.  Up close.
• Don't be afraid to touch something, climb on it, taste it.
• Embrace colour
• Concentrate
• Go outside the lines
• Little details count
• Pancakes have potential for sculpture

Now that I'm home again and getting back on track, I'll revisit what's in the studio and should have a sneak preview of a new painting tomorrow or the next day.