Thursday, May 26, 2011

A blogging break

I'm having a short break from blogging, about a week, as I'm doing some travelling.  Although I always have good intentions when I'm away, time usually wins in the end and I can't fit in all that I want.

I'll be doing some sketching as and when I can and am currently looking at clouds covering the peaks of the Rocky Mountains as I write this. Inspiration is always around me from vast landscapes like this to intimate studies of small objects so you never know what I'll post when I return.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Overflow complete

 Overflow
10 x 10  acrylic


I've finished this smaller painting, trying to make the smooth surface and the flow blend together. Painting water is always interesting and I often need to see the source before I can complete it.  It was no different today.   I went out to a lake to study water this afternoon so I could commit to memory its movement and surface.  I needed that reinforcement of reality before I could complete the final touches to this piece.

Water, like any other object can be simply broken down into darks and lights, but familiarity with the subject helps a lot, especially when working from several sources, photos, life and memory.  That intimate knowledge of a subject and the time spent drawing and painting it over and over and over is required before ever trying to commit a memory effectively into a painting.