Monthly Studio Update - April, 2002

 

 

MONTHLY STUDIO UPDATE: April 2002 [Updated April 20th]

Non-Studio Updates:

Apologies for the late update but I am just back from New York and I have been away from my computer.

There is not much non-studio activity to report for this month.  Though I am making progress on for Foundation that I am in the mist of creating, well...its quite a bit more substantial than a mist of thought. :)

 

Studio Updates:

White Jar in the Classical Style, acrylic on canvas board, 14 x 18", 2002.

Just put the last touches on the above still-life. Shortly it will be posted at www.RomanticRealism.Net, and it for sale.

 

 

 

 

Glass Jar in the Classical Style, acrylic on canvas board, 14 x 18", 2002.

Glass Jar in the Classical Style came about recently because I wanted to demonstrate a renaissance technique to a class I am teaching.   The painting was completed within a  surprisingly quick 3 days. I finished it the day I left for New York on March 29th and I sold it a few days later.  Having sold it so soon after quickly making it I am glad I have an image of it or I might not remember every having painted it.  The technique involves diluting the paint to thin transparent liquid and liberally applying the paint like watercolor.  More crudely put, it is something like varnishing a wood table in which the grain of the wood always comes through.  Which means that once you have drawn in the subjects they don't disappear when you darken areas by the "wash".

This technique was abandoned by the French Impressionists because they wanted to re-create the purer color that they could "see" in  shadows and in highlights.  These two techniques are not exactly complimentary though Picasso goes in and out of both techniques at will.  In my painting, Pursuit, I used the above technique as an underpainting in entirely one color then I overpainted it by mixing the exact color I wanted for every nuance like the Impressionists.

 

 

 

 

Artemis is moving along.  Mentioned in last month's update I had scraped off the color of her leg because it wasn't right.   Now I am very satisfied with the color and I will continue to work details of her leg and branch out from there.

 

 

 

 

Venus is also moving along.  I am applying the orange glow of sunset on the rocks.  I like the color of the rocks that are on either side of her hands but the color of rocks immediately around her is too orange for my taste.  I will tone it down a tad perhaps give it a more pinkish quality.

 

 

 

Touching a painting is sacrilegious but being the artist you can do anything you like; like taping drawing studies directly onto the canvas! The study of the mountains was done direct from life--it is the coast of Turkey at 7:00 am.  The smaller drawing is a "thumbnail" atmospheric study, its purpose is remind me of the big tonal picture while I am focused on minute detail.  

 

 

 

 

Icarus Landing Limit Edition Giclee Reproduction, image 22 x 24", paper 26 x 40.

This is the artist's proof for the Icarus limited edition of a 100.  I was blown away by the quality of the reproduction.   The quality of the pigmented inks and 100% rag, acid-free paper was the best I could find and the combination gives the image a very sensuous quality and, surprisingly, of depth.  Also every detail is captured in the image down to tiny dots of canvas that I let remain. They are available at a pre-publication price of $500 plus $125 FedEx shipping, packaging, matting and plexiglass clip-frame.  I OKed the proof and I will receive the first five by mid-April.  They will be hand-signed, titled, dated, and numbered on the white boarder at the base of the image.  The edition will also have documentation of its limited edition status on the back supplied by the printers. You can order it here.

 

That's it for April.