Branches and Leaves

"Branches and Leaves," acrylic on 8 x 8 canvas

"How the Almighty had made the earth
a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
in His splendour He set the sun and the moon
to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
and filled the broad lap of the world
with branches and leaves; and quickened life
in every other thing that moved."  - Beowulf

I always spend a lot of time planning and thinking about any art project before I begin to work.  My main goal in this painting, however, was to put aside all of the planning and thinking and just create.  My inspiration started with the first leaves of fall:

 

Given that Texas does not typically acknowledge autumn until closer to Christmastime, these leaves were a surprise.  I used the colors of the leaves to paint a background.

I added a bright moon, then collaged the actual leaves on top and added more glaze, still drawing from the leaves' colors.  I found some branches on my way to painting class, and decided to paint the branches into the painting.  I used some modeling paste to give one of the branches a more 3-D effect.  I made them gray for a cool contrast effect.  I added quite a few coats of high gloss varnish along the way, mainly to preserve my organic leaves. 

I added a third branch in and painted metallic colors over the leaves.  By this point, the leaves were so glossy and slippery that it was difficult to get the paint to take.  At last, I managed!

As my painting came together, I found myself mainly concerned with balance, especially as I decided to go with an even number of objects. I feel like the painting is well balanced, despite that even number.  Next, I determined the correct orientation of my painting.

Lastly, I added a coat of poly-resin to create a glass-like finish, and also to preserve my organic leaves for the life of the painting. 

'Lectric Eye on Me

"'Lectric Eye on Me," Acrylic on 18 x 14 canvas

Last summer, my sister Casey asked me to paint her a portrait of David Bowie.  Now, David Bowie is my sister's all time favorite musician, and one of mine, as well.  I panicked and told her I wasn't ready.  I told her I wasn't good enough, didn't know enough, couldn't do it . . . yet.  As her birthday approached this spring, I realized that if I didn't try, I would never be ready.  I began to study portrait work, watching all of the demo videos I could manage.  I really liked Eric T. Francis's portrait lessons on YouTube, and so I watched them repeatedly.  

I made sure to listen to Bowie exclusively every time I worked on this project.  I listened to each album many times over (my personal favorites are The Man Who Sold the World and Black Star).  I drew a very rough sketch on canvas and completed an umber wash to start.

Umber wash on 18 x 14 canvas

To make things more complicated, I had decided to work from a black and white photo and imagine the color.  Then I had the very, very difficult task to mix realistic skin colors.  I also watched many demos and read many articles about this.  Eric T. Francis's magic mix did not work for me, but I found a simpler one that I liked a lot better: yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white.  I added just a touch of portrait pink to the mix, as well.

My original vision for the background was to create an abstract collage.  I purchased the digital sheet music for my sister's favorite song, "Moonage Daydream."  The song is the inspiration for the entire painting, and so I really wanted my background to suggest just that.  I thought I would paint over some watercolor paper using thinned down acrylics and print the sheet music over the color.  I planned to tear bits of the sheet music and randomly place it into the background, along with bits of the abstract Citra Solve papers I created.

My Citra Solve / National Geographic experiment

Once I had completed the painting of David, however, I couldn't do it.  I realized that the abstract background would not go with the more realistic painting.  I studied traditional portraits at length, noting all of the different techniques artists have used for their backgrounds.  I finally decided to do a kind of gradation, choosing the dreamiest colors from my palette- the blues of his eye and the pink of his shirt.

My husband Jason was so supportive while I worked on this project.  He cleared the house of distractions (that is, my ten year old son) the first day I started my flesh tones, and offered plenty of constructive feedback throughout the process.  He even stood next to me while I made the cigarette smoke, when I was at the height of frustration, offering advice on which bits of smoke to thin down and blend.  

After countless hours of painting, varnishing, layering, thinking about David Bowie and listening to his music, and over a month after Casey's birthday (!!!) I have finished this painting.  This is the most challenging task I've taken on in my art so far, and I've learned a great deal in the process.

Bonnie in a Blanket

"Bonnie in a Blanket," Acrylic on 12 x 12 canvas

On the first day of my painting class this past January, I knew next to nothing about acrylic paints.  I wasn't sure what "medium" or "gel" or "gesso" even was, let alone when I should use them.  I went to the library and checked out Gill Barron's Acrylic Secrets.  I read fervently, finishing it all in one sitting.  One sample painting really piqued my interest.  It was a painting of a tabby cat by Karen Mathison Schmidt.

Painting by Karen Mathison Schmidt, featured in Acrylic Secrets

Now this painting worked from a photo and really capitalized on color, making a cat far more vibrant and colorful than the original.  The artist used an umber underpainting, and then glazed over it with various colors.

I knew already that I wanted to paint a portrait of my mom's tabby cat, Bonnie, and when I saw this painting, I had to try this technique.  However, I decided to use a photorealism approach.

My mom had sent me this photo of Bonnie, nestled in a red and gray afghan blanket she was crocheting for my son's Christmas present.

Photograph of Bonnie

I knew this was just the right inspiration for my painting.  This photograph had a lot of potential to play with warm and cold colors, in particular.  I wanted to really emphasize the contrast between the gray and brilliant red, the warmness of Bonnie's features, and her bright, "up to something" eyes.   I wanted to use the golden ratio to help plan my focal point, to ensure that Bonnie's eyes were the focus of the work.  I would use the folds of the blanket to further assist me with this task. 

The first thing I did was crop the photo.  I knew that I wanted my Bonnie painting to fit a square canvas.  I wanted the painting to be square, but I did not want my whiskers cut off.  Additionally, I felt the blanket was important in the piece.  It was so special; my mom made it!  So, I decided to use the cropped photo as a basis to work from and draw in the rest of the blanket, extending parts of the blanket and Bonnie that are not in the photo.

Bonnie, cropped and black and white

I filtered the photo in black and white, because I wanted to pay special attention to tonal values.  I toned my ground in a light green  underpaint, because  I wanted  the  red of the blanket and red tones  in Miss Bonnie to be all the more bright.  I sketched the cat directly onto my canvas and completed an umber monochromatic underpainting.

My monochromatic underpainting

I was ready to begin glazing!  I created my gray from several layers of cadmium orange and cobalt blue, a little light blue, a touch of iridescent silver and a couple neutral gray coats.  My red was derived of several layers of cadmium reds, cadmium orange, hansa yellow to brighten it up, and alizarin crimson.  The glazes I used for my cat include cobalt blue, hansa yellow, cadmium orange, quinacridone  / nickel azo gold, burnt sienna, unbleached titanium, titanium white and just a touch of carbon black mixed with umber.  I wanted my colors to really be rich and beautiful.  While I wanted to stay true to the photo, I believe that the colors used in paintings should be more vibrant than real life.  Why else should we dream in color?

After a few layers of glaze

After interminable hours of glazing (all the while rotating between my Loreena McKennitt Pandora station and the true crime podcast, Someone Knows Something), I found that my painting was almost ready.  I added fine detail to the face- for example, a cobalt blue twinkle to the pupils- and then a coat of gloss varnish.  I used a calligraphy pen to draw fine whiskers once the varnish was dry and finished the project with two coats of satin varnish.

This painting is a gift to celebrate Mother's Day.  For me, the cat represents my mother's sweet and nurturing nature, as well as her compassion and love for animals (a love has carried over from her children to her grandchildren, and no doubt, will continue for generations to come).  The blanket represents her craftiness, creativity, attention to detail, and love for her family.  I will be shipping it out today.  I certainly hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed painting it!

Kale

"Kale," acrylic on 10x10 canvas

Nite is a feral cat who lives in my neighborhood.  I can't take him in- he really is a wild beast, albeit a sweet one, and I have too many pets already.  But, I have been feeding him and over the past year, we've become good friends.  On Friday mornings, Nite loves sitting with me on the front porch, occasionally taking breaks  to roll around in the kale garden.  He adores my kale plants!

Of course, Nite isn't the only reason kale inspires me.  It is a nutritious food and a highly resilient crop.  I planted it last fall.  It has survived extreme temperatures, hot and cold- not only survived, but thrived.  It is also exceptionally beautiful.  One morning while spending time with Nite, I took this photo and got an idea.

I noticed not only the gorgeous colors, but also its intricate shape and pattern.  I have been studying Georgia O'Keeffe's work lately, and I thought about her flower and leaf close up paintings.  One thing that I learned in my readings is that Georgia O'Keeffe is not the only female artist to make this kind of painting in the 1920s and 30s.  Elsie Driggs and others during this time period were also making this sort of work, although certainly Georgia O'Keeffe is the most celebrated for this style of painting.

I wanted to make my own close up plant painting, a painting that focuses on the shape and pattern of kale.  I thought the near complimentary colors of magenta and green would also lend my painting some balance and contrast.  Next, I really wanted to emphasize the budding new green in the center of the kale, to focus on newness and possibility.

I cropped my photo for a more pleasing design.

 

I tried to sketch my kale, but it was so complicated that I gave up.  I gave my canvas a quick yellow oxide underpainting, and then I decided to just paint my design directly on the canvas, rather than trying to draw it out.  Somehow, this was easier.  I did a tonal underpainting with seven shades using raw sienna, with burnt umber for the darkest tone.

Then, I used various layers of glaze, and also painted over my design for finer detail.  I finished it off with one coat of gloss varnish and two coats of satin.

My kale has since flowered.  It will never look quite like this again.  My painting will help me remember that cool Friday morning, sitting on the porch with Nite and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Bull of Heaven

After more than a month of planning and working, I have finally finished the Bull of Heaven!  This painting is 32 x 24.5 inches and was completed on masonite board with acrylic, crackle paste, modeling paste and satin varnish.

I wanted to make a painting that would reflect the elements of line and texture, along with the design principles of variety, rhythm and directional force.

I woke up on January 19th with the Wall of Ishtar and Epic of Gilgamesh on my mind.  I immediately pulled my Detroit Institute of Arts book off the shelf and turned to its page on the Snake-Dragon.  I have actually visited this piece many times, and (I can't help but admit) even touched it.  Babylonian mythology has captured my imagination ever since I first read the Epic of Gilgamesh during my junior year of high school, and later on, Anne Rice's The Servant of the Bones.  The Wall of Ishtar, once one of the Wonders of the World, is made from terracotta, lapis lazuili and precious stones.  It is decorated with dragons to honor the god Marduk, bulls for the god Adad and lions for the goddess Ishtar.

I thought about how the Bull of Heaven is slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.  This act plummets Enkidu to his death, and Gilgamesh to absolute mental anguish, as he obsesses over the loss of his closest friend and his own quest for immortality.

I drew this preliminary sketch:

 

I added two more sketches:

 

The figures you see in the last sketch are the cuneiform figures for Bull of Heaven.  I wanted to include these in my painting, but this ultimately didn't work out.

After I had my plan, I prepared my masonite and coated it with lots of modeling paste and an entire jar of crackle paste.  I used my palette knives and a panel from household blinds to help me construct my bricks:

Next, I made a final sketch of my bull.  My original vision underwent some changes, as I decided to make my own winged bull more akin to the ancient style of the Babylonians:

 

I decided, upon my colleague's prodding, to build a 3D relief of my bull on top of my bricks before painting.  The trouble was getting my enlarged bull sketch transferred onto the bricks without having to begin the sketch all over again.  I tried using homemade transfer paper.  This did not work, because the texture was just too bumpy to draw on smoothly.  

So, I cut out  the bull and traced around it with pencil.  

I then put modeling paste over my outline and used my palette knives and toothpicks to etch in the fine details.

 

It was time to start painting!   I started with my bricks.  I wanted each brick to be completely unique.  My color palette for the main bricks consisted of ultramarine blue, light aqua, neutral gray, Payne's gray, white, quinacridone nickel gold, gold, bronze, bronze yellow and copper.

For the bricks at the base, I used raw sienna, bronze yellow, yellow oxide, mars black and white.  I finished the project with three coats of satin varnish.

A tremendous effort went into this piece, and it was all worth it.  I enjoyed using line, variety, rhythm, texture and directional force to revisit the Epic of Gilgamesh.