The Big Painting

After a bit of a delay (post show stress coupled with catching up my personal life which had been well neglected since well before the beginning of the year) I am back in the studio.


This is a 4 x 6' painting that has thankfully hit the tipping point in it's creation. That means the hard work had been completed, a map has been created out of lines that by themselves mean little, and now the final layer can be applied. But that is not to say that this work is almost done. Because of the complexity of the shapes and the sheer size, I only painted in the underlayer for the leaves. It will be a couple of months and many blog posts till I finish it off. In the meantime, here is a detail of what the underlayer looks like, in approximately a 6 x 12" section.


-jb.

Of Many Questions...

One has emerged above all else while painting in the gallery this week: "What are the nickels for?"The wicked short of it is that they keep my brushes from rolling off the glass palette I use. The long version is that I often paint in color grids. Either light to dark (think grey clouds) or color feilds (think of a sunset and the transition from blue up high to a red just above the horizon). Once I have these colors mixed, I assign a brush to each. Because I start in one spot and mix to another, the brush comes back a different shade, even though the core of it contains a specific color. It is easy to misplace a brush and assign it to a new color, making muddy colors or worse in the process, but the nickels help me out. Each brush has a specific tape on it's handle (tan masking, blue painters, black electricians, or none at all). Each color or shade has nickels underneath with the same color system, so I just match the tape on the brush to the tape on the nickels. This way my colors stay clean and sharp.


This palette is from "ul 86 (murder the night)." Here I am using the nickels to differentiate the greys used in the middle ground, with the remnants of the sky scheme to the left. Thanks to the iPhone, they all look black. Do not adjust your screen. Ditto for image on the webcam and the web page. But trust me, they are really greys made from the tube colors on the long glass piece at the very top of the table.

-jb.

False Starts & Border Patrols

This weekend I had the opportunity to escape to Arizona. Very few things compare to getting lost in the desert, except the ultimate result of finding yourself. That and getting questioned by five heavily armed border guards who have little respect for artistic license. Anywho, more pictures will follow once my computer has a couple of hours at them, but here is an iPhone pic from a particulary beautiful area that ended up being a bust from the veiwpoint of producing a painting, or even an interesting panoramic photo. But sometimes the journey is more important than a result, and in this case that is true...


-jb.

Watching What You're Watching

Or not. But insomniacs and the rest of the world can unite, as I will be painting from late wednesday night through the banker's workday on thursday. You can watch me paint pluff mud on the RLS webcam under news and more. Normally, with a show opening around the corner, I would be doing a painter's tribute to the 48 hours of le mans, but I am getting old. So I figure if I can finish the foreground, many won't notice the rest of the unfinished areas. This way I might actually get sleep and be coherent for an opening. Hope to see you there! RLS 2 Queen St. Charleston, SC Friday, April 2nd, 5-9pm.


And lest I forget, the latest painting in the gallery: ul 92 (rutherford)!

Light

Months ago I shot the series of reference photos for this painting, but was never really impressed with the light. Figuring I could always shoot the scene again later, I started using what I had. It is a view from a path I walk often at sunset, but whenever the the light is perfect, undoubtedly I left my camera at home.


Because the weather never agrees with deadlines, I will be using my color studies to help define the shades and hues. On the back of each, I label where I was, the conditions of light that day, the time (+ or - time to sunset/sunrise), the direction in relation to the sun, the area of sky, and the colors I use.


Luck of the draw and with a little mixing and matching, these three represent three areas of sky just before sunset on a clear day. After close attention to the horizon line and a light wash to create a warm under layer, I have a great base for some lowcountry lines.


-jb.

Woowho, It Is Spring!

Which I am declaring today simply because it was pretty to paint outside and the clouds are back! FYI those would be the big puffy ones that this time of year only hiccup short showers.


It is also deadline time, so I am trying to finish up the small projects that hang around the studio and get them up on the website by Thursday.Today was
painting on the flat, mixing colors over the ICW at sunset, covering the last panel in the color series (definitely a #3 moment), and now I'm off to work a small sliver of Grey Bay at low tide.



-jb.

Five Favorite Things About Being an Artist: #3

As I have exhaustingly detailed in earlier blog posts, completing the painting part of a painting is a mix of pain and pleasure. But, completing the first layer is always a joy! It is a small moment where you first get to see what a painting will be.


Instead of focusing on all the work that lies ahead, the second layer with all its details, I focus on the triumph of getting it to this point. In this case, the days of trying to figure out when the tide will creep up onto the flat, the inevitable days of getting it wrong, keeping my camera safe from the passing thunderstorms, the endless photo edits, to even the physical fact of the prepared panel and the countless hours of coating, sanding, and recoating. But here is where that panel disappears, where the last of the white (or in this case where I used a tinted ground, pink) dissapears, and all that hard work is behind you and a painting emerges. Thus, #3 on my list of five favorite things about being an artist...

-jb.

Switching Walls

My studio is set up so I can work on two walls at once. This way I don't get burnt out by focusing on just one painting. Also, I can keep an eye on what I will be working on next. Today I shifted the lights to illuminate my next big project.


This painting is a 180 degree view from Goat Island Municipal Golf Course out to Mt. Pleasant. It will keep me busy until my show opens April 2nd. Along the top is a photo series of the clouds. The bottom is a rough photoshopped version of the entire scene. Lastly, in the distance, are two of the four studies that I paint on site.

-jb.

Finito

It has ended. Pronounced DOA on Sunday morning at 1:52 am after an hour plus of staring and doing little, say goodbye to "Spiral" and hello to "ul 90 (mixed messages)."


Of course nothing is so simple, and this painting has yet to be "completed." For example, it needs to be cleaned, glazed with a slight touch of color, and then after a year, be varnished.


All of these adjustments will just slightly alter the painting, make it complete, but for the record, i count a painting done when i am finished with the paint.

-jb.

Killing and Murdering

i often use this diction when talking about finishing a painting. i want the painting to die, but this makes no sense. first off, a painting doesn't really exist until it has a viewer. you could argue that i too am a viewer, but i would say i am the one who viewed. secondly, the act of finishing a painting makes it complete and whole, the opposite of death. finally, i am not a violent person.


i would guess it is the grief over the end of the idea that makes me equate finishing with death. when i stop painting, the idea is over and there is only result.
result that i can always find fault with.


so here, blade by blade i am ending this painting. maybe for these reasons i am always hesitant to finish a painting. or rather, anxious. this is the final push, and if i am diligent, will be done in six to eight hours.



and fred! your paintings speak nothing of death (but i needed a segway into the blog). in fact, you paint with more life than most i know, and probably save a good bit for yourself too. congratulations on your opening tonight!

-jb.