Palettes Passed Down

As a new watercolorist I am trying to find "my palette". Most artists find a link to certain colors; colors they connect to, colors they think ill work with their style. As I am truly struggling to find any style of any kind, I am searching through quite a few colors. So I have outgrown having only one palette.

This weekend, I was cleaning up the ubiquitous "room over the garage" and found my father's old John Pike palettes. I realized that he would have loved to have one of his own children using his watercolor palettes (too bad I did not inherit his brushes, paper, etc.). So today, I cleaned both of them, and will now get ready to use. They are old so they are sturdier than the newer ones; in fact, they are wonderful. thank you so much for passing them on to me. I will use them with joy, even if my paintings suck!

Complete Ink Self-Portrait

I just realized that I have not posted the complete ink self-portrait series, so here it is!

"Finished Drawing" Is Finished

Finished Drawing is complete. I sprayed it with Sennelier soft pastel fixative (several light coats). It was done with Winsor Newton soft pastels on Stonehenge 90 lb. 22" by 30". At some point, I will frame it and display it in shows.

Final Stage 3

Here is the final stage 3. The next step is the "tweaking" stage where I straighten lines, coordinate colors and do the final work on the background. Then I spray with fixative and later frame it.

And More Stage 3

More Stage 3

Step 2 Finished

Step 2, where the inherent colors are placed down, is now finished. Next step 3 where each objects is taken close to completion will be accomplished. I believe that I will do all of the paint tubes first and then the brushes and then the cloth,

Step 3 on One Object

I have begun step 3 which is working each object towards its completed form. One tube of paint is now at this point (the brush handle underneath is still in stage two). Once all of the objects are almost completed, I will work the entire piece all at once to unify everything.

Step 2 Continued

Tonight, I continued the second step where that complimentary colors are replaced with the color inherent to the object. the picture below shows about half of this process completed. the other half still must be done, so I am off to the studio!

Step 3 on Background

The third step is to work the area with further layers of color to make it rich in color. i have also put in the first, complimentary color, layer for the cast shadows for some of the objects.

Step 2 on Background

The next step is to place the actual values down on top of the complimentary ones. I have dpne this in the background only.

Step 1

I have decided to document the progression of the drawing. After doing a rough drawing of the subject, a base color is laid down. The color used should be the complement of the actual color but of the same or similar value. Below is the first step in the process, along with the beginning of the second step where the primary color is then put down.

Finished Painting

I am currently working on a large (22 by 30) pastel drawing for my class at UVA. First, we were to construct a portable still life in a box, and then do the drawing. The photo is of the still life in the box and the title of the piece will be Finished Painting.

Pure Happiness

I can not describe the intense happiness I feel when I work with pastels. I noticed after the very first class we used them but I thought it would be a fleeting feeling. No. Every time I pick them up I feel that way! Completely wonderful! I need to listen to this strong inner voice.

My Father

Being 6 years younger than my siblings, I lived as an only child for some years with my parents. My father, an executive for a company in NYC, started to watercolor when I was young. During the years just prior to his retirement, he spent a lot of time in his bedroom studio. he had a watercolor table , lateral files for paper and his work, a reference file cabinet, etc. all along one wall of his upstairs bedroom. He would spend hours in the evenings and on weekends, painting. When he retired, watercolor painting became a second life that he loved.

I remembered all of this the other day when I looked at my upstairs bedroom studio. I have my painting/drawing table, small bookcases with supplies, my tabouret, etc. all along one wall. there are times I wish I could share what I have learned with "old stone face". he would love to find out that watercolor paper is typically no longer soaked and stretched; it is simply taped or stapled to artboard! He would love the new quinacridone colors - their clearness of color and their wonderful transparency!

Perhaps he still watches me as I struggle to follow his talented, award winning footsteps!

Pastels

The first time I used soft pastels, I felt completely at home. Last Friday, after 8 years I returned to using them, and I was back with that comfortable feeling I get when I use them. My drawing is on display at UVA so no image here yet; but it is good, very good.

Where are the watercolors?

Probably not, but you may be wondering where the watercolor paintings are as I have said I was taking a class. Well, they suck so they aren't out here. Even in the books I am reading, other artists state that although they considered themselves proficient in using other painting media, when they hit watercolors, they found themselves painting "child's" images. So true. it is by far the most difficult media for painting. But I am ready and up for the challenge! As soon as they stop looking rinky dinky, images of my watercolors will appear!

Being An Artist

Somewhere, in one of the several books I am currently reading, it was stated that the difference between a painter and an artist is that an artist has something to say. This seems to be so true. And, the statement that the artist wants to make drives them forward at full speed. The "something to say" can just be the beauty of an object or scene; or something more dramatic like poverty. But the difference is the meaning of the art to the artist.

Structuralism

Amil Aczer's book, The Artist and The Mathematician has a primary focus on the mathematical group called Bourbaki. In the early twentieth century, this group added much needed structure to mathematics. The idea of structure spread however to other branches of study such as anthropology, economics, and psychology. The conclusion reached is that the human brain has an inherent need for structure; we create it or discover it in everything.

There are several passages that are worth quoting:

"Structuralism is a method of intellectual inquiry that provides a framework for organizing and understanding areas of human study concerned with the production and perception of meaning." (page 129) This thought takes structuralism to religion as religions have been developed by humans primarily to answer the question "What is the meaning of my life?"

"The elements of structure are embedded in the human brain and determine its activity in a mathematical way. Thus, what was found in language should appear in other areas as well...Jakobson realized that analysis of speech problems could reveal structural problems of the human mind studied by psychoanalysis." (page 154) This realization has helped countless people suffering from speech problems such as stuttering and cluttering. The problem is in the person's brain structure and explains why it can be linked to familial mental illness. This then led aid through medications which was a huge break through.

"These fields, therefore, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and economics...all involve the structural elements that are hidden inside the human brain and the human subconscious. To reach that subconscious level, one must study the behaviors of individuals and societies and seek to identify the latent structures in the brain.

The way the brain processes information...is by using symbolism. The symbolism is what structural analysis is designed to uncover. Structure is thus a code, consisting of concise symbols. The symbolism inherent in brain function follows mathematical rules that are tantamount to the ideas developed by Bourbaki: the notions of closeness, transformation, groupings, and other of the "mother structures" studied by the group" (page 155). Yup. It all boils down to mathematics. Everything human is math. Beautiful.

Art Classes

My drawing class at UVA has not begun yet, but the local watercolor class has. The first class was yesterday. The class was filled with individuals around my age. It will be interesting living in two worlds -- one of age peers and one with 20 year olds.