Actually the same prairie as last week and a tree based on the tree from last week.
Oh you know that moment when you put down your brush with great satisfaction knowing you have created yet another masterpiece, and that glow clings to you until an hour later when you look at it and think, "That's not so hot."
To me it was that row of trees at the top of the hill, too even, too level, too ordered. Damn it, and this after I sprayed it so there was no remedy.
I like the 'grass' in the foreground. If you look a little closer at it it is not grass at all. It's just a conglomeration of paint tricks on yupo. Behind it is the 'meadow' which breaks up into those beloved dit, dit, dits which indicate hilliness and distance, each row of dit, dit, dit, representing the tip of a small hillock.
And then that crazy cloud which is made of yupo lucky strikes. And then between them that uninspired row of trees.
But wait a minute. I have always been a fan of order vs chaos, and can't we see that timid row as a vestige of order to be destroyed by the crazy chaos all around it? Or perhaps it is a harbinger of order marching up the hill to bring order to all that chaos.
Either way, a masterpiece, I am a genius after all. But then you knew that all along didn't you?
I have talked myself out after that last one. I have recently I have become obsessed with blotting with paper towels (Viva, because the others have floral patterns and leave a distracting pattern). There are all kinds of things you can do depending on the length of time between the paint and the paper towel, whether you use clean or dirty paper towels, and how hard you press it down. Oh, so many different things.
It was inspired by a photo of a catalpa tree in the Ten Cat beer garden on a foggy night, you know when the city lights color the fog yellow. Maybe I will do something to make it more feathery.
Well I guess I haven't talked myself out after the first painting after all. But then I guess you knew that all along too.
Once again, the sky on the IRL painting is so much more magnificent than the screen version. Looks blown out here and it makes the unfortunate picket fence of trees stand out even more. I do like how you've lightened the heaviness of the grasses; I like the field and I love the sky. The treeline just seems too ordered, clear and prominent for its place in this landscape. I also like the texture of the bark of the tree. I'm not sure about the background--if it's the screen version or if it's too ordered IRL. Maybe that's all it needs--to have the background foggier and blurrier so the branches stand out more? At any rate, the blotting technique is really working well for you on Yupo.
ReplyDeleteIRL?
DeleteIRL?
DeleteSorry, I got lazy. In Real Life. :)
DeleteComing from Michigan, I’m used to these lines of trees acting as windbreaks between different fields. So I have no problem with them. I actually like them. I know that you worked on the foreground and it’s nice but not here. The sky and the field are the stars of this piece.
ReplyDeleteThe tree is much better. The limbs coming out of the trunk should be bigger (it just bothered me) IRL. Love the blotting process-so many types of paper used in so many different ways. Try Saran Wrap too-put it down on top of wet paint, squish it around, let it dry overnight, gently pull it up and marvel at the texture.
I do like all the movement in The prairie painting and the line of trees sort of adds to that, imo. The clouds and the trees move in harmony. Order vs chaos? Is this painting making a political statement? If so, you need to up the chaos….sometimes I think you are a genius and that worries me…..then I see those short stubby branches that still bother me on the tree painting, and that feeling passes. However I do like the texture and colors.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the first painting looks tweaked to high contrast on the computer compared to class. Like the sky was blue instead of white...I still like the way the sky was painted. The rest is too obsessively painted for me. The tree was going well, but ended up too daubed between the limbs in the end. It looked better when it was more marbleized imo.
ReplyDelete