Time Out!

-















I've been on a tear painting to get ready for two shows, and a new gallery. I need some down time. So I've been outside doing some gardening to relax. This is also the time that I take to go back to basics.....I sketch. I do not paint what I draw ...and I do not draw what I paint. Each
contributes to my overall knowledge that I must have at my finger tips at the moment the paint flows on to the page. Sketching is my summer school of observation. It sharpens my skills so I can improvise in paint later based on a foundation of solid drawing........back to the drawing board!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Talking to myself...again!

-
Image
Sweet Solitude  12"Hx24"W, oil on canvas                       Blogs don't always seem to be the way to communicate these days, yet here I am and hopefully you are curious enough to have landed here.   I do manage a reel or two on Instagram, a story here and there, but no, I don't seem to have the wherewithal to set up a vlog. I do, however, appreciate and learn from the ones I follow mainly on youtube! I've just been rereading some of my past blogs. I started writing in 2007, oh geez, that was 15 years ago! It seems part of my painting education has been self talk while painting in my studio. Do you do that too? Often it is accompanied by dance moves that are accented by cracking knees and misinterpreted lyrics. Joyful moments because I'm doing what I love. It seems every now and  then I do more self talk than painting. When I reach that point it is a clear sign that it's time to write down these swirling nuggets of late night wisdom so that I won't
Read more

If there is dark then...

-
Image
... there can be light.  I say this as a mantra now when I paint. I have recently made a point of studying the work of the American tonalist painters, from the 1880's in particular, George Inness. After visiting  and viewing his work on display at The Delaware Art Museum, I found that in returning to my studio,  I had finally found that my painting soul felt at home. I had an immediate response to the subtle shifts of light and dark that was so very present yet not stark and abrupt. There were grays that united forms yet it was a slight change of tones within the color range that created the mystery. Paraphrasing and condensing information from: What is Tonalism(12 Essential characteristics) by David Adams Cleveland: Tonalism is a  use of subtle color tones,  atmosphere, and nature painted in an emotional way. Using a 19th century approach of lost and found edges to evoke a mysterious sense of place or mood. Landscape elements are presented in a way to affect the emotion, rather th
Read more

The Gifts...

-
Image
#work in progress 12"H x 24,oils on canvas by H.Harris I'm late this morning in writing this blog. My most recent painting was just too tantalizing to leave on the easel untouched in the early morning hours. A fragment of color here & there, the wispiness in a cloud  ... it was just too tempting and the blog could wait. If you've been following my journey in my past blogs, this brings me to the fourth stage of my painting progression into other mediums... oils.  I had resisted oils for many years. I always found a reason not to use them . They were toxic, messy and took too long to dry. I'm a prolific painter and had always had a full schedule of art shows to prepare in short time frames. Oils were just too needy....but then as before, it happened ...what if?  I experienced 3 separate incidents that were gifts that changed everything about my work. First , an impromptu  visit to a tiny gallery/studio in Lambertville, NJ where I caught a glimpse of color
Read more