Oils - July 2017
REDFISH
After the success of my sardines in a tin, I felt courageous enough to tackle a whole fish. A while back (could have been years!) I painted a long rectangular canvas in a weird shade of green. No clue what my plans were, but it's been sitting in the studio for what seems like an eternity. The shape is perfect for a long fish, so I did some research on redfish and found several photos I liked. Scott loves redfish and goes on an annual fishing trip to Louisiana every year, so this seemed like the perfect choice.
The light bulbs in our studio are super yellow, so please excuse the warm tint.
Now - this is interesting because looking back on this, I realize I should have/could have done this more efficiently. Instead of painting the tail, stroke by stroke. I could have painted his tail in a super dark color and then added details (lighter) on top. Oh well ... next time :)
Not too long after this, I picked up my palette knife and started smearing on the paint. Karen is a big fan of "clean color" and I agree, but there are times when I love the way paint looks when you pick up a bunch of crazy colors all at once and spread it on the canvas. You just have to learn to move the knife around only a little - otherwise, the colors quickly blend into a mucky brown, which pretty much defeats the purpose.
I'll be honest with you - I was not 100% sure what I was doing, but I was willing to experiment. Miraculously, magic started to happen. I could actually start to see the rounding of the fish's belly.
And that's the moment when I get a massive adrenaline rush.
Years ago when I was a long distance runner, I felt that feeling, that runner's high, when I ran a distance I didn't think I could run. Many years ago when I lived in South Carolina I ran 16 miles during a tropical depression. Rain was coming down in buckets and I was out there like a fool, sloshing around for 16 miles. It was ugly. Ugly like the beginning of this redfish painting. But by finishing, by not quitting, that run was one I'll never forget. Because that was the day that I knew I could do hard things.
And when I see a flat, ugly green canvas turning into a beautiful redfish, I can't contain my excitement.
Hold up - I need to add one more photo:
Yes, there's a story ...
Around the time that I was painting this fish, I attended a two-day workshop at Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, GA (about an hour north of ATL). Russell Case, a very talented western landscape painter, led the session and talked to us in detail about methods and materials. He told us that one of his art idols, Len Chmiel, uses vegetable oil as a medium. So I decided to give it a shot because after all, this fish was an experiment, right????
Vegetable oil definitely helps spread the paint around, but it is a bit slippery and it takes FOREVER to dry. So, I probably won't be using vegetable oil as my primary medium. I can see using it in certain situations, but for me, it's not going to be my go-to.
More on my workshop coming up!
After the success of my sardines in a tin, I felt courageous enough to tackle a whole fish. A while back (could have been years!) I painted a long rectangular canvas in a weird shade of green. No clue what my plans were, but it's been sitting in the studio for what seems like an eternity. The shape is perfect for a long fish, so I did some research on redfish and found several photos I liked. Scott loves redfish and goes on an annual fishing trip to Louisiana every year, so this seemed like the perfect choice.
The light bulbs in our studio are super yellow, so please excuse the warm tint.
Now - this is interesting because looking back on this, I realize I should have/could have done this more efficiently. Instead of painting the tail, stroke by stroke. I could have painted his tail in a super dark color and then added details (lighter) on top. Oh well ... next time :)
Not too long after this, I picked up my palette knife and started smearing on the paint. Karen is a big fan of "clean color" and I agree, but there are times when I love the way paint looks when you pick up a bunch of crazy colors all at once and spread it on the canvas. You just have to learn to move the knife around only a little - otherwise, the colors quickly blend into a mucky brown, which pretty much defeats the purpose.
I'll be honest with you - I was not 100% sure what I was doing, but I was willing to experiment. Miraculously, magic started to happen. I could actually start to see the rounding of the fish's belly.
And that's the moment when I get a massive adrenaline rush.
Years ago when I was a long distance runner, I felt that feeling, that runner's high, when I ran a distance I didn't think I could run. Many years ago when I lived in South Carolina I ran 16 miles during a tropical depression. Rain was coming down in buckets and I was out there like a fool, sloshing around for 16 miles. It was ugly. Ugly like the beginning of this redfish painting. But by finishing, by not quitting, that run was one I'll never forget. Because that was the day that I knew I could do hard things.
And when I see a flat, ugly green canvas turning into a beautiful redfish, I can't contain my excitement.
Hold up - I need to add one more photo:
Yes, there's a story ...
Around the time that I was painting this fish, I attended a two-day workshop at Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, GA (about an hour north of ATL). Russell Case, a very talented western landscape painter, led the session and talked to us in detail about methods and materials. He told us that one of his art idols, Len Chmiel, uses vegetable oil as a medium. So I decided to give it a shot because after all, this fish was an experiment, right????
Vegetable oil definitely helps spread the paint around, but it is a bit slippery and it takes FOREVER to dry. So, I probably won't be using vegetable oil as my primary medium. I can see using it in certain situations, but for me, it's not going to be my go-to.
More on my workshop coming up!
Comments
Post a Comment