Saturday, November 24, 2012

Heat Wave WIP


One of the interesting parts of being an artist is how your craft evolves with you over time.  When I was in art classes and learning, I was led down traditional paths with an emphasis on drawing. 

Since then I've moved from the tighter realm of realism into a more abstract feel at times and I have to say that its something I enjoy doing.  I still fall easily back into the soft armchair of drawing as it was, and likely will always be, my first love.  I am grateful for the years of drawing that I did as it gives me a solid ability to structure the underside of a painting.  I am also ceaseless in promoting drawing as an essential tool for any artist in any medium.

Water is also one of my more current mainstays although I stray into other subjects as the mood or commission takes me.  When I was in PEI this past summer and walking the soft red sand on the beaches I took lots of photos and always was interested in how the red showed through in the clear, warm water.

Another wave called me and this time it had to be red.   This still contains all the traditional underpinnings of any painting, I've simply changed out the colours and bumped them up, letting the warmth show through with intense pigment saturation.  I toned the canvas with a cadmium red/cadmium orange mix and am letting it show through the paint layers.  The undercoat helps give warmth to the painting and is a good surface to see the colours against.

This may take a couple of weeks to complete depending on how much time I have, but I'll keep working away at it and show you the results.  This is on 12 x 24" gallery canvas.