Spring is just around the corner
Spring plein air painting of an upstate farm, by little ol’ me. On this last day of February, when it’s 2° F. and blowing, it’s good to recollect that spring is just a moment away. Officially, it starts in twenty days. Unofficially, here in Rochester the snow pack should be melted by the end of …
Sometimes metaphor is an uphill battle
Winter lambing, underpainting, by little ol’ me. If you were properly brought up on James Herriot, you know that a late winter blizzard can play havoc with lambing. This is not just an historical oddity; last spring a mid-April blizzard in Northern Ireland killed 17,000 lambs and sheep. Cold is not their only enemy. Weak …
Abstract-Expressionism bails me out
Underpainting of a hailstorm. That’s painting #6 underpainted; one more to go. When I had a composition problem on this underpainting of a hailstorm, I reached back to an old friend: the color field painter Clyfford Still. Living on the Lake Plains as I do, I know that a level field is perfect for growing …
How many artists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Much better. Underpainting done. Boys remain, rocks have changed. I decided to take one more look at Friday’s painting before scraping out the boys on the rocks and repainting them. I used Photoshop to analyze the painting; it’s much easier to hit CTRL-Z than spend three hours repainting something you shouldn’t have changed. Turns out …
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Three boys in search of a painting
It’s easier to remove the kids when you haven’t really painted them completely, but, darn, they’re cute! This is the second time I’ve tried to put these three boys in a painting, and the second time it’s been an awkward fail. It’s hard for me to just excise them, since I’m fond of them. They’re …