3 posts tagged “acrylic”

”When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.”

Henry J. Kaiser

I'm hearing that voice loud and clear.  I thought it was finished, but it kept calling to me, telling me that it needed more movement and interest in the lower left. Color differences in the two images are only due to lighting. The colors are pretty much as in the final.

Last week mornings were spent painting with several fine art students. We drew with charcoal and pencil and then painted in acrylic.

Our soggy weather finally gave us a break letting us go out into the Vermont landscape to paint. Acrylic, loaded with a retarding agent, worked perfectly for plein air painting.  On our last day we had a model in class for drawing and a small figure study in acrylic.

That was a ton of fun!

Back to the easel!

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.

Evening Song Sparrow Is this a Song Sparrow in the evening ora sparrow singing an evening song?

- Richard Bach

Well, I certainly call it work, but it is work I choose. And wanting to get it done is all about loving the process of exploration, discovery and creation.

One show is in Dorset, Vermont at the Dorset Playhouse, and one at the Bellevue Artsfair, in Bellevue, Washington. Both excellent opportunities.
The challenge is intense. I have my work cut out for me. 
I am having a lot of fun with these pours. It's somewhat like putting the glazed piece into the kiln, submitting it to the gods of fire. These pours are submissions to the forces of gravity and viscosity. It is can be controlled to a certain extent, but not entirely. It is a spontaneous process, but like a call and response song it only works if you are have learned the parts.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.       Margaret Meade

In 1879 a small group of thoughtful, committed artists gathered together to create the Copley Society.
Ever since, undoubtedly with much challenge through the years, it been a quality venue for exhibition for many artists. The society is named for John Singleton Copley, a renowned  American portrait and historical painter who was born in Boston in 1738 and died in England in 1815.

Recently renamed Co/So, the gallery is spacious and well presented. I am very pleased to become a member. The quality of the work is terrific, and the location is excellent: Newbury Street in Boston. I missed

the  opening because of the USVI Coral Reef course, but finally got down to Boston last weekend to see the exhibit.

It was a nice surprise was to see work by Sean Callahan hung next to mine. It's a small world, after all.  He is a wonderful watercolorist whose work I have admired for years. Sean lives in Vergennes, Vermont, not far from here. His studio is called "Dog Tired Studio."  His website is very impressive too. Sean's work captures the spirit of the creatures he paints, and yet maintains a painterly transparency and luminosity that is quite lovely.