A PAINTER’S PROGRESS
They say an artist paints the same picture his entire life. This painting is beginning to feel like that. It has been a slugging match today. I am marginally ahead on points, but it has been a dour contest. Looking at the days results I am pleased.
As improbable as it seems, I am coming to terms with the fact that these tiny paintings are taking a long time!
Bird in a tree 13. At the end of day 4.
Even as an art student I knew none of my colleagues were employing the ‘lost’ art of coloured glazing. There were no Renaissance Masters amongst us. I had a vague understanding of what was involved but could see no benefit in using such a tedious practice. Surely my thick impasto daubs could achieve an equivalent effect?
Thirty years later, lacking my youthful swagger, I can see the gaping chasm between ‘Bird in a tree 13’ (day 3), and any painting by Giovanni Bellini you care to choose. The comparison is unkind, but at the same time I can see how a firmer grasp of the technique may benefit my painting.
Do I really have the patience for such a technique?. My current methods cause enough exasperation. I think its worth further investigation: YouTube/oil glazing.
Bird in a tree 13. At the end of day 3.
An unexpected by-product of writing on the World Wide Web is that it holds you to account. Do I need a public space to hold myself accountable?. No, but it intensifies my self-scrutiny; what did I say yesterday?, did I carry it through?.
This is an unexpected pleasure and I welcome it. If you work in isolation you need to listen to your inner voice. Having it in writing and published publicly means all the evidence is laid out. It sounds like a courtroom battle!
So how has the defendant faired today?. Well, I have managed to hold onto my ‘cloudburst’ and ‘sun-leaf’.
There is a chance I will be found ‘not guilty’ of deviating from my previous pledges. The case continues…….
Bird in a tree 13. At the end of day2.
A poorly judged tone turns into a cloudburst. A leaf catching the sun turns into the sun itself. A horizon opens up where non existed. All of a sudden you are contending with a painting that seems to have set its own direction. Does it matter that the best elements of the painting are an accident?
No, this is one of the reasons why painters paint. How to capitalize on these gifts? It feels like a juggling act, which way to turn. Do you stick doggedly like a good Puritan to your original path or try and unravel this new language that has been presented?
I will take the unknown path. I have already seen what I know. Each time a painting shifts there is an expectation that something new will be revealed and you will have added another word or two to your vocabulary.
Will tomorrow be kind to me or will these gifts vanish as quickly as they appeared?
Bird in a tree 13. At the end of day 1.
It’s one of those paintings that doesn’t have that sudden realisation of NO MORE! This is a painting of endless tweaks. Creeping forward, yes, but with results that are barely perceptible. Like a freshly made loaf of bread, it needs to rest.
Tomorrow morning I will head straight to the painting for some clarity and certainty. Then I will know if it’s finished. I am happy to let it settle for now.
Bird in a tree 12. At the end of day 5, finished.
I have been trying to avoid the Star Wars reference when the X-fighters are diving down into the channel of the Death Star. Now I have got that out of my system, back to the painting.
It’s day 4 and the bird has gained some much needed definition. When you deviate from the photographs you are walking down an unknown path. The equivalent forms and space you invent must have a logic to them if your a figurative painter. Not only may you deviate with your drawing but also the colour. This makes things doubly difficult. You start with a palette that begins as a close approximation to your idea. Then you keep refining the image until it manifests itself on the canvas (if your lucky).
The painting is almost finished. The writing of this blog has broken my rhythm and this sudden feeling of tiredness brings an end to my creative output for the day.
Bird in a tree. At the end of day 4.
A step closer to completion. Curious how different paintings dictate different treatments. Bird in a tree 11 required a much more delicate touch. This painting has a more robust treatment and I prefer it. The space is more naturalistic and satisfying.
It would be good to understand what elements of this series of paintings are succeeding and failing. I feel I have only just started on the journey, this is very encouraging. I am not going to force a direction, the paintings will lead me and the development of the idea will appear gradually and seem more authentic.
Anyway, a week of rain is forecast. Studio painters love rain. It makes planning the next day so much easier.
Bird in a tree 12. At the end of day 3.
Not literally of course, but every painter knows that time when the image held in the mind refuses to appear on canvas. What to do? All those working drawings, all those photographs perfectly exposed have been cast aside. Postcards stuck on the wall have been ignored. Now comes the time to walk the tightrope, to trust your judgement. Hours of laboured painting rapidly disappears, you are now walking a fine line. Will the image get away from you? It is high stakes, a gamblers instinct. The day will either end in disaster or the image will appear miraculously.
Why not walk the tightrope?. When so much in our daily lives is routine and humdrum, why not choose to be surprised?
Bird in a tree 12. At the end of day 2.
One of my concerns about this series of paintings was the size: 20cms x 13cms. These paintings would be finished in a day? How much time does is take to cover 260 square cms?, a single brushstroke for de Kooning.
Well, its the end of day one for ‘Bird in a tree 12’ and I am mentally exhausted. I shan’t even reveal how many hours my painting days consist of. I feel embarrassed. Thank god I do not share a studio with some energetic young contemporary with their metres of stretched canvas and house brushes. So what defence can I offer for these meagre returns at the end of day 1?
It’s the very size that creates a unique set of problems. Everything is condensed and concentrated. Every lazy brushstroke is magnified. Every poor colour decision diminishes the painting. The placing of each element commands more attention in such a tightly packed composition. Must I paint every feather?. No, there are still all those judgements to be made, what to put in, what to leave out. The endless battle to find the right tone!. Oh my god, these are such small paintings, must I still endure all this suffering?
There is no escape. I carry forward all my expectations at the start of the day, readying myself for the struggle.
Bird in a tree 12. At the end of day 1.