Day 28 - Graffiti Text

I snapped this picture as I was walking out of a Wawa (a PA based convenience store/gas station) a few weeks back. This guy was just perfectly posed right outside the door and I actually had my phone at the ready! The background was of course cars, gas pumps and chaos, but I opted for a background of graffiti, as it seemed appropriate.  I also was experimenting with the paint itself. I typically use a limited palette - Titanium white, Alizarin Crimson, Cad. Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue. (and sometimes Phthalo green)  But this scene called for something different.  The colors needed to be bright and pure.  Sooo, I used... Titanium white, Quinacridone Red (love that word), Transparent yellow, transparent orange, (by Rembrandt) and prussian blue - all of which are transparent colors (minus the white) that have a bit more umph to them.  I only added the white towards the end of the painting.  This is a technique I have known about from reading about another artist who uses this technique (Dreama Tolle Perry) to achieve pure, bright colors.  I am relatively happy with the results but feel I need to experiment with it more.  The graffiti in the background is simply because I am fascinated by graffiti, and have included it in several paintings I have done previously.  I love the ambiguity and abstract quality of it.

Graffiti Text, oil on panel, 18"x24"
to purchase, please click here

Day 11- Street View Mystery and 3 lessons I learned in my studio today

Happy Day of the Sabbath...
I would like to say I rest on Sundays, but it often works out to be a day of doing chores and errands and of course I painted today also....
Sooooooo....  As I have pointed out on MANY occasions, I am constantly learning new things about painting (and life itself, but that is a topic for a different blog) Anyway, today was definitely one of those days.  I mentioned yesterday that I have been struggling with the tactile qualities of my oil paint... It seemed to be drying out too quickly, getting tacky and unworkable and generally just pis... well, angering me.....
I have to say, it takes me awhile sometimes to figure out problems.... but, I figured it out today and it has everything to do with humidity.  With the onset of frigid weather, I have been using a space heater in my studio which obviously has dried the air out considerably, enough to make my oils dry way too quickly.  I added a humidifier to the mix today, and voila.... problem solved... Thank the Lord.... because I was ready to fling things..... In my defense, oils are, well, made of OIL... I really didn't think humidity had a whole lot to do with dry time.  Wrong.  So lesson #1 for the day, if you are an oil painter and having similar difficulties, put a humidifier in your studio and see what happens.  Hope this helps....

Sorry about the looong post, but I have more to say...
I have also been playing around with color palettes and today, I decided to go with the very limited palette that a well known artist, Kevin MacPherson, uses.  It consists of only 4 colors - Alizarin Crimson, Cad Yellow light, Ultramarine Blue and Winsor Green (which I used Phthalo Green because it is the same thing and that is what I have) and then Titanium White.
I must say, I love a limited palette when I use it, I am always happy with the results and I don't know why I don't just stick with it.  I actually do... I love color and really can't resist all those tubes of juicy colorful paints.  But I should restrain myself and try to just stick with the limited palette for awhile to learn a little more about color mixing.  So, lesson #2 for the day.... Limited Palettes rock...

Last bit of blab for today's post....
I had too much fun on Google Street View last night... (yes, that was how I spent my Saturday night...) I have read of artists using screen shots of different google street view pics as references for their paintings.  I decided to give it a shot.  Street view is just about the coolest thing out there, and if you have several hours to burn, just start street viewing different areas of the world.   I do love it and I even came across a herd of elephants crossing the road in South Africa.  So cool.  Anyway, today's painting came from a screen shot I found last night somewhere in Northern Normandy, France.  Using the limited palette, having increased humidity in my studio and being excited about my street view reference made for a really great day painting in my studio.  So, there, lesson # 3 for the day... if you are feeling un-inspired and need a pick me up, start roaming the world using street view and your problems will be solved....

With no further ado or blabbing, here is my painting

Somewhere in Normandy, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to purchase, please click here