Artists Pulse – First Quarter 2011

The first month of a new quarter I create a set of thumbnails of works from the previous quarter. This is helpful for me to see where I am with my work, changes to my palette and other trends that may be intentional and those that are quite subconscious.

I thought I would share them here as a record both visual and with some journaling of my thoughts about what I see happening and what I feel.

I see a return to some of my favorite themes: portraits and abstract landscapes and solitary tree imagery. These are themes I have continued to paint since I first began painting.

Another favorite is the warm reds, oranges and pinks. I always return to them and most often when I am feeling confident in what I am painting.

The blues and greens are usually representative of my attempting new concepts, new styles. Those are my hesitant colors. They tend to also show up when I am feeling particularly calm or am seeking calm in my work.

The yellows and golds are slowly becoming a feature in my palettes. This is somewhat new, especially when combined with the cooler blues and greens. Again, they appear more often in my more experimental works.

Patterns have made a huge impact on my work in the beginning of 2011. Incorporating them with sewing and texture are a sign of my desire to get back to more of a mixed-media feel with my work I believe.

I still struggle with bringing it all together. My ultimate painting would be one where I could bring abstract landscape, portraiture and patterns  (in a mixed-media style) together cohesively, and retain the moody emotive feel that I enjoy. Maybe someday!

I only see one strong attempt at impressionism. There were probably 20 or so paintings that never made it past halfway where I tried my hand at it. It is a style I love to take in visually but one in which I struggle immensely.

I have been studying from an instructor who paints in a very loose style trying to learn to let go of the details. My thinking is that if I can learn to do that and be comfortable with it, then I could bring details in after. My goal is to not be so controlled through the entire painting. But to instead be able to be very loose and open until it is the right time for me to solidify the work and work in the needed details. Versus now where I tend to become terribly distracted by the details far too early.

Ahh who needs art critics when you are your worst own at times