More is Better

"More is Better" because at the start, I put more paint onto the canvas, which also had, already, a surface layer of dried paint (an older portrait study). This made for a very different experience than applying thin layers of paint on the typical stark white and unyielding canvas I usually start with (no, I never remember to tint a canvas ahead of time). This was a lot more fun and seemed to hold more creative possibilities.

Also, more is better in terms of painting the same model. Fourth time around with this model...and finally a straight-on view. Three more sessions, so excited about this one.

Aloha!

Final session Amber and Azure

Very happy with the sense of the individual that this painting is moving toward. Perhaps I caught a little something of her. These sessions seemed to just fly, and it was really hard to put the paintbrush down tonight.

Aloha!

Easing along

Patience has never been my strong point. Perserverence, yes. Patience, no. But it seems to be growing on me. Tonight's session was steady progress...I liked the colors I was finding. Certain passages were repainted, and then repainted again. Mostly it was about the form tonight, and a little bit about the highlights.

Kind of relaxed and focused. The time really flew by. And, oh yeah, I wore my new glasses...so THAT"S what she looks like...Maybe David Kassan's binocular usage is a good idea after all.

Hope everyone found some treasure to enjoy today. We found a hidden treasure of baby birds tucked away in a nest on the deck. Carried their sweetness like a happy secret all day. [Happy secrets, by the way, are the ones that you can't wait to share]. And Amber finally got to share her reason for being a bit tired this session...courtesy of the arrival of her very handsome newborn nephew. Congratulations, and Aloha~

Lost and Found

There is often discussion in painting about "lost and found" edges... But in today's posting, I am thinking about lost and found colors.. Here's an element of painting with a range of possibilities. Set the sensitivity dial to HIGH and every object becomes a kaleidoscope of colors: wam highlights, cool shadows, neutral "local" color, reflected lights. Can we "lose" the object? Yep...in an exaggeration of color, cohesiveness is lost. But this is more likely due to colors that don't make sense (the wrong temperature or value), rather than a mere abundance of color.

Unless one is looking directly at the sun (not recommended) or artificial light, then all the light that enters our eyes has been modified during its journey. I love thinking about how natural light has made that journey all the way from a sun, through space, then the atmosphere and maybe bounced around a number of times, before finally it has its moment on the retina. That means automatically that the light we are seeing is in a spectrum of colors. Only in more extreme, limited lighting situations (night for example) do things become uniform as color possibilities become lost.

As far as our brains are concerned, color does not seem to be the main thing that defines an object. Black and white pictures work. So, set the sensitivity dial to LOW and get black and white, or monochrome (something else and white) or "cut out" collage-like paintings where each object is rendered as one color..Can we "lose" the object here? Yes, there are situations where color might be the only contrast available to distinguish between objects. That's why "green" means "go", after all. And why red is the go-to color for the stand-out dress.

Happily, we are talking about ART here and ART is almost always a positive force in the universe. Pretty sure that art can save lives but not likely to hurt.anybody.  So...take two helpings of color in whatever dose level you like. Sometimes a little goes a long way, sometimes more is more. Enjoy...it's like treasure, only free. Aloha!

Back to the mainland

Just in from paradise....

Back to the mainland after an incredible time in Hawaii...moments I will cherish for the rest of my life. Swimming with sea turtles, sharing lau lau and poi, stepping through the magic of a lava tube.  The Aloha Spirit is alive. Terribly tired but managed to make it to portrait session tonight and happy to see one of my favorite models. This is as close as I could get to the colors...Aloha!

Ko Aloha Makamae E Ipo  David. You are my inspiration always.