I am getting close to making a painting using only two tubes of paint: Titanium White and Peach Black. I did cheat on this one. On the final layer, everything that is black I did with my normal mix of Prussian Blue and Sepia oil paint.
no title, oil on panel, 9 X 16 inches.
Mostly, I added more pepper to the grinder. It is also a bit more centered, and I changed the angle of the light.
Along with the other painting subjects I have posted here on the blog, I am considering painting objects like these. They are some spices from my cupboard. This image has a jar of mustard with horseradish, a pepper grinder, oregano and a ceramic container of salt. This is very much related to the work of Giorgio Morandi (maybe too much) which is why I am still considering it. In creating this setup, I thought that it should consist of items I have on hand. I want to keep it simple, and resist going out and finding something that is directly “Morandi-ish.” But ultimately, I am not concerned with exposing my affinities in these painting. Lest anyone be too concerned, I am starting a new bus shelter painting very soon.
In addition to the flowers and the more strictly still life paintings, I am making portraits. I am not sure what I will do with these paintings as far as public display. In a certain sense, such subject are far from in vogue. And specific to my work, it has been devoid of people—which I’ve been told is preferred. Having said that, I am fully engaged in these works.
My interest in the portraiture is mostly in completing the “traditional” subjects of the academy and before. I am going to try and avoid history/allegory painting. Heroic subjects, to me, have the same problems as heroically scaled paintings for which the U.S. is know. They are symbols of excess in all senses. Sticking to a economy of scale, subject and means has been the driving concerns of my painting since 1995. And while I am making some “easel” size paintings, they are still on the smaller size (22 X 39 inches).
I bought a tomato plant a week ago, and the first little tomatoes are forming. I can see the flowers from where I sit when I am not painting and/or looking at the paintings, but only noticed the fruits today. There will probably be another post about this when I pick one; then I’ll let it go.
I’ve been thinking about traditional subject matter—specifically that which was popular in Northern Europe—as recent post have revealed. I went to my local grocery and bought some fruit. Despite this being almost summer, the orange was very flavorful.
There have been a few articles in the recent weeks about the security guards at museums. The most recent is that a guard at the Carnegie (another article) damaged a Vija Celmins’ painting to a degree that it might be beyond repair, and the fact that some LACMA guards carry pistols (another article). Well, on a recent visit to LACMA, I witnessed one guard napping in a chair as I walked down stairs from the European collection to the Modern, and another guard sitting on a bench making a personal phone call inside the Philip-Lorca DiCorcia exhibition. To me, this is more of a concern than guards with guns. Their job is to remind “adults” not to touch the art and to step back, step away from the Art, and not nap in plush chairs.
I came across this somewhat slight sink hole the other night. To whatever the manholes allowed access, must have failed, or maybe it is unrelated and the structure of the manhole helped hold up the surrounding ground. Either way, it was a nice photo op for me. I had been thinking about safety cones which is how I noticed it in the first place. It was a nice stumble upon.
In good safety fashion, someone put a trash can in part of the hole.
I have been slowly taking pictures of the skull I borrowed. Today, I digitally removed the attached hardware from the skull: the spring that holds the jaw closed, the latch that holds the skull to the top of the skull, allowing one to view the inside as well as, the seam created by that cut. I also remembered I have some black foam on which to prop it up—which was very easy to edit out of the picture.
I edited the previous image too.
