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Monday, May 13, 2013

A Beginning, An End

What the Hell is This?
It's A BEGINNING, a first pass using  very wet acylics, wide brushes, but mostly a sponge and an overkill of Payne's Gray. It's a fun morning session discovering the palette, before lunching with the girls.  Drawing freely with sponges is the absolutely great way to break the ice when beginning a new painting adventure. This is a photograph, cropped from another photograph. How close I'll want to go to the reality of the scene remains to be seen. all I know now is the sessions that follow will not be as much fun as this first impression. As for what it means to me, I have no idea other than it involves entanglements and inter-relationships, the stuff that fascinated me.




THE END OF SPRING THAW, (my final title--I hate titling).

Spring Thaw, Acrylic, 20" x 20"

The End is when there's nothing more I need  to know.

HISTORY NOTE:

George Washington's mother's name was Mary Ball Washington. His father's name was Augustine. His father died young, like all previous Washington men and left George and four other kids for her to raise. She was the first General George ever knew, a hard lady to please. She said no when he was offered a commission in the British Navy. She needed him at home on the farm. Her no was signifigant to US history in 1776.

16 comments:

  1. I like your beginning...looks like you had a good time! Spring Thaw is either a huge panorama or viewing through a microscope, I've not decided which I prefer yet! Both are magnificent.

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    1. I don't know about magnificent, but thank you Sharon. Finding my landscape voice, I guess is what I'm up to. I do like looking at nature up close. I have no doubt that from these landscapes, a preferance will emerge, so I'll go with them over the summer and see where they lead.

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  2. Your beginning has energy and great design flow. It will be interesting to see how it develops.
    Love the blue/lavender and rust/ochre working together in Spring Thaw. Lots of dynamic energy in that one too.

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    1. I love beginnings. It's after the initial hello that painting gets serious. Thanks Julie, now let's see if I can sustain that energy?

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  3. This looks like an interesting start and the process will take you as far as you need. Looking forward to see the end result. Happy painting.

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    1. Knowing me today, it'll end up relating to Spring Thaw. This is too busy to be a satisfying abstracgtion since I haven't abstracted the essence. :-))

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  4. Love "The End Of Spring Thaw" and "A Beginning, An End!"
    Both wild and colorful! So very much love the excitement and movement of both pieces.
    I very much enjoy your paintings Linda! They make me happy and thrilled about art!
    I can picture these two pieces as very, very large works, on display in a huge art gallery, shown on very large white walls! As people enter and see your work they would all be thinking or even saying, "Wow!"
    (I also hate titling my work!)
    Keep on keep on my art buddy!
    Michael

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    1. You know I will. Thanks Michael. I know you enjoy going with the flow of an alla prima beginning with just color--then comes the hard part: pulling it together to make a comprehensive statement.

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  5. ...I scrolled back up to look at the beginning painting again and saw your small caption "what the hell is this?" hahaahaha! you crack me up! I do love it right where it is and love Spring Thaw too. What sizes are these? I like what you wrote about how the top painting represented inter-relationships. It made me think of that big family of yours and how proud they all must be of you! I'll be checking back to see what you do next with "what the hell is this"? hahaha!

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    1. I'm still not sure what it is, but, today, I do know some simplification and definition is needed to quiet that overly enthusiastic flood of forms and colors. But starting wild and then taming down is an approach I enjoy. I am going to stay tuned too to what comes next.

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  6. I love A Beginning, An End. I thought of entanglements and inter-relationships before I read your comment. It works!

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    1. I'm suspecting I'm a literary painter, a journalist. My love of caligraphic line is the tip-off.

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  7. Heerlijk he om zo vrij te schilderen ziet er super mooi uit lieve groetjes Danielle

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    1. Thanks Danielle, It is fun to start a new painting--but then the work begins and things get hard.

      Thanks Danielle, Het is leuk om een nieuw schilderij te beginnen - maar dan begint het werk en de dingen moeilijk.

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  8. The alpha and omega of painting - both wonderful! Great free beginning; fine measured end!

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    1. Now wait a minute Dan. Alpha is the agressive leader of the pack. The Omega is the weakest of the pack. How do these terms apply to painting in your mind? As I am observing Spring Thaw hanging on my kitchen wall, I'm thinking it's strong--maybe too strong--too measured? Perhaps some glazes to soften and fade out portions and increase the illusion of depth?

      Finish doesn't come easy for me given the weird subjects I choose. I do know to walk away (one way to finish) when I've gone as far as I can go; when my intuition says put down that brush, enough is enough; when my head starts thinking too much while painting. Thinking is to be done under more casual circumstances--like observing the painting while cooking dinner or washing dishes. Another great way to finish is to get the thing out of sight and out the house. That's the best finish.

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