Water color studies of paintings at the Louvre.
Read MoreJan 14, 2023
Water color studies of paintings at the Louvre.
Read MoreSmall sketchbook studies, in preparation for paintings, La Vallée de la Roya
Read MoreLandscape, place, painting, light, poetry, truthfulness, time
Read MoreDec 13, 2022
Focus on composition. I’m pursuing my project of depicting the natural area surrounding the village of Saorge. It is my desire that the paintings be true to life and true to my experience but in addition have a pictorial presence and compositional complexity that link them to the long tradition of landscape painting.
During my walks I’ve been searching for views to depict. I've been sketching when possible and taking photos during different weather and light conditions. A few of these compositions have now been blocked out on panel and canvas. The weather has been changing almost daily, from clear and sunny to rain, snow, and fog. Cloud patterns can can be very beautiful in the mountain; however, I find that the light and colors aren't as interesting on overcast days. I still prefer to do paintings with direct or partial sun, especially at dawn and dusk, because it allows for more contrast and play between light and shadow.
Below some sketches on paper and preliminary lay-outs of a few compositions on panel and canvas.
Sketch of a tree-lined ridge with a distant mountain and a passing cloud. December 5, 2022.
Oil on paper, 20x20 cm
Sketch of trees on a meadow with mountains in the back ground. The golden light of the sun comes trough below grey clouds. Frost on grass and branches. December 6, 2022.
Oil on Paper, 20x20 cm
Work in Progress: Yellow tree on a meadow with frost and distant mountains. First initial layout, base coat. Oil painting on wood panel. December 5, 2022
25,5x25,5 cm
Work in Progress: Trees in the valley, distant mountains, and a sunset with clouds. First initial layout, base coat. Oil painting on wood panel. December 5, 2022
25,5x25,5 cm
Work in Progress: A view of La Vallée du Caîros from a terrace high above Saorge at sunset, tall pine to the left and golden terraces to the right.
Composition in place. Working on light, shadow, chroma (color intensity) and details. To be continued.
December 8-13, 2022.
Oil on canvas, 50x50 cm
Master copy, Evening Landscape: A Windmill by a Stream by Jacob Van Ruisdael (around 1650), Process, Materials, Reference Texts
Read MoreNov 21, 2022
Plein air, atelier painting, Saorge, Vallon, Sainte Anne
Read MoreOct 28, 2022
nature as atelier, composition, atmospheric perspective, saorge, oil on paper
Read MoreOct 26, 2022
Plein air studies, nature studies, learning from nature, studio practice, nature as atelier
Read MoreOct 15, 2022
Aug 12, 2020
Presenting two videos conveying two versions of a sunset experienced at Baie des Anges in Nice. The names are PEBBLES and SEA VIEW (each 1’ 14s). While making these, I was asking myself what “reality” is and what different mediums may mean to the artist and the viewer.
A few quick notes on Painting and Video…
These two videos were created to respond to each other as two views of the same experience. The videos attempt to speak about different overlaying realities, reality as seen by the human eye, reality through the means of painting, reality as seen by a digital recording device (iPhone) or a software program, and the reality of a person’s emotions and thoughts. These are all taking place simultaneously.
The SEA VIEW is also a video about painting; I believe that the
practice of painting (and other handmade art forms) is very important
right now because of the experience it provides the painter him/herself.
For the painter, a painting can hold many different realities
simultaneously. Below, find a few thoughts on painting that came to my
mind as I was making these videos.
- As a painting is made, it provides an instant trace of the human hand and serves as a tactile proof of existence in real-time and space. Every painting carries a personal story and memory to the person who made it. It is a form of a recording of a person’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences conveyed through gesture, line, and color by means of very simple tools and materials. Therefore, a very open, affordable, and egalitarian medium accessible to most people.
- While viewers often tend to compare paintings with photographs, for the painter, it is rather an experience that unfolds through time. So, in that sense, it might be appropriate to compare painting to video, a medium that also may hold memories unfolding over time.
- In contemporary life, Painting (and other “handmade” art forms) can act as a counterbalance to the virtual world. It may serve as the dialectic opposite to the virtual and digitized reality.
- For viewers who are not painters or familiar with the painterly process, video medium can be very alluring and may convey stories and different realities in a more convincing and direct way than a painting itself. However, the production of a digital video requires a camera, a computer, knowledge of software, etc. The artist is dependent on technology, and the artist’s voice is mediated through technology. Video is a medium made through technology to be viewed through the means of a technical device; a screen or a projector. It is a medium that indirectly perpetuates and accentuates our civilisation’s dependence on technology.
- When a painter looks at a painting, he/she looks at the structure, composition, brush strokes, the materials, the reflections, the color compositions, etc. He/she also thinks of the process of making it. This is a world of its own that is less accessible to the general public unless explained by other means such as language, film, or immersive environments.
- A painting can only be appreciated fully in person and through time. No technical device is necessary to experience it. To view a painting is an intimate experience and ought to be valued as such. Because of this, paintings should not be treated as objects of “mass consumption.” In my opinion, it isn’t possible to fully experience a painting in a group or in a crowded environment. Also, a photograph of a painting cannot, by any means, replace the experience of the painting itself.
- On the web, paintings are presented, but the images are digital photographs of paintings, not the paintings themselves. The web is, therefore, a celebration of photography above and beyond any other medium. The photographs act as substitutes of the real objects, and only part of the story is therefore conveyed. Many times, the wrong story is conveyed. Paintings and art that don’t translate easily into photography will suffer from this.
- A painting is an object that remains rather unchanged through time. The painting can carry a monetary exchange value; therefore, the cultural value of a painting is often confused with its monetary value. The market and the art world participants (artists, galleries, curators) benefit from upholding this vision. In my opinion, the cultural value of a painting, as noted above, is not related to the monetary value.
- If an artist strives to create immersive experiences as a means to engage a wider public in art, a good gesture would be to make viewers paint their own paintings. In this way, the viewer will be personally engaged in the process of making art, and as a result, will acquire a different understanding and appreciation for the painting medium and art in general.
RUBBER-BAND WORK-OUT
warm up
3 crunches
6 pushups
9 squats
20 knee high running
strap band around something at medium height
face the rubber bands pull back and squat each leg at a time
back towards the rubber-bands, take step forward and punch both arms at the same time
put strap under feet walk right (15 steps) pull out straight right leg 5 times
repeat to the other side
squat using the bands and stretch out overhead
3 crunches
6 pushups
9 squats
20 knee high running
strap band around something at medium height
face the rubber bands pull back and squat each leg at a time
back towards the rubber bands, wing flap both arms towards the center
stand on rubber band, do curls
stand on rubber band, extend one arm at a time do back of arm muscle with arm overhead bending back
crunches, attach band to door behind, do sit-ups
on all four, fit handle on foot, hold rubber band with two hands against floor, stretch leg back and up
hold rubber band with hand, flap bent leg (diagonally across from hand)
repeat on other leg
put strap under feet walk right (15 steps) pull out straight right leg 5 times
repeat to the other side
band crunch
repeat as needed