So my brother was getting married and my sis-in-law to be asked if I'd do a painting of a calla lily for them. She loves calla lilies, they were the focus flower of the wedding and I agreed to do it. It was a wedding gift and it was probably the best way possible for me to get back into it. I hadn't painted or even attempted to since Dad got sick and passed away.
Yes, it's somewhat phallic. It's a flower. Come on. The thing about this was that I needed it to be somewhat representational of what I was actually painting. Meaning, people needed to look at it and know it was a calla lily. This wasn't really the time to get abstract.
The trick was getting the color right. Not all whites are created equal. Color is an elusive thing. I don't have anything pure white on this painting but I had to go with some really light mixtures. While some of the detail work required brushes I put most of the color on with palette knives. It's a technique I've grown to like quite a bit and have used on other works. I think the way the color goes on is really interesting... and when you start mixing slabs of color the patterns that emerge do a lot to bring it to life.
It was exactly the right situation to get me back in the game. It had the emotional resonance to pull me out of the rut. It was for family and I was really able to put my heart into it.
And it turned out to be a rather nice painting as well.
5 comments:
I like it. It seems very impressionistic, and of course there are comparisons to Georgia O'Keefe to be made. Still, it's a beautiful gift, and I'm so glad that you've got your artistic/painting mojo back.
Heh. I don't think it's possible to do a close up painting of a flower without drawing comparisons to Georgia O'Keefe. The interesting thing is that her work is extremely difficult for me to copy. I had to do it for a class and the way she blends is very delicate.
The San Jose Art Museum has some O'Keefe's on display and I have had the chance to see them up close. The small brushwork is really beautiful. I gained a whole new appreciation for her after seeing them in person.
That is generally the case though. Seeing paintings and sculptures in person are infinitely better than seeing them on the page.
Would you look at that!
I knew you were talented..but this is pretty awesome..I love the way you broke it down for us non artistic folk..I actually imagined you laying down the colors with the knives rather then the brushes.
Are you working on anything now or in the near future?
How big was this canvas anyways?
S.Luva
The canvas wasn't very big. 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 maybe. Since I had a specific deadline I didn't want to over extend with a gigantic canvas.
And it's a storebought canvas as well. I do know how to build my own stretcher bars and strech my own canvas. My painting class back at Cuesta really was a magnicent course.
Real artists have a tendency to teach you real things. Plus, my instructor was amazing in that every point of view, every style from every student was worthy and if your stuff looked totally different than everyone else's (which mine did) that was a good thing.
I have done a good handful of paintings and I've got several that are works in progress that I plan on posting here. So keep checking back!
I just LOVE this. The colors are so light and pretty. I would love a copy of this for my home ;o).
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