LJ and NJ

For the past couple of weeks i’ve been working on two paintings, quite different from each other. The first i’m calling Against the Odds. It shows flowers growing out of a crack in rocks. It’s a small work — 8” x 8”, on a panel. In a future post I’ll describe the back story for this choice. Meanwhile, the almost-finished painting is shown below.

The second project, which is shown here in a very preliminary state, is based on an experiment in “blocked color”. This is a technique in which paints are applied in small “blobs” (my term) separated from each other. The space in between in then filled in with slightly different hues but identical values. This is supposed to produce for example a sky which is much more vibrant than it would be if you just draw the sky colors straight across the canvas in a line. It does require some practice, and i have not yet mastered the technique. But i show below my beginning attempt for the sky. the remainder of the painting — eg., the cabin, the snow, etc., are just blocked in and await more attention but will not use the blocking technique for those areas. 9” x 12”, panel.

Reference photo

Preliminary Draft