Etude #44
Objective:
Goal: I started this painting with the intention of using mixed media (pen, ink, watercolor, and pencil) to build a composition from a found photograph. Once I had the composition established, I could stop worrying about the basic structure and concentrate on color, mark-making, and developing a psychological dimension to the image.
Inspiration:
A couple of the artists I was thinking about were Gottlieb and Rohlfs.
Gottlieb - Self Portrait - 1926
From pictures of Gottlieb’s work, it looks to me like he is layering a very limited pallet and achieving a very unique effect that I am drawn towards as a viewer.
Landschaft - Christian Rohlfs - 1900
While not an artist who focused on the figure, Rohlfs is someone that I am learning about who at times during his career, approached his work with an abandon that I admire.
I want to try to emulate his mark making.
End of Session 4
I know this is raw. I really like it here though. I feel like a large version of this on a canvas with heavy thick oils would make a good painting.
Its hard to move past this spot.
End of Session Six
At this point, I appreciate the vibrancy of the mark making.
End of Session Eight
Right now I’m in a tuning phase. I want to have the colors remain close to this.
Conclusion:
I feel pretty good about this work. I’m not sure where this exploration of the figure is taking me, but I’m along for the ride. Right now I’m seeing the work get messier, and I’m okay with that. I’m interested in seeing where that mess leads.
Color: I’m pretty happy with this. I wanted the restrained white/blue/black palette. I think the underpainting around the head and upper torso could have been more developed.
Composition: Since the composition isn’t mine, I was mostly working within what was already there. I tried to add some depth, but I don’t think I pushed it very far.
Mark-making: I feel like I could push this much further.
Psychology / Drama: Not enough. But I don’t think this piece was intended to carry that kind of depth. I’m more interested in what might happen as I continue working with the figure.
Directions: Click on an image and use the forward/back buttons to view the process unfolding.
Reference Image
Eha
I love Eha. She is the coolest woman ever to live. There is a series of portraits that her daughter is taking of her. They are SO GOOD!
I think I will end up drawing from a few more over time.
Link to Sirli Raitma’s studio page (Her mom is Eha).
When I am picking an image for this Etude series, the image is chosen with the intent that it be used as a starting point. The goal is to see where you end up in the end. Sometimes it is radically different.
I don’t think I did quite enough with my Etude #44 to differentiate it from this work by Sirli Raitma.
Note: Information on why I’m adding the meta data to the painting can be found here, ‘Objets Etranges #1’.
Scarlatti - Piano Sonata in B minor
Sometimes a good piano sonata does the trick. This is a pretty good sonata in my opinion by Scarlatti and played by Columbo I think.
I haven’t found the right way to explain the image below yet. It might be confusing because it’s a screenshot of Figma, an online design tool. I’m using Figma in a way that is probably a little different from its intended purpose.
I use it to QA my images. I have a template of text that I overlay on the paintings and drawings I’m making. This lets me see how the text actually sits on the image, how it relates to the composition, and whether it still works the way I originally intended.
In other words, I’m using the software as a kind of visual testing environment for the work.
Software is becoming so powerful so quickly. When I was a kid, I remember Pong and cardboard punch cards that you would feed into massive machines for processing. From that to this.
It’s getting to the point where I have ideas for apps that I’m thinking about building in my spare time—things that would have required a team of developers and a year of work in the 2010s. Now the distance between having an idea and actually building it has become remarkably short. I can use AI to make things that, not that long ago, would have been completely impractical for me to make on my own.
I suppose you still need a foundation of knowledge first.