Started a new painting last night. It’s from a macro-photograph I saw on-line of a bladderwort called a ‘utricularia’. I really like the alien form and the colours.
Started doing the colour on the right hand side. The inspiration photo is beside it. It’s taken me 7 hours to get this far, so now I’m thinking it’s going to take longer than I originally thought.
A better view of the painting.
A close-up of the work so far. It needs at least one more layer of colour, maybe two.
I stayed up late doing the white lines, for the texture of the skin. They’re basically there as an under-drawing. The colour will change later.
A close-up of the white lines. Now I just have to fill them in.
I was up until midnight working on the painting. Just 5 more minutes… I like to finish a section if I can.
I had to get up early this morning, so midnight was late for me. I had to have a nap yesterday… All the white lines have to change colour too, so I’ll start that next.
I started overpainting the white lines with colour.
My magnifying light. I can see better with this.
I stayed up late last night and did some more work on the painting. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon painting as well, instead of sliding off for a nap. It’s so addictive I don’t want to stop.
I was up ‘til 2 working on the bottom section. I really wanted to stay up and finish it, but I still had to do the dishes, so I stopped. It really bothers me if I can’t finish something.
Layer one, done. Now I can go around it again, adding more shading, and changing things I don’t like. I got two more canvases from Michael’s so I can start priming them for the next paintings. I submitted my work to the Bau-xi Gallery for consideration. I’m not really expecting them to respond, but it was fun to do. I would really rather sell prints of my work, than the originals, but then, I’d like to know how much my work is actually worth, and if anyone else likes it. They have a gallery in Vancouver my mother and I used to go to in 1973 and 1974, when I had braces and had to have them adjusted once a month. There’s one here in Toronto too, so I could be coast to half-way to the other coast.
Starting layer two. This is the best photograph I’ve taken so far. There’s a high-contrast setting on my camera. It bumps the colour up a bit. The lighting in my studio isn’t good enough to take good pictures with. There always seems to be a shadow or a glare somewhere.
The response I want to have is: that kicks ass. Need I say more?
A closer look. I really like the dark green to light green shapes in the center, where they meet the dark red/blue shapes.
I did 5 more hours work on the painting yesterday. It’s getting there. I like it. It’s very colourful.
I did some more work on the painting. I didn’t like the right hand side where the pattern transitions from purple to orange, so I repainted it. There’s still one area that’s a bit too muzzy. I’ve started gessoing the next canvas. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, I have lots of options, but I pinned a couple of photographs of atomic bombs exploding that I really like. They’re x-rays, so they’re black and white. I might think about doing them in colour instead. I haven’t made up my mind yet. They’d also look really good as large pencil drawings. I used to draw a lot when I was young. I didn’t even start painting until I was in my late 20’s. I still feel like I’m learning, and improving. I guess if that ends, it’s time to stop.
This is one of the images from the internet of an atomic blast. I really love the shapes.
This is another one. I like the little spikes on the bottom, and the shading.
I’ve signed the back, so it must be finished. I’ll wait for a couple of days, then varnish it. It makes the colours look richer, but it’s hard to photograph without getting glare from the light. I need to take it outside to get better light for the photo.
This is the back of the painting, signed, with its tag. The smirch at the bottom right is my thumbprint, just for fun. I keep thinking, in a hundred years, no one will know who did this.
I sign the side of my work, if the canvas is deep enough. I don’t want the signature to detract from the image, which I think it would do if it was on the front. You can see some of my other paintings leaning up against the walls beside it in my studio.