Bright Day, 2006, Oil on Panel, 24x36
What's really occupying my mind today is the damn weather. For the last few days it is has been cold. Like 40 ish during the day and in the 30's overnight. On Sunday, we had rain, hail, sleet, snow, wind and sunny skies, all on one day. I got so sick of being cold that I turned the furnace back on and it's been kicking in occasionally for the last few days. The kids are bravely soldiering on, wearing their new spring clothing, including shorts, but I am bundled up in layers of shirts and sweaters.
Luckily, we haven't put in the vegetable garden yet and I have only planted a few flowers, which are pretty hardy and may be ok despite a few nights of frost. I don't mind cold weather, in fact I like winter and a good snowy day. But frankly, in the spring, when it's 80, then drops to 40, well that's just plain cruel and painful.
The upside to all of this is that I have a reprieve in presenting my they're-so-white-they-glow-in-the-dark legs to the public. No shorts yet, for at least another week or so.
I am working on larger paintings now, 18x24 and larger, trying to build up my inventory again after shipping out a batch of paintings last week. I have been painting many versions of a tree or a few trees with a horizon line and tree line behind it. I will keep going with these until I feel like I have expressed all that I can regarding that particular view of nature, or until someone smacks me in the head to get me to change directions, whichever comes first. The lilac bushes and flowering trees have been an inspiration to me in recent weeks and account for the fact that most of the foliage I have painted lately has been either pink or purple. Each time I start with the color glazes on a painting, I swear I will paint the tree blue or red or orange, maybe even green, but somehow they almost always end up either pink or purple, because for now, to me, those colors just seem right.
Today's image is similar to a smaller piece that I did awhile ago. Occasionally there is a combination of colors and a composition that I really like and I will attempt to "catch" it again on a larger scale. Of course that doesn't always work as scale can really change everything. I think this one turned out nicely, but it does have a different feel than the first, despite having the same structure and colors. Not sure if I should be copying my own work but I will reference yesterday's post and remind myself that I can do whatever I want with my work. ha.
6 comments:
Strangely enough Bright Day has more of a feel of morning light to me than Riotous Morning. I think that it is good to revisit one's own work - it can show how good the idea was in the first place!
Over here in the UK we too are feeling unseasonably cold. For other reasons I had not got round to planting all my vegetables yet, and was beating myself up about it until now.
Shan, Things looked promising this morning, it was sunny, but it's taken a turn again and is cold and overcast again. Glad to know others get involved with certain colors as well!
Omega, i know what you mean. When I was posting today's image, I thought the names should be switched. And I, too am feeling glad that we were too lazy to get the garden in!
Hey Tracy ... glad you do further 'versions' of your own paintings. I do too and have had a few negative comments about it. This worried me at first but as me 'repeats' are always in a different size, or style, or medium, I have come to the same conclusion as you!
You paint as many of your images as you want, girl .... they ARE your ideas, after all!
Thanks, Lesly, for the encouragement. Nice to know that others repeat themselves too!
Tracy, I like this painting a lot. And I think repeating oneself is part of the process, a way of working through something that needs to be expressed for some mysterious reason. And when you've worked through that particular thing, something else will emerge. The subconscious is not rational. And I like that you're working larger, though of course, I'm biased.
Thanks, Martha, maybe we'll meet in the middle, you'll work smaller, I'll work larger.
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