Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Shapes, Day 6

√ simple, varied shapes in varied sizes
√ mask to create shapes
√ smooth edges and rough edges with paint
√ scribbled shape interior, stamp-textured shape interior
√ lines over mask to create shape
√ minimal color
√ only two different shapes
√ only three shapes total

Shapes #7, 9x12"

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While hiking a seaside trail in Nova Scotia in June, I could see the shape of what appeared to be a large man on a bluff in the distance. The cliff dweller was indeed a man … made of balanced rocks! I thought of him for this shapes assignment.

Shapes #8, 9x12"



12 comments:

Martha said...

Maybe what you saw in NS was an Inuksuk, an ancient Canadian Inuit structure. They are found on Arctic landscapes and meant to give comfort to the traveler. Maybe my Canadian roots drew me to Shape #8 - I like it!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Oh my gosh, thank you for teaching me about Inuksuks—just did a bit of research and that's exactly what this fellow was, though I suspect made more recently by hikers than by ancient peoples. Way cool!

Sheila said...

The first one makes me think.... Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! And the second is just way cool Dotty. I am a stone collector. Rocks twigs, sea shells. I was stacking stones yesterday, a small pile of white. and a few black as well. Long lost treasure, found while unpacking :)

carol edan said...

Well here I am phone in hand in order to comment,but on the PC monitor your wonderfull painting. Love th contrast of the triangle and oval shapes. Love the warm colors.and the scribble patterns. Question, are your masks positive so you paint negatively, or the opposite. Thanks for a bit of a mini lesson!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Love the lions-and-tigers-and-bears-oh-my image, Sheila. I would never have seen it myself but I totally get what you mean! Fun to learn that you're a stone collector. Love that you were stacking a small pile of stones yesterday : )

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Thanks for the thumbs-up for the contrast of shapes, the warm colors, the scribble patterns. "Mini lesson": in Shapes #7, to make the oval on the left, I cut an oval from a sheet of paper, placed the actual oval on my substrate, and painted over it, creating a brown outline of the oval. Then in the center, I drew my scribble pattern. All three shapes were made similarly, except with the triangle, instead of painting over it, I drew lines on top of and over the edges of my triangle mask. Hard to explain with 100% clarity in words. Let me know if I've answered your question!

carol edan said...

yes I think I understand.

dotty seiter: now playing said...

try it out and let me know—send an image!

have fun!

laurelle said...

It is so interesting to examine why we as human beings react to certain artwork more than others. This painting seems to strip us down to our essential shapes but all flowing into each other with the marvelous squiggly lines you have within the shapes. Then the color...not ochre, not yellow (What is it?)...against the dark background impacts us. Bravo!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Laurelle, thanks for your thoughtful musings about the highly variable human response to artwork. Now that I paint myself and look at bunches of artwork every day (all new to me starting in 2014), I love trying to pinpoint precisely what it is that draws me into a piece of art that resonates for me.

Those 'marvelous squiggly lines,' for me, are a pleasure in the making and a pleasure in the seeing—glad you like them, too. The not-ochre-not-yellow: I think I was playing with Liquitex green gold and Winsor & Newton olive green acrylic paints. Oh, and, I think a bit of Neocolor ll water soluble wax pastels as well in places.

Simone said...

Hi Dotty!

I really love this man! (Or is she a woman?) Colours, shapes, lines, everything!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Thanks, Simone, for your comments.

Definitely a man … read on. Someone commented at our Jane Davies class blog about this piece, and I responded as follows:

I have to share a funny story—we saw this Inuksuk from a distance first, as we came from a magically beautiful wooded trail in Nova Scotia back out to rugged rocky coastline and bluffs. Wasn't sure if I was seeing a live man, a statue, or a figment of my imagination. After walking a bit I realized, indeed, a rock man. Once actually in place, up close and personal, we discovered that we'd approached from his back, as evidenced on the other side by the raised rock phallus and dried seaweed pubic hair some prankster had added to the artistic endeavor. Universal, I guess, that need to sexualize!

Go to the class blog to read further discussion! It's at my post entitled Lesson 3, comments revised to reflect Visual Content.

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