It feels like kind of an outlier relative to other pieces in this lesson, with its rectangles, crisp edges, and fewer atmospheric softnesses. It's more solid and less atmospheric than my other studies, and it has an abstracted landscape—or seascape—feel to it. I see water, sky, dock, and channel markers.
Initially I didn't like it, but in the end it grew on me and became a favored child. One of the best parts of it is this little bit of its history:
I had fiddled with this and that throughout the making of this piece, trying to get it to have certain contrasts and a particular energy. One of the last steps I took, with my heart in my throat, was to get out an ink applicator bottle I have (an unpredictable character in my tool kit) to outline the red bits. To my delight, the applicator worked great, didn't make uneven blobby lines, didn't clog up—yay!
Then, when I stopped scribing the circles, I discovered that all the while ink had been leaking from the lower rim of the cap on the bottle, creating the huge black blob you see in the painting!
Oh.
The (very) good news is that I laughed, that I was open to the surprise (my openness a surprise in itself), and that I actually liked the silly blob—unexpected strength and originality in my painting!
 |
| Atmosphere & Shapes #3 |
8 comments:
I see water and sky, fabulous water and sky. And a sail boat bobbing in the breeze. I LOVE the bulbous little blob and the satellite. It doesn't fit in with all the other hard, straight lines. In fact, the little blob seems to be kneeling in prayer to me. What a lucky leak!
Sheila, thanks for sharing your impressions and findings! And, yes, a lucky leak! Please note, vis a vis a conversation I think we had many moons ago, that this response from me is being written during an introvert hostess's brief escape from the Thanksgiving kitchen : )
Very strong composition with the 2 gray areas!!!!Yes less foggy atmosphere, but it has it's own mood! Like the interaction of the 2 triangles and the group of red circles!!!!
The little/big leak seems to fit in quite well.... maybe on guard so the circles don't get away... Great textures!!!
Thanks for your comments, Carol. Much appreciated. Everything about this piece felt like a surprise as I was creating it and, in the end, the biggest surprise is how much I like it. To me, it carries with it an appealing tension between looking like it's 'something' and not being 'anything.'
This is the wonderful thing of just letting things happen. This black blob is just wonderful and gives a beautiful countersomething (!) to the straight lines and the airy atmosphere above.
Have a nice weekend! (Did you survive Thanksgiving?)
Simone, more countersomething! So glad we have a name for my blog! I agree, that blob is wonderful.
Thanksgiving was a busy, full-to-bursting day with food preparation, house preparation, family, eating, laughing, washing up, remembering, forgetting, lists, timers, and timelessness. I'm tired today, but I exercised this morning as a countersomething to yesterday's overeating, and now I have a rainy indoor day at my disposal with few responsibilities other than cleanup. Thanks for asking.
So glad you were able to make an escape :)
!!! : )
Post a Comment