Post #7: Purple Heart

Now this one had me chuffed. The only paint with real liquidity I have is a small tube of purple. This texture of paint is great for blending, and it worked to great effect here. So I will have to pick up some more of this stuff. I added some black and white, as you can see, for added drama (I like drama in my paintings--but nowhere else). The result kind of reminded me of an echocardiogram. And with Veteran's Day having passed so soon, I thought the title was fitting. You'll notice the heart-shaped figure off to the side, there. 

Post #6: Untitled

No title for this one, I'm afraid. I still had some leftover ripped canvas that I used for texture. Plenty of mixing and improvising with the paints--but it's with this painting that I began to feel a sense of frustration with the limitations of thicker paint, given that it's mostly all I have. There's a point, I'm learning, where the medium mixed with the paint will only take you so far in blending it on the canvas. Sometimes you can unwittingly take off more paint that you put on--a totally counterintuitive concept, but it does happen. On the other hand, I sometimes like the effect, and I think it works in earthy paintings such as this one.

Post #5: The Tower

Third painting. I have to say, with this one I'm a little prouder of the results than the previous two. I accidentally ripped one of the canvases when opening the shrink wrap, so I used some of the rips to effect. To good effect? I don't know, but I liked playing around with the textures. The results of this painting totally surprised me. I definitely will be using the yellow ochre in the future, though I think I need to find better paints (I'm using Liquitex BASICS). I hear Golden is good, but hoo boy, SO expensive.

At any rate, this one reminds me of a certain tower in Mordor.  

Post #4: Tall Reeds Under a Yellow Sun

In this one, I used a little more glaze. I tend to use flat brushes with natural bristles, which leave the stroke behind and aren't as great for blending as round brushes. But I tend to like a strong stroke. I also like that I have a sense of control that I don't get with soft-bristled brushes.

One thing that fascinates me about abstract painting is that the good ones look like everything on the canvas was meant to be there. And yet, there's a feeling of improvisation. I don't think I achieved that with this painting, but I do think I learned more about blending and how to make the brush strokes work for me, more so than the first painting I did. Progress. 

Post #3: First Painting

Yes yes yes. I know. First painting. Why am I throwing it up on the blog for everyone to see--all at the risk of embarrassing myself?

Yeah. I don't know, other than to document my first effort. And every effort thereafter. My skills will improve. Honest.

Hey. You can't win if you don't play. Or something. 

Graceland Cemetery - Post #2

So here's another one from Graceland Cemetery. This one's a door to one of the mausoleums. I think maybe I'll post a color photo of this one to show off the door a little more, but for this one, I wanted to capture the stark chill of the day. And I think the values (shadows vs. lightness) become a little more interesting to look at in black and white.

Thinking I should go back and do a little research on the people buried under or in these interesting graves.