I am in the process of tearing down and rebuilding my understanding and technical handling of color theory. The modeling of 3 dimensional objects and coloring of objects is a major weakness, tinkering is insufficient and completely retraining how I handle the paint before it ever goes up. My problems are not for lack of understanding color mixing, hue, intensity or tone, or complements, it is the application where all falls down. Reached the end of the line with current palette techniques and need a more scientific approach. The new methods feel awkward because they are new, but once they become subliminal I am confident the overall product will improve - starting to see an emergent style.
To this end, I am in the process of reworking several existing pieces posted previously, using these once thought to be completed works to rebuild my technical skill. The one rule of traditional design that I have no use for at this point is that a painting should have a single point of interest and maybe one or two secondary points. Right now I want to create imagery that draws your eye all around the canvas and invites you in to observer various details and mini-scenes within the larger panorama. I’ve heard comments that it can be distracting and overwrought to throw so much up there. That is probably valid to a degree, but I am doing what I feel needs doing for now. Having said that, I stick to the by the book rules sometimes (the recent cover art series, for example).
There is an update the martyrs painting. I reworked the painter and pots. The last thing that needs revision is the large figure on the beach pouring sand down his back. I will come back to that after working on some of the other paintings, and hopefully v3.5 will be the final release. The inspiration for martyrs came from my brother, and the initial vision changed quite a bit during execution. The general point is to examine art, craftsmanship, aesthetics and utility in a world of mass produced consumer goods. It is an open ended question rather than a statement.
Its hard living in an apartment filled with disappointing art made by your own hand. The canvases are all leaned together in my bedroom against the wall, they are the first thing I wake up to and last thing I see every day. Time to do something about this, so I went through my catalog with a notebook and pen, made some critiques and decided the following pieces need these revisions. Here is what I came up with and hold myself accountable for.
· Scrappers (to do first, several line items are already in process)
o Concrete bunkers should be crumbling and decayed; more texture, pock marks, cracks, crumbling form could break up the blocks and help loosen composition.
o Some touchup is in order for sky.
o The door needs complete rework
o Add overgrown vegetation, vines, gnarled roots to give heighten the impression of neglect and disrepair.
o Buildings to the left re-colored and tightened up to draw the eye in a bit more.
o Clothing on both figures needs complete rework
o Spectacled man’s right arm should make an appearance somewhere instead of held behind his body, looks awkward.
o Metal scrap needs complete re-vamp, flat and dimensionless
· M.O.A.B.
o Photorealism for the leather boots is in order; apart from that I can live with it.
· Mr. Fix-It
o Complete rework on background color mix
o Better modeling for the clothing
o Metal gears need better highlights and general coloring.
· Turbulence
o The forearms should be re-painted, not entirely happy with everything else but can live with it.
· God, Flag, Country
o The blue mix needs greater depth, too flat and painted on currently.
o Play with float away stars on the surface of the water in the upper mid-right to better imply the American Flag.
Let me wrap this up with a display of gratitude for anyone who makes comments/critiques my work. I appreciate it, probably more than I should. Another big weakness that needs work in the future (tackling one issue at a time) is insecurity with respect to showing my art.
5 comments:
Show your art, just do it. What do you have to lose?
I want to see the finished product. :)
I like your side module's list of sites. The Carnival, Serviceable Goods and Reviews sections.
Try more depth and multiple light sources. It'll add to the aesthetic.
For example, the sun itself provides an adequate light and shadow in "Martyrs," but the addition of the reflection off of the sand may add the bit of depth and three dimensional appeal that you're looking for.
That's just my take.
Frankly, I think the project you've sort-of undertaken to develop your skills and mature as an artist, via blogging, is itself interesting art.
I once thought about teaching myself to play an instrument, in public, by practicing every day at a set time and place. The idea being to make the autodidactic process itself the art.
What you are doing here is akin to pollocks realization about the act of painting itself as art. Here the learning and development of painting is the art. I think its a fascinating project.
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