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| Out of Stone 10" x 12" acrylic on paper |
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| Where the Bees Live 9" x 12" acrylic on paper |
The above two pieces were completed this week. Both pieces are ideas that I had either while driving or from memory. The first piece, Out of Stone, is based on a scene that I see nearly every day on my way back from my walk. There is a quarry off to the left as I drive home and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the hillside and the piles of gravel. The Calaveras river runs right next to the quarry and the mountain (from which I assume that they mine the rock) is in the background. I brought those elements together, flattened out and redid the perspective, and generally used some of the available local color. I made the piles of gravel bigger than they are to emphasize them.
The second piece is an idea that I had about the flowering cherry trees in my area. These trees all have a range of white to pink to purple blossoms. They could be cherry trees or they might be something else. I don't know. Trees like this are also down in the town of Linden. I believe them to be some kind of fruit tree like pears or cherries or almonds. Something. Anyway, I imagined an orchard at night where boxes of bees might be set on the ground. The resulting piece shows what I thought about the trees and possible shadows and boxes. I had no idea if those curvy lines would work but I really like them-the shapes-quite a bit.
Perception and expectation:
My friend Cate asked me about one of my previous pieces, Moon Rise and Fall. She mentioned that the towers came forward (rather than appearing as if they were in the distance as I had described). Perception and expectation play such a crucial role in viewing art don't they? I find that when I look at a piece of art, no matter how open my mind is to things, I always seem to be looking at the work through a kind of rule based prism. Letting go of what you think should be there and simply being open to the emotional interpretation of the work is difficult. Doing that is rewarding though both in making the art and in viewing it. I find myself now thinking of the elements of design, the limited amount that I know about, and trying to put those rules aside to make a piece that I enjoy; to get my idea out. I hope this is progress.
OK, hope everyone has had a good week. I have been in the studio for four days in a row which is great but I admit to being a little stir crazy. I am going to lunch today with two girlfriends that I don't see very often. I am a blessed and lucky person!
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Libby
There's that age old question... Do we paint what we see, what we want to see, what we think we see? And which is best? I think it depends on what you want to convey. Your latest pieces are really intriguing, and reading about your thoughts during the process is so interesting!
ReplyDeleteDear Libby - These two works are so well done. The simple lines and shapes makes me take note of how things do appear on paper...whether close or in the distance. Love reading as always what inspires your work. To me that makes the art even more appealing. Hope you had a wonderful lunch and felt refreshed!
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