Saturday, March 12, 2016

New Work: All For One and One For All

All For One and One For All
24" x 24"
Painted acrylic paper on 1" hardwood panel

I learned some key things this week while making the above piece and I would like to share them. It helps me to write about things and maybe it will help someone too who is reading. Here goes!

Simple Narratives: Rich walked into the studio and so of course, I asked him what he saw. He first asked if the people would get caps. Then he said that they were very happy. Then, after I asked him what he thought they were doing, he said that the people in front are blue and are hydrated. The people in back, who are brown and red, are dehydrated. OK, good enough.

Developing a painting with a simple and direct narrative is a challenge. I need training in illustration and graphic arts I suppose. I might want to communicate a deep message about water scarcity in the West, water brokering, and thousands of people suffering from water insecurity. That is a very tall order and way beyond my skill set. However, a very basic depiction of the idea of water, those who have it in some way and those who don't, suits me just fine. Just fine. I would add too, to emphasize the next point, that I was not going to make those figures blue. I was so stuck on the color scheme that I almost missed an opportunity. Luckily the paper I had painted didn't work and so I decided to try the blue instead. Glad that I did.

Serve the painting: Forget the rules, forget the symmetry. Forget your original plan. (Maybe not the spine of the idea assuming it is strong but the general outline-what you thought you were going to do in a loose way.) Make good decisions that advance the piece. Make a good piece by paying attention to what it is asking for. I am reminded of Diebenkorn's notes to himself on beginning a painting. My interpretation of those 10 key points is that they serve as a reminder to advance both the painter and the painting. Each decision moves both the painting and the painter forward. 

Every color has a role even if it isn't obvious at first: I almost discarded the pale red orange colors (shown at the back of the piece), believing them to be washed out. It's easy to forget with these paper paintings that they need to be treated as a whole, just as you would with a regular painting. Placement of color matters. Those tints ended up being important to me. It seems to me that the figures are smaller and could be farther away, and for that, a less chromatic tint makes perfect sense.

Texture: This week I have tried to incorporate some "texture" into my work. For me, texture could be physical such as brush marks or something else like writing or patterns. My initial attempts didn't work well. I think it is an issue of uniformity or sameness. The texture was too dissimilar somehow from the rest of the painted paper. It stood out too much. Back to the drawing board!

Editing: I discarded several ideas before I got to this one. I also had to make decisions about how much of each figure to show and also how realistic I wanted to be with the fundamentals of anatomy. It's my hope that it works.

For those who are interested, I based this piece on several articles that I have read lately regarding water insecurity and the ownership of water both as a resource and as a commodity. I also came across a book in which the author advocates the collective ownership of water through shared responsibility for that resource. It's heady stuff to be sure. I can only say that in our country, given our resources and government, I simply can't fathom why anyone would have to go without clean and reliable water. But they do and in vast numbers. I felt a very simple piece showing the idea of water and people grouped together reaching out for such a basic thing would be the best way to go. 

OK, hope everyone had a good week. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby


10 comments:

  1. Such a great piece, Libby. Caught my eye as I scrolled down ob FB. And I LOVE the story behind it!

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    1. Thanks Judy! It was a real challenge to make such a large piece but I am happy with the results. Glad it caught your eye:)

      Libby

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  2. Successful painting Libby! I find that you have covered all your concerns in a really good way. I also note that the blue drops of water are fading as they come out of the faucet leading one to conclude that it is indeed a fading resource. Very well done!

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    1. Thanks Karen!

      This one was such a stretch for me. I keep moving back and forth between painting a scene of something and just composing shapes, lines and colors, if that makes sense. I like the back and forth but am wary of it too:) Part of that was the gradation of those drops. But, I really like the effect.

      Hope you are doing well and staying warm. We have rain, rain and more rain!
      Libby

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  3. Lots of subtle inferences in this painting as Karen noted. Again, I hope the story follows the painting when it leaves your hands!

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    1. Carol,

      Thanks Carol! I tried to get my own personal symbolism into the piece but at the same time I tried to generalize everything. I hope that worked.

      This one I am sure will live on my walls. But, I am ready with the story in case anyone asks:)
      Libby

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  4. This is a really well designed painting and I am captivated by actually experiencing the push and pull of warm and cool colors. Having the cool colors on front plane was brave and it works beautifully. I really got into this one Libby. You story resonates for me because of the water issues here in New Mexico. The farmers in the valley where I live are allotted water for their crops. Each year it has been reduced and some are not growing the amounts they used to. The chili crops are down by HALF from 10 years ago. We grow Pima cotton, pecans and sweet onions but I have not seen their figures - just the chili crops. Scary. We did have more rain in the mountains which feeds the Rio Grande so they have been allotted slightly more this spring but the famous river is dry until they open up the gates at the reservoir. Yes - your series of the water issues has my full attention!

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    1. Thanks Julie!

      It turned out to be really interesting to see what colors worked and what textures didn't work. I almost didn't use that blue in front but it turned out to be a good solution. I really have a feeling that chroma and value were the key players this time. That is my sense anyway.

      I read a lot about water and water related issues. I just read an article about the Colorado River basin which is expected to remain drier than normal this year. It has been drier than normal in the last several years too I believe. Global warming is really causing the basin to change significantly. I am not surprised at all (saddened though) about the farmers in your valley needing water and not getting all that they would like. I don't know as much about the Rio Grande but I know that it is similar to the Colorado in the way that the water is parsed up, used, and how much flows (or doesn't flow) to the Gulf. What is the name of the valley in which you are situated? I am curious to know since I am not too familiar with that area.

      It's interesting stuff isn't it? Water makes up such a huge part of our lives. I hope my piece was simple enough to relate to.

      Thanks as always for your visit and comments. It's appreciated:)
      Libby

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  5. Libby - I love this piece. So much thought and consideration really shows in your concern. Like Julie I love the colors and how you made the blues in the forefront. Having experienced a drought here many years ago (even though it was short lived) water needs are on my radar too. We have our own well and I am extremely careful with this precious resource. You are doing a great service making all of us aware of what is happening out west and really all around the globe. Take care friend. Thank you for sharing as always.

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    1. Debbie,

      Thank you for your positive comments. I think no matter where you live that water is a vital resource. And I think problems too can show up differently depending on what part of the country you live in. Look at the East coast. They are frequently inundated with too much water!

      I am happy with the results of this piece. I thought at the outset that I was overreaching way beyond my skill set. I just needed to have some patience though with myself:)

      Take care and thank you again for the visit.
      Libby

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! I reply back in an email if you are signed in and I can see your address. Otherwise I will post the reply here under your comment. I tend to cut and paste my emails too so that others can experience the back and forth which I think is integral to blogging.
Libby