Sunday, September 4, 2016

New work: Crossover

Crossover
collage-image size 15" x 18"
When I started painting, I chose to focus on landscapes. I thought it would be easier than portraits and more exciting than a still life. Ignorance is bliss! As it turns out, painting landscapes, for me anyway, is very difficult. Apart from my lack of experience and technical issues with materials, my landscapes always felt "off" somehow. It felt like I always missed the mark.  That target too was always changing. As I viewed the work of others and read about what they were focusing on, I tried to focus on those things too.  Show a sense of place, bring out light and shadow, showcase my area, make a statement about the landscape in some way, etc. I never quite got it. And I got sick of searching out new compositions. Just tired of it. Something was bound to give.

So, I stopped making landscapes. I couldn't make another one. I remember thinking that the last one I made was stiff and awful and that if I had to paint another one, well, I would just quit painting altogether! I am glad I didn't listen to myself! I didn't quit but dug in and retrenched, as they say. Today I went back over some of my notes for the last two years. It's obvious that I have been searching, trying on new ideas and new ways of working. And although I feel firmer in my resolve to pursue collage, I can't say that I am finished with anything else that might be out there. I am open, in other words.. 

What I can say is that now, with the above piece, I feel like I have come sort of full circle. I still have the hard edged shapes that I love so much (I used those in my landscape work also) and I still employ a kind of patterning, to my mind anyway. And now I have tried again to reference the colors in my immediate surroundings. I've done this by going back to making triad mixes (previously I had somewhat abandoned this practice). In my mind's eye, I can see the way my landscape looks, the colors that I want. The  triad mixes are just the method to use to get the right color idea. 

I am really pleased with the above piece, both because of the colors that I chose but also because I employed the "question and answer" method of problem solving that I have been trying lately. Finishing the piece was a little easier. And I called the piece Crossover because of the way that I think I went back and forth between things that I have done in the past, such as quilting and landscape  painting, and things that I know about now such as color mixing and conveying my own idea of something.

Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
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10 comments:

  1. Randall David TiptonSeptember 4, 2016 at 5:39 PM

    Fresh and lovely Libby! I admire your systematic approach to ambition. Your work gets more beautiful.

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    1. Libby FifeSeptember 5, 2016 at 5:35 AM

      Randall,

      Thank you so much!

      I feel very lucky to have the time and energy to explore. Without those luxuries making art would be difficult for me. The whole thing is such a long process, for me anyway. I don't know if most people realize that.

      Thank you again. Your support and interest is important to me!
      Libby

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  2. UnknownSeptember 6, 2016 at 3:52 AM

    Libby, I have only just "met" you and your work this year, so I have only seen your collage work and have no paintings to compare them to. But I feel deeply that you have found your correct expression, following your own clues. This may be one of my favorite landscapes ever!

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    1. Libby FifeSeptember 6, 2016 at 8:02 AM

      Thanks Carol!

      I hope that you are correct, that I have found the right way of expressing some creativity. I always marvel at people who know for certain what they want to do. I find it difficult at times to be so resolute!

      Thanks as always for the visit and observations!
      Libby

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  3. Deborah NolanSeptember 6, 2016 at 12:28 PM

    Dear Libby wow. This is just wonderful. Colors that compliment each other...places of movement - very dynamic friend. Hope your Labor day was great!

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    1. Libby FifeSeptember 7, 2016 at 3:58 AM

      Thanks Debbie! I tried to keep this one as simple and direct as possible, hoping that it would be enough! Happy with the outcome:)

      Hope you are well and that you had a good holiday weekend. Take care and thanks for the visit.
      Libby

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  4. juliefordoliver.blogspot.comSeptember 6, 2016 at 9:56 PM

    Vibrant and active - and as Debbie says, very dynamic.
    May I ask what you mean by Triad mixes?
    The guild is doing the color harmonies at the moment
    and I would love to know your take on the Triad and how you use it.

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    1. Libby FifeSeptember 7, 2016 at 4:14 AM

      Julie,

      I don't know if that is the right term but I think of triad mixes as using the three primaries to get a neutralized version of whatever color you want. I used both warm and cool versions of each primary. Say I wanted an orange color. I picked a red and yellow that would give me the orangest orange. Then I selected a blue to tone it down, a blue that leaned towards red rather than yellow. So, I just neutralized that orange a bit. I found that, in my opinion, even if the color was still a little bright it seemed to go with the other more neutral colors better (rather than using one chromatic orange from the tube and placing a neutral next to it). My opinion is that these triad mixes go well together because there are only three basic colors in play. I also suspect it is possible to neutralize the triad mixture further with a little black and white. Haven't tried that yet. I also suspect it is possible to use the secondaries in a similar fashion as the triads. It's also possible of course to use the secondaries to tome down the primaries or even to tone down the triad mixtures. There are just a lot of ways to get what you want right? I would guess the key to making everything gel together would be consistency, at least that is what I think.

      So, a long winded explanation. I hope this is what you were asking about. And thanks for asking! I hope you will write about what the guild is learning.

      Libby

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    2. juliefordoliver.blogspot.comSeptember 7, 2016 at 1:49 PM

      Thanks for the explanation, Libby.
      When you said you use a warm and cool version of each of the primary colors it all fell into place. That is what we call the Universal Palette. All colors can be mixed from it! It explains the different warm/cool mixtures I saw.
      At the moment we can only pick three colors for the triad. A single of the three primaries, red, blue, yellow. Or we could choose the three secondary colors, orange, violet and green...plus white/black of course. Challenging! We can only put out on the palette the three colors and premix all the shades and tints of these colors first. It is fascinating what you learn. Remembering to maintain proportionally more of one color over the others seems to be the key. Rembrandt and his brown palette had it easy by comparison!
      Dreading the complex Tetradic...I have seen more paintings ruined by using it...definitely need to remember to use more of one color in that one!
      Thanks for the exchange, Libby.

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    3. Libby FifeSeptember 8, 2016 at 10:37 AM

      Julie,

      That is just what I love about these back and forth discussions. I hadn't yet read about a tetradic or rectangular color scheme. There is even a square one! I have used the rectangular one (without knowing the name) and you are right, it is challenging. I can't wait to see what you come up with, if you show that outcome. It's like you wrote though and what I believe to be true about any color scheme: it all comes down to proportion. One color has to be the leading color and everyone else has to follow! Usually:)

      Thanks again,
      Libby

      Thanks for the new information. I really appreciate that.

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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

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