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| New Growth 16" x 16" painted papers collage on wc paper acrylic and wc paper |
The above piece is exciting to me for several reasons. First, it was inspired by several hikes that I took where I got to see a lot of beautiful wildflowers. Exuberant nature! It's a wonder that there is so much taking place right in front of us.
Secondly, the design of the piece is something relatively new for me. Because I started painting under the influence of plein air thinking and everything that comes with that, I have some things that I haven't let go of. The collages that I make, to date, have been inspired by colors that I see while out and about making observations while hiking or walking. I can't get away from color observation which is something that I learned about (and continue to learn about) when I first started painting. My designs though, have not been based on something that I have seen. They are just an arrangement of shapes and proportions. Till now. The above piece is based on some rock formations that I saw while on vacation in Southern California. When you really start to look at things, an arrangement of anything can be broken down into proportions. And so that is what I did with what I was physically seeing in the rock formation. I really enjoyed (and felt artistically safe) making this kind of connection. I am uncomfortable with making process based work or work that is totally non objective. It's the plein air, beginning painter in me that comes out and wants to have work based on something tangible that I have seen.
I have also completed another set of Contemplation Columns. They are a kind of companion piece to the Peace Pillars (they use the same colors). I worked on them at the same time as I was doing the pillars. As soon as the columns are dry, I will be able to get a photo to show.
OK, hope everyone is having a good Monday. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
Hi Libby,
ReplyDeletelike all good abstract work, the viewers bring their own interpretation and resonance with each piece, despite what your impetus was for making it. I enjoyed reading what you have created this from, though. My first thought on seeing this piece was a definite WOW factor over the colors, just as you described being delighted with the plethora of wild flowers and other colors in your springtime environment. But aside from the exciting colors I also feel drawn to this for what appear to be architectural elements in my mind, not the least of which is that "column" which you have also made three dimensional in your other iteration. I think this piece is brilliant, both literally and figuratively.
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DeleteCarol,
DeleteThank you so much for the strongly positive feedback. I am glad that you saw some architectural elements in the piece. I am drawn to things like that so I am not surprised that it always shows up, one way or another. Also, the brighter colors made me happy too. I like that they feel sort of restrained.
Thank you again for your insight and your willingness to share that. I appreciate it.
Libby
Dear Libby the colors as well as the composition are wonderful. As I study this piece I can just imagine the wildflowers that inspired this piece. Your colors are so much more vibrant whereas ours here are more cooler and subdued. Amazing how the colors of our surroundings influence the colors we choose for our palettes. It is such fun to see what you are doing each week. Hope you have a great one. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteDeborah,
DeleteI bet the flowers have a lot to do with the weather and conditions. I took a lot of photos on my hikes this year. Maybe I can do a post and you can then compare! All the flowers are pretty though aren't they? And you are right, the colors we choose certainly reflect what we see every day:)
Hugs back to you! Thank yo for your visit.
Libby
Dear Libby the colors as well as the composition are wonderful. As I study this piece I can just imagine the wildflowers that inspired this piece. Your colors are so much more vibrant whereas ours here are more cooler and subdued. Amazing how the colors of our surroundings influence the colors we choose for our palettes. It is such fun to see what you are doing each week. Hope you have a great one. Hugs!
ReplyDelete