Painting 006 - 5/6

Click for bigger image

Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

A bit of a meh followup to the trauma of working with glass. I'm pleased with the interior of the box, and... maybe the color? But not even sort of enough paint was used, and it was boring subject matter to begin with - so while it's not awful, it's just... meh.

Onward, to better things!

Painting 005 - 5/5

Click for bigger image

Oil on gessoboard

8"x10"

...and then I decided it would be a magnificent idea to toss some old oranges into a glass and paint that. While it was an interesting challenge, to be sure, it also took way longer than it should have (almost three hours!!) and I didn't use enough paint. It came out halfway decent, but I'm not actually satisfied.

Clearly, as this foe remains undefeated, I shall have to try again on another day.

Painting 004 - 5/4

Click for bigger image

Oil on canvasboard

8"x8"

To atone for the less-than-stellar previous painting, I decided to paint my bear cup. I love this cup, man, and even though it didn't quite come out looking like the shiny plastic it's supposed to be made of, I'm actually really pleased with this painting. And look! I even used something approaching proper amounts of paint!

Painting 003 - 5/3

Click for bigger image

Oil on canvasboard

8"x10"

So, this is not the most successful painting of the project. There's about one section I like (that left shoulder, oh yeah) and the rest is bordering on cringeworthy. But! I'm still proud: it's completed. At a friend's place for the night, with unfamiliar brushes and a limited palette, tired and headachey, I still did my painting. And I even touched upon some interesting color things I'm going to want to go back to! So, in short: a qualified success.

Edit: It was pointed out to me by the great Tristan Elwell (hi Tristan!) that I didn't use enough paint in this. I'd reiterate and plead tired/headachey/unfamiliar brushes (no soft ones! aah!) but instead I can only bow my head in shame and promise that I know better than this, and have been working with more paint in my recent paintings. It's something I'll be keeping in mind!

Painting 002 - 5/2

Click for bigger image

Oil on gessoed canvasboard

8"x10"

Here we have my second painting, which is notable for being the second version of my second painting. The first version was started without any preliminary drawing, and though I swear to god I know better than that, it took about 45 minutes of work before I realized the painting was not salvageable. So I started my second painting, with an object lesson and a new rule for this project.

Lesson:

Always always always always start with a drawing.

Rule:

A painting may only be restarted if it is inescapably clear that it cannot be saved.

As for this painting: it's not perfect (the anatomy around the thumb joint, oh ouch) but it's perfectly acceptable, and I learned from it. I'm going to count that as a success and move on.

Painting 001 - 5/1

 And it starts!

Click for bigger image
Oil on canvasboard
8"x8"

I decided to start simple, and what, really, is more simple than an egg on a white surface with direct lighting? Subtle color, warm/cool relationships, and precise tonal shifts have been a problem for me in the past, hence why this was a useful painting. I'll probably be working with all-white still lives again before this is over.

What you can, when you can

It is May 1st (or it was, when I began writing). Today was the first day of the challenge that will last for the next four months, and I kicked it off with a small, hour-long painting of an egg, which will be uploaded once I can scan it without smearing oil paint all over my scanner. I didn't want to let the big day go by without any comment, however, and so: instead of a painting, I have for you a quote.

"What you can, when you can - to suspend the manic urge to fulfill my potential and instead focus on doing what was possible, with the materials to hand."

I don't know who I'm quoting by posting that line - oh, anonymity - but whoever it was has my thanks for reminding me, on the first day of this personal challenge, what I'm trying to do. The point of this summer is to take the skills and knowledge I have and use them, and by that use improving them. I am not here to demand perfection from myself, or to count anything short of not painting as failure. Taking small steps and pacing the ground trod before me by my elders and betters is the name of the game, and 'what I can, when I can' is as good a mantra as any to remind myself of this fact.

I probably won't need the reminder, given the impact this past year has had on me. There is nothing so defeating as pushing for an entire year, determined to fit some image of the artist I 'should be', only to fall short again and again and again and blaming myself each time. I was reaching beyond my means and somehow coming up surprised every time I fell, cutting corners and somehow still winding up disappointed in work that 'should have' been better.

Last week, one of my professors told me that my ambition was greater than my technical ability. It was at once a revelation and blindingly obvious: of course I was overlooking the basic technical building blocks of painting, which of course was the reason painting itself was so difficult.

There's nothing wrong with ambition. I don't think I could be the artist I am today if I hadn't spent the past three years reaching for the ledge that was just out of reach. On the other hand, I wound up becoming intimately acquainted with what happens when one tries to race for the top in lieu of building the actual staircase.

To end the tortuous metaphors: this year hasn't scared me off pushing myself to make better art; it's just taught me that I need to take the time to know what I'm doing before I can succeed. And if your response to that is a resounding "duh" - well, welcome to my life.

And now, to make myself feel better, here's my progress through art school, from my freshman year to present. Nudity ahoy:

Freshman year, first semester

Freshman year, second semester

Sophomore year, first semester

Sophomore year, second semester

Junior year, first semester

Junior year, second semester