Color-Barns

"Color thinks by itself, independently of the objects it clothes." Charles Baudelaire
I started using pastels in 1983 because my watercolors were whimpy in the color department. I took those vibrant pastels and colorized the watercolors which improved them a great deal.
I've always been in love with color - who isn't, vibrant, rich and highly contrasting colors. I can still appreciate a piece of art executed in monotones (if drawn well) and tonal coloration but I'm always pulled towards brightly colored pieces.
When you think about your own "visual voice" as an artist, think about how you feel about color and put that thought into your artist statement.
Here's two images of the same barn in different colors. Which one are you drawn to?

"Purple Barn - Barren County" 8" x 12" on textured sanded paper

"Red Barn - Barren County" 8"x12" pastel on textured sanded paper

Not only is the purple barn smaller on the picture plane but the purple color seems to recede and the red barn comes forward. Hans Hoffman was an artists and wonderful teacher in the early to mid 20th century. He taught how colors move forward and recede and how objects have a push and pull against each other and within the picture plane. One of my favorite artists Wolf Kahn studied with Hans Hoffman.

Raven Run May

"With winter's blast can spring be far behind?" anonymous
Do you remember last February? Well, spring is finally here but we've had so much rain that I haven't been out working en plein aire and consequently I missed the Blue-eyed Marys which blanket the forest floor at Raven Run Park in southern Fayette County.
But the glorious sun was shining today and the sky a bright blue. This hiking trail is covered with flowers in April.

Raven Run with "Raven Run May" in lower left corner

Bath House at Shaker Village

I like producing work in "twos" Sometimes a customer will want something to go along with the piece they're attracted to. These 2 examples have different coloring even though it's the same building but in morning light and afternoon light.
This bath house at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill has always interested me and I've drawn it 3-4 other times, each with a different take. These 2 are on the textured paper created with Art Spectrum's pastel primer.

"Shaker Village Bath House 1" 6" x 6" on textured sanded paper

"Shaker Village Bath House 2" 6" x 6" on textured sanded paper

Spring Rain

"Rain, rain, go away" nursery rhyme
If you live in Kentucky, you know what I'm taking about. We've had the wettest April in history; with today's rain it'll top out around 12" for the month. No plein air painting this month.
So here's a pastel created this winter from a rainy evening in Florence, Italy.
This weekend I'm headed to Cherokee Triangle Art Fair, at Bardstown Road and Cherokee Parkway, in Louisville, booth #206. Come see me if you're in the area.

"Rainy Florence Evening" 12" x 8" on Wallis sanded paper

Lexington Tulips

"With winter's blast, can spring be far behind?" anonymous
Finally, spring is here and I went to Lexington Cemetery to draw the tulips. All winter my backpack sat in the corner of my studio loaded with pastels and paper and today, at last, I plopped it on my back and walked the cemetery grounds looking for that perfect spot to view the tulips.
The Lexington Garden Club plants the flower beds every fall with fresh tulip bulbs and the spring display is gorgeous. Today many viewers were out taking photo of the tulips especially with little kiddos posing in front of a background of beautiful tulips.

"Lexington Tulips" 8'x12" plein aire drawing on Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper

"Italian Rhythms"

Pondering yesterday's disappointing drawing, I looked at which ones were working and which seemed lost. Rhythm was the common denominator of those I felt were more successful. I'm more interested in the rhythm of the shapes and colors. Rooftops, buildings, shutters, things that repeat but vary.
Late last night I read an article in American Artist Magazine May 2011"Escape to the Outer Cape: Landscapes of Brenda Horowitz" where Brenda talks about her admiration for Mark Rothko's "pure and bold" color and Hans Hofmann's "Vibrant and fresh" color. "Pare down pictorial compostions to essential elements of color, line and form," she says.
That's what I'm looking for. 

"Rooftop Rhythms" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

Which one is the plein aire/on location drawing from Italy and which one was today's studio piece? Too easy, isn't it?

"Florentine Rooftops" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

After filing my taxes today, I think my trip to Italy was well worth the expense and needs to be repeated. SOON! There's nothing like working on location.

"Cetona Flowers"

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things but their inner significance" Aristotle
I'm still struggling with images from Italy. The experience was so wonderful that I can't seem to make my images equal the feeling of the trip. I worked on this one yesterday, wiped out half of it and reworked it today but am not satisfied. I feel like I'm totally missing the point. Aristotle has the right idea, but why can't I seem to even get close to that.
Frustration.

"Cetona Flowers" 10" x 7" on Wallis sanded paper

This is closer, but still not there. It's a poor attempt at realism and shouldn't even be realism. It should be expressionism or abstraction.

"Cetona Flowers" - close-up

And yesterday's question. Which drawing was plein aire and which was studio created? "Cetona Pink Pants" is the studio piece. I bet everyone guessed it correctly.