Grumpy Madonna
WIP: Just burnt umber and walnut oil on gold leaf so far…
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- Icon, 2018, oil on canvas board, 12×16″
Shag Carpeting
I had to figure out how to paint shag carpeting in an underpainting today and it was actually rather tricky. It took me a long time, with many starts and restarts, and near the end it occurred to me that no Old Master had to figure out how to paint shag carpeting! I was feeling pretty damn good about it, until I remembered that they figured out to paint skin. I think I’ll stop patting myself on the back now.
The Death of Marat, the Original Hipster
I’ve been thinking for a long time that the mirror over the mantel should be more than just a mirror reflecting the ceiling and it finally hits me this morning that it should be another murder scene painting, specifically ‘The Death of Marat’ by David. Since my memory of the French revolutionary figure is a little spotty, I look him up and find that he was the champion of the ‘sans-culottes’ movement, who were literally those ‘without culottes,’ or those silk shorts that the bourgeoisie wore. The sans-culottes used fashion as a revolutionary political statement and Marat was the original hipster. I’ve roughed in the bottom portion of the painting over the mantel, deliberately keeping it rough so that it looks more painterly.
Gold Painting
I keep passing by this self-portrait canvas and all I want to do is work with it! It’s torture not having the time to get to it. I’ve decided to keep the paint light and ghost-like on one side of the face, then dark and contrasting on the other. It will defo have a halo. Arghhh – there needs to be 40hrs in a day!
Gold Imprimatura Experiment
So, I’m thinking about imprimatura today, which is the practice of laying a neutral ground (usually a burnt umber or some other warm mid-tone) on which you go straight to a grisaille to build the forms with contrasting light and dark on top. It occurs to me that I’ve never seen anyone do this on gold. Can I not make gold my neutral ground?! Has this ever been done? Does it fail miserably? I have decided to do a self-portrait sketch first using a mirror (because no other model is so close at hand) and I have discovered that only Bic pen and charcoal stick will stick to gold. Charcoal erases quite easily so, I’ve gone with that. I’d sketch directly with paint but I haven’t got enough time to devote to this today. I’m also building an automatic underground irrigation system for my new vegetable garden, so… priorities.
The Anti-Resume
I get so many rejection letters that I’m thinking of building an anti-resume and including them in it. Did you know that an anti-resume is a thing? Perhaps this type of resume will show my creativity, my resiliency, my perseverance – see this incredible amount of artistic production on the right and piles of rejections on the left! My only problem is where is this magical leadership position where I can apply creative decision-making skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, and aesthetic sensibilities? Then again, why bother applying? I’m going to think on how to build it myself.
Net Loss on Art Practice for 2017
I’ve been really considering quitting painting recently. It’s been consuming me, actually. I think I’ll have to write something lengthier in a blog post, but the gist is that although I feel driven to create art, it does not pay the bills. In fact, for my first year here in the USA, I took a net loss on my art for the year 2017, which I was not expecting to happen. Now I know it’s not me, or my fault – the art is good. It’s a much larger economic problem; demand for art is low and supply is high. Artists subsidize the capitalist production of culture by getting second jobs. I already have a second job, but it’s looking more and more like I need a third. *sigh* Well, at least I’m better off than this dead hipster.
Chronic Migraines
Anyone who knows me personally knows that I really struggle with chronic migraines, and today is one of those days. I managed to get a bit of painting done despite a migraine, but I picked an easy part; blocking in the underpainting of a dark dress!
