Saudade No2

She is looking at something that has sparked a memory; a passing cloud, a stranger's face; or was it dreamed?

Saudade No2 takes a non-traditional point-of-view: face looking upwards  from the bird's eye with a background that suggests sunny and warm but nondescript. Her expression is touched with regret ( a handmaiden of yearning and desire); what has she seen? Was it another passer-by, a cloud, or light reflecting from a storefront window that sparked a remembrance of choices made that led to missed opportunity.

Palette is the same as Saudade No1, but the application of color is broader. In this painting I limited the sculpting to her dress, but my usual textural is evident in the figure and background.

Going to take the next week over Christmas to ponder Saudade No3 the last in my tribute to my late teacher. Feel free to comment or better still follow my blog!

Title: Suadade No2
Media: Acrylic, Interference, Oil, Textile on Canvas
Size: 30 x 20

Saudade No 1

Having spent more than three months on the Rift mural and  Emergence maquettes which are symbolic-abstractions, I felt a need to return to figurative imagery. The Portuguese word Suadade  [which in English roughly means an unrequited yearning for the unattainable] is my starting point for three paintings which I am dedicating to my late teacher and mentor George Harris.

George Harris was a member of the Royal Water Colour Society and an apprentice of Diego Rivera. As a young man, he worked with Rivera to paint the murals in Coit Tower in San Francisco. I learned the craft of figure painting from George; sure he would appreciate them!

Saudade No 1 is a classic "studio" pose with a lighting twist. While the palette predominantly sepia  and Van Dyke brown, the spot turquoise, rose madder and Venetian yellow carefully punctuate the mood. She is reflective: memories of things foregone, things that might have been, choices not made and made, modeled in her hair. A crown of heavy thought accented with interference pigments.



Title: Suadade No 1
Media: Acrylic, Interference, Oil, Textile on Canvas
Size: 30 x 24

Emergence No 2 (Maquette)

Continuing with this new process to  give further elevation to the textile layers in the artwork with Emergence No 2 maquette.  Red is the dominant color with the sahara yellow and gold injecting themselves (as with maquette No 1). Don't work with red hues very often; not my favorite color, but I managed to get cozy with Madder Lake.

I would like to interest someone I'm commissioning a larger version of this work, someone with a pressing need to fill a void on a partially protected (from direct sunlight) atrium wall, or better still an interior  at least 14 feet high that needs an 8 foot width decorated.  The final panel Emergence  No 3 would have predominantly greens, with the appearance of the yellows and golds yet  again. the three would then stack in order red, blue, green from top to bottom.

To the right, closeups give a greater view of the textiles offset from the canvas substrate.



Emergence No 2 (maquette)
12" x 24"
acrylic, oil, interference and textile on canvas

Emergence No 1 (Maquette)

Painting Rift gave me more ideas about my textile treatments, and I am exploring them now as maquette for a sequel called Emergence. Enhancing the dimensional impact is a new preoccupation in combination with the extrusion appearance. My objective is to exemplify an organic characteristic in the art. Emergence No. 1 is still a work in progress; the palette needs adjusting, and some color applications need a selective, spot diminish. Overall I am pleased with the effect, but it does need some refinement.

Details to the right, closeups detailing the "floating" quality which is central to this new direction. Bottom, the canvas entirely. Will update this post with the finished work later this week.

Size 12 x 24
Acrylic, oil, interference, phosphorescence and textile on canvas

Orvis | Last Day

Finished painting Rift at 2:50 pm this afternoon. Thanks again to everyone that assisted with the creation, and a heartfelt thanks to the Honolulu Museum and Spalding House for a fabulous opportunity.

This experience made me realize I enjoy art on this scale: I want to do a follow up mural and have already begun sketching "Tree of Life." But finding a patron, or an organization to support this objective will be daunting even though there is no immediate shortage of unadorned (or poorly decorated) wall space here in Honolulu.

I was told by one of the docents today that there is nothing really after Orvis, in terms of a comparable event here in Hawaii.  I heard, in speaking with local "important" figures in visual art here in Hawaii, that to become successful, your accomplishments will need to be recognized elsewhere. How tragic!

But (putting pessimism aside) I am going to use Rift as a calling card, and drop them wherever I find a commercial space with a barren 24' high wall, preferably on a frequented pedestrian route. I believe I have a "winning" formula corporations will find irresistible: serious enquiries only to learn more.

As to Rift it will be removed and placed on long term loan to Pali Momi Medical Center for display in their atrium unless a buyer intervenes. Many have remarked the artwork has a soothing quality: what could be a better place than a hospital.

But for the next couple of weeks, I am going to return to finishing off "Pull Inside," the second of the three surfer paintings of which "Cut Back" is the first. Updates to follow.

Orvis Residency: Day 20 (20-29 July)

I have been remiss in my postings lately: Instagram has been getting the best of me! Rift is now roughly 75% complete; very confident the art will be completed with a week to spare. It has always been my goal to have the art finished so the final week of my residency can be spent answering questions from museum visitors. I will also need that last week to plan dismantling and removal for storage until the art's new home has been resolved.

The artwork is important: it encapsulates humanity's march to oblivion (if unchecked) in a poignant,  symbolically understandable depiction. Interested parties have been identified as caretakers/exhibitors, but until details can be ironed out, the work will need to be stored in a secure, environmentally benign space. To that end, I am crowd funding for storage costs on Indiegogo and would appreciate anyone reading this blog to follow and or forward my plea to people that support art preservation. 

Orvis Residency: Days Nine and Ten (18-19 July)

This weekend saw tremendous progress. A big thanks to Sonny and all the volunteers that that helped on Family Day (Sunday), especially Rochelle and Christian from Farrington HS in Honolulu, and a bevy of kids

Saturday we finished the installation framework and hung the ten panels; by the end of the day, the first coat of green and blue interference pigments had been applied.

Today, all panels were touched up in preparation for the eyelet fabric textures layering that makes up the "rift" in the composition.

Next weekend, yet again another extravaganza. Saturday boasts a scissor and staple gun spectacular followed by Sunday's oil paint barn-burner!

Hope to see some of you make good on your threats to help again this coming weekend.

Pip Pip!