DECISIONS, DECISIONS!

These are the drawings I did today in preparation for a new painting.  I may create a series out of this idea.  Now I have to decide how I am going to combine these images into a composition.  How many people? What shape and size will the paper be?  These are just a few of the considerations. The last drawing is the beginning of the search for an interesting solution.  Hopefully, tomorrow's drawings will reveal a few answers.

BROMMER CHANNELS DIEBENKORN: WORKSHOP DAY 3

Different compositional strategies are about ways of creating movement in the painting to lead the eye to the focal point.  Day 3 was working with a design concept associated with many of Robert Deibenkorn's painting.  This is a composition that only works well horizontally.  There is a very large space(described as expanded or feeling like it wants to expand) either top or bottom, a band across the opposite end of the painting, for containment and a narrow area (compressed between the two ) which becomes the focal point. I call this design construct "compression".  This is a great design for paintings that feature lots of sky and a very low horizon line if the expansive shape is on the top. I was able to do three, the first being my favorite.  There were many handsome pieces created with this format in the class.  We were working on300 lb watercolor paper cut 11" x 11".   Check out the slide show and find your favorite!

THE DONNA ZAGOTTA WORKSHOP!

Well, I guess the country was going to the dogs this week, but I was having a great time in Donna Zagotta's workshop sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society (SCVWS) Above are the 3 paintings I completed this week. The focus was on designing the rectangle with simplified shapes and creating value patterns. Each one of these is a different value pattern. This is her fourth workshop for SCVWS as everyone gets so much out of it and wants more, more, more! She designed this workshop to be more advanced and included an evaluation sheet for how to determine your direction and how to create a focused approach to moving to the next level, plus individual consultations. It was intense.

We also had a lot of fun and Thursday night went to Stanford University to see a Diebenkorn exhibit. They also had a traveling exhibit "Saved from the Storm" from the New Orleans museum collection. I have created a small slide show of some of the week's activities. Notice the Duane Hansen sculpture of a workman leaning against the wall. It is rather unnerving, to say the least, but we had a lot of fun checking him out. There was another Duane Hansen sculpture in Kansas City dressed as a Museum Guard. What I am noticing about both of these scupltures is how dusty they are getting. It must be difficult to keep them pristine.

Tomorrow I will post the slide show for FRENCHMAN: LINE AS TEXTURE.
Here is the slide show from my photos. I didn't take that many. If you attended the workshop and have additional photos you would like to add to the slide show, you can do so from your computer! I will get a message letting me know and to give my approval.

THE GEOMETRY OF COMPOSITION

I have noticed that I am very partial to triangles in my compositions. This drawing is a good example of multiple triangles...how many can you find? I also enjoy drawing hands with the fingers interlaced. It makes a fascinating puzzle of shapes that lock together.

I worked on my painting for a little while today. I want to change course in the middle of an idea but need to follow through with my original plan. I keep telling myself it is only a piece of paper and I can do another version if this doesn't work out. So far, I don't like what I have. It makes it harder to keep going, but I can meet the challenge. Lately, so many things are taking up my painting time but I make sure I get in at least an hour.