Tuesday, September 30, 2008

anatomy of a painting [3]


It is a kind of immersion in substances, a wonder and a delight in their unexpected shapes and feels. When nothing much is known about the world, everything is possible, and painters watch their paints very closely to see exactly what they will do. Even though there is no contemporary language for t hat kind of experience.... James Elkins
Well, I promised an update in a couple of weeks but that was 2 months ago ! You see how this works, timeless meandering apparently. Above is the stage of this from a week ago and I have already made some new changes but mostly with color. The overall composition is the same as you see here. What's being introduced is primarily a push/pull composition for the atmospherics above and introducing the perspectival grid below. Since the last installment, I agreed upon the orientation of the ground and introduced a new color scheme which is more naturalistic in range and also beefed up the light element. This trend towards announcing the light will continue but I will likely reintroduce more dramatic color elements as the painting moves closer to conclusion. As to the grid imposed on the weathered ground, I'm uncertain. I want to readjust it somewhat as there are some errors in the diagonals, as well needed improvement on the spacing to further induce a recession of space. The other lingering question is whether this grid is a dimensional structure, a second tier of the ground or a reflection of light. I'm about to figure that out.

In closing, here's a detail:


6 comments:

Steven LaRose said...

My first impression was that the grid was light from a window. Which was funny because it implied that the landscape was within a building. Or, the painting was in a building and the light from the windows recorded across the surface. But then the grid unfolded as a little off. It didn't feel projected, or traced, but almost as graphic as a logo. Maybe that is good, keeping the design as removed from nature as the ground.

It surprised me to see the grid.

Anonymous said...

Recently an insurance company nearly wind up....

A bank is nearly bankrupt......


Who fault?


The top management of the Public listed company ( belong to "public" ) salary should be tied a portion of it to the shares price ( IPO or ave 5 years ).... so when the shares price drop, it don't just penalise the investors, but those who don't take care of the company.....If this rule is pass on, without any need of further regulation, all industries ( as long as it is public listed ) will be self regulated......


Sign a petition to your favourite president candidate, congress member again and ask for their views to comment on this, and what regulations they are going to raise for implementation.....If you agree on my point, please share with many people as possible....


http://remindmyselfinstock.blogspot.com/

CAP said...

Face it Saunders - you're a slacker!

CAP said...

But seriously, the grid is really just a more elaborate form of the perspectival lines/planes you've used in earlier work, so it doesn't come as a surprise to me.

There's also the hard edge versus blurred/painterly differences, that pretty much set up foreground Vs background, or just ground Vs sky in previous examples. In this respect the painting is pretty much on track.

What seems different at the moment is the lighter mood or atmosphere. I think you said you expect to darken this at a later stage. Those dark brooding skies/fluid painterly modulations contrasted with the flat, relatively bright foregrounds were what struck me most about your stuff. I don't quite know what that says, but that contrast between flat, strict depth (by perspective hence volume or plane) and soaring turmoil overhead seems important to you.

Now back to the beers!

Steven LaRose said...

Did you use tape?

highlowbetween said...

Thanks for the comments men. I did use tape and I continue to struggle using tape as I have little patience in these matters but I need the tape. Got it :)

The grid devise is a natural extension as CAP mentions and variations of it are appearing in other works I'm making, but I think what it is starting to build into will be an overlay of a different light source, subject, speed, and time signature. Different spaces happening simultaneously at different hours for lack of a better description.
Yes I've darkened the skies which you will see soon, and divided that atmosphere into 3 planes that awkwardly make the scene but push and pull one another.
It's really coming from my fascination with extreme weather and playing a bit with Constable.