A morning of colored glass. The gleaming pieces caught the sun and the glint of snow through the window. I wanted to handle them all. I got out all the glass fragments that I’d cut this week, and spread them out. And played. I made a dozen small pieces, just a few inches across, and experimented … read more Art therapy
Tag: color
Workouts on paper
The state of my brain has begun to come out in my construction paper workouts. One that partially expresses the feeling of having been attacked: Trying to regain my sense of equilibrium: From yesterday, one that gets at the resistance from my brain to my own commands: Here’s me, with my ever-shifting levels of energy: And … read more Workouts on paper
Coloring, at least
Around this time of year, I usually take a break of a week or so and do nothing but art. I call it the “Art Sprawl.” This immersion usually produces some nice drawings, progress on art projects and ideas for paintings. It’s also a time to focus on a particular technique. But I can’t do … read more Coloring, at least
Palette of cerebral fluid
Before this aneurysm happened, I was playing with color palettes. I’m still seeing in bands of colors. When I look around my ICU room, I even see the variety in the whites and grays, limited palette though they are. My cerebral fluid, though, is a palette in a bag. And those bands of color are … read more Palette of cerebral fluid
Painting with pieces of paper
Time is a deterrent to painting. By the time I clear a space to work, get out and set up the paints and brushes and canvas and easel, decide what to paint, and then allow time for cleaning up and putting away – well, I need three hours to do a session of any value. … read more Painting with pieces of paper
Picasso said so
One of my mental blocks about art is that I am always trying to create a masterpiece. After all, Picasso said, Everything you can imagine is real. So if I can imagine a masterpiece, it is real already. I just have to paint it. So I come to the daily practice, reminding myself of another … read more Picasso said so
Seeing in palettes
Adobe has long been known for its overly complex software, but Photoshop and Lightroom have for years been programs that I can’t live without. Today I discovered a new one: Adobe Capture, an app that makes it really simple to discover a palette of colors for a scene. (You can also make brushes, vector graphics and “looks” for … read more Seeing in palettes
13 Rectangles: The Game
After viewing part of a video series on Foundations of Color, I picked up on the painting 13 Rectangles by Wassily Kandinsky where I left off. This time I tried playing with color groupings: And then I wondered about trying to do realistic scenes: And then I wrote out the rules for the game that I’m … read more 13 Rectangles: The Game
Slivers of autumn light
There’s a light that comes in the fall, one that gathers up everything it touches with warmth and death. In this light even the simplest thing – a tiny crack in the wood of the porch railing – glows and pulses. I was out there this morning, camera in hand, keeping my promise to the day. Hypermacro … read more Slivers of autumn light
Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky
Can you build a whole painting around a single square of color? You can learn to, if you play around. That’s what I’m doing by playing with colored rectangles derived from those used by Wassily Kandinsky in Thirteen Rectangles. Although the arrangement of Thirteen Rectangles seems random, each shape and its color is part of the dynamic … read more Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky