New Tempera Painting

Here is a recent painting that I completed for an exhibition submission. It is tempera (poster paint) on a paper panel; paper on chipboard mounted on a luan panel. The painting turned out well but it really doesn't do anything for me, I just can't get excited about it. It's part of my attempt at a type of romanticism. This one with a more Southern flavor. The subject is a cotton mill, one of many that dot the South. From a photo, circa 1943, maybe a little earlier, maybe a little later. The one on the right is my mom. Check the purse and shoes.

Black and white photo, c. 1943

Cotton Mill Girls, Tempera on Panel, 18" x 24"

I always like the architecture of the old mills, the rows of windows. There were always plenty of railroad tracks around and I remember when I was a young child, not the old child I am now, the steam locomotives switching cars around the mill.

Thanks for stopping by.

Brad

Stage III

An update on my tempera portrait. This is the result after the first glazing. I will add more glaze, thickening the sweater and adding a very light bit of color. Also the hair will receive the same treatment. I will also adjust any areas that need shapes modified, highlights, and odd bits of color for interest.

Laura, Egg tempera with oil glazing, 8"x10"

I went to the reception for the Faculty Art Show at North Georgia College this evening. It was good to see all my friends. The show was very good and photographs, raku pottery, fiber-art, sculpture, drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture were included. I'll try to get over and take some photographs for my blog. Have a lovely evening.

Brad 

Painting Update

Hey kids! Sorry about the short hiatus. I have been helping my wife and her brother do some long needed repairs to their Mom's home. Two weeks of exhausting work and the requisite recovery from a strained back. But, thanks for stopping back by. I have posted updates to two pieces I've been working on.

Crows, Charcoal on Paper, 8"x10"

The charcoal painting is coming along nicely. The charcoal makes wonderful blacks. The edges can bleed into nice blurs of transition. The paint, at this point, is being applied with a healthy dose of solvent making it quite translucent. I am going to have to add some alkyd medium for the drying time is way too long.

Laura, Egg tempera on canvas, 8"x10"

The tempera is going on layer over layer. I wish I were a watercolorist, I can see the potential for having facility with applying the paint in competent washes rather than fidgeting the paint as I do. Anyway, have an interesting weekend and all you Moms have a happy Mother's day.

Brad

In the Queue

Here are two projects that are in the queue for me. The first is a composition that I am doing in tempera with oil glazing. This is the first of many layers of tempera and the color will build up slowly. I go a bit against tradition so, hang on and see how it goes. It is the same composition as the charcoal drawing in my post 'Back in Black.'

Laura, Egg tempera on canvas, 8"x10"

I have posted this charcoal drawing that will become a painting I intend to do using charcoal and oil medium. I would like to take advantage of the beauty and visual vitality of the charcoal and the translucence of the medium as a glazing over the charcoal. I thought I would use white chalk with the charcoal but, in the end I will probably end up using titanium white oil for the highlights. I will start the project by laying out the drawing on a canvas on chipboard panel. The panel will be fabricated by mounting a primed canvas on chipboard with acrylic medium. I will then execute the first stage of the drawing in charcoal and as with the tempera, fix it with a coat of shellac. From that point I will add depth to the drawing with glaze and more drawing. I'm doing my favorite thing here, groping blindly. If you have done something like this, please chime in with a comment or leave me and my readers a link. I will post progress photos along the way for both pieces as well as more charcoal drawings. I'm still learning from them.

Crows, Charcoal on Paper, 8"x10"

I will leave you with a little appropriate music for a composition with crows.

Have a good evening and a lovely spring week ahead of you.

Brad

Details

As I stated in a recent post, I am trying to find some focus in my work, trying to narrow what I am doing to raise my output and not be all over the place. I consider what is best about my work is my brushwork and my color selection. To this end I am planning work that will let me explore these affects. I have assembled some details from work that I have posted for this reason.

The brushwork in the pepper executed in the tempera painting above is a style that I find quite natural. It is a more sculptural style in that I push the paint around and shape it like clay. This suites my A.D.D. more than a more considered style.

 

Oils I treat a bit differently in that there is an under-painting but the fat is laid on in a more sculptural manner.

The tempera painting here is another example of defining the volume by pushing the paint around, mixing it on the canvas.

And again an oil with a lean under-painting then, laying the paint over to add a sculptural sensibility to the garment. Over all else the beauty of the paint itself.

I would like to know how you focus your work, writers and artists. How do you decide what is valuable to focus on? How do you go about discovering the aspects of your work that is exceptional but maybe you don't realize yourself. 

I imagine that working in a community of artists that you can consult on a continual basis helps greatly with this, but until I can surround myself with such I will have to struggle on and beg your indulgences my friends.

Have a fruitful and happy Monday.

Brad  

Manhattan

This is a portrait that I executed in tempera (poster paint). The background is a transfer of the Martian landscape (Marscape?) transfered via acrylic medium skin. The tempera is glazed with oil.

Brad