I may have said this before, but dayum, abstract work is hard! And also incredibly satisfying when the paint finally matches the image in my head and heart.
This one was tough and took me several more studio sessions than most paintings I make. It’s 22”x 38”; the largest abstract I’ve done so far, and scaling up presented some serious challenges: bigger brushes, larger body movement, and more paint! It was difficult for me to focus on the whole and not get lost in small and interesting places.
Those pairs of black dots you see throughout the painting are an homage to similar pairs I saw in a 30,000 year old cave painting a few weeks ago in Gourdon, France. It was mind-blowing to me that some person had touched that wall with their fingers that long ago and I want to never forget it!
I had to remember to move color around the entire painting for a sense of motion, check values in black and white from time to time … are there light enough lights, dark-darks, and mid-tones?
I check to make sure large shapes are balanced with smaller ones and look for details that can only be seen up close.
At the same time, I need to look from 20 feet away (or on a photo) to see that it works as a big-picture story too.
I’m telling you, the struggle is real, but the satisfaction is… ahhhhhh.
Thanks for taking the time to check in and connect with me here. That’s what it’s all about for me! I’m all alone in my house for nearly 3 weeks while the sweetheart is away on an Epic Adventure racing motorcycles, so drop me a comment so I have some human connection!
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