Monday, November 03, 2008

Show and Tell Update

And now for something completely nonpolitical: remember this sketch of the baby bear and fire fighter that I showed you earlier this summer?

Here is how that sketch came out, and what I am currently working on.

The bear and firefighter picture took on a mural-like quality, with simple lines and suggested shading, instead of either a more realistic effect (which I don't usually go for), or a more impressionistic effect (which is what usually happens, like it or not).

I could put it back on the easel and work on it some more, but I don't think a different look would improve it. So there you go. Bear and Fire Fighter, 2008.


After every piece that includes a person or animal depiction, it's nice to relax with some landscape. With a landscape I can put a rock or hill wherever I damn well please, and it doesn't make it look like the victim of a warty disease.

I've started on a simple picture of the road leading up to the summit of Steens Mountain. It had a picturesque "z" quality to it, but the surrounding countryside was dry and rocky. So I've added a little color for fun.


When I first saw the photo I took, it didn't really look like what I had expected. But now I'm warming up to it. It's odd that the camera shows a different painting than the one I just had my nose up against. And it's odd that paintings take on a life of their own. And it's odd that I don't have much control over that. It seems, being the author of the thing, that I should...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

...but I really like your interpretation of things, and the way they come out in your paintings.

hedera said...

You aren't the first artist to comment that the stuff you create takes on a life of its own.

I really like the baby bear and firefighter.