I've been experimenting with a slight change in my style and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Years ago, I was working in colored pencil and trying to perfect the photo-realistic style for which colored pencils are so well suited. But being a slave to detail was becoming tedious and demanding. When a friend suggested pastels for a change of pace, I tried it and haven't looked back. Working with big sticks of chalk forces you to loosen up and to be choosy about what details you include. Ever since then, I've been gradually simplifying my paintings in an attempt to master the essence of a scene. As I have told many people, it's hard to be simple. What you leave out of a painting is sometimes more important than what you leave in. This is especially so when working en plein air. All the detail that your eye can see just begs to be included!
Well, lately, I've found even the simplified scenes to be too demanding. So, as an exercise, I did a few paintings that just played with colors and shapes. I took a simple scene and reduced it down to simple shapes, then punched it up with color. And colors that I liked, just for fun. It was like relaxing in a warm bath at the end of long day.
Have a look:
"Neighbors" 7 x 5, pastel $100
"Neighbors, Too" 7 x 5, sold
They've been a hit at the last few art shows. The bright colors and simple shapes make an immediate impact. A lady told me that they made her smile. Me too!
Here's something a little more ambitious:
"Landings" 12 x 16, pastel, $300
All of these are based on real locations, but I've added my own imagination to them. Is this just an artistic diversion? How long should I stay on this path? Am I slowly turning into an abstract artist? When I look at the life work of other artists, I see a lot of times where the artist took a left turn and ended up somewhere else entirely. Is that what's going on here? Maybe. I doubt if I'll ever be a truly abstract artist, but I'd like to merge the simplicity and fun of abstracting a scene with the sacred artistic duty of capturing the beauty of nature and showing it as it is.
Comments