Problem Fixed...I Can Breath

It was bugging me, I could not concentrate on anything for a day, and I was stressing even more when the conservator never called me back to give me a quote for removing the retouch varnish and re-varnishing my painting. I didn't want too much time to pass, and I was too impatient to wait to get this problem fixed later this week. When you want things done right and in time you have to do it yourself. I went back to the studio, set the painting flat on a stool and I proceeded by working in turpentine with clean paper towels. I was lucky that the varnish hadn't dried completely, and it reactivated with the solvent.
The excess varnish was being picked up by the paper towels, while at the same time leaving enough behind to keep the painting a bit glossy. One of he major problems in the first place was that the varnish had become thicker as the thinner in it evaporated from the bottle. This is what caused it to take longer to dry allowing it to create drips.
After removing the varnish I applied a new coat, this time it was thinned down with more turpentine, this made the varnish level out quicker and it also became more flexible, not leaving any brush marks behind.
Another thing I discovered is that a good soft synthetic varnishing brush works a lot better than a natural hair soft brush. It didn't leave hairs or other strange debris behind. Now my painting is drip free and ready for showing, that's if I knew where to submit the painting.

On the Pan, oil on panel, 2009-2011, 24 x 20 inches

A Painter's Worst Nightmare

For years I have managed to dodge the bullet of varnishing nightmares, and every time I have to varnish a piece I do it very cautiously and with fear. A little bit of patience goes a long way too, and to my luck I have never had issues with dripping or uneven spots. I always tell people use a soft brush and you should be fine.
Unfortunately this was not my lucky day with varnish. Last night, for some reason I felt rushed to varnish a number of paintings and this morning as I walked into the studio I come across this dripping horror on my most cherished painting. I spent almost three years working on this still life and in one night I managed to ruin it.
Varnishing paintings on panel can be tricky because they show more imperfections and brush strokes than a work on canvas. Knowing this I tried varnishing this painting flat. After noticing I had missed a few spots I added more varnish on top with a little turpentine to reactivate the first layer so that both layers could meld together and not look blotchy in the final outcome. I knew it was too much varnish but I felt that keeping the painting flat would level it out, and it did at first. Besides, I was using a retouch varnish which tends to dry thinner than damar varnish.
I didn't give the painting enough time to dry flat, I thought a few minutes for retouch varnish would be enough, and it usually is since this type of varnish dries to the touch very quickly. I hung the painting back in its spot in the studio, and overnight the varnish started coming down, like clear lava and wrapping it's drippy lumpiness on half of the painting! So what now? I called a conservator today, still waiting to get a call back with an estimate which I was told should not cost much. All I know is that I will not try to remove this varnish myself, I don't want to risk ruining my three years work more than I already have. Wish me luck yall, I will post pictures once I get this mess fixed!

Working On...

I have a number of paintings in progress in the studio, and as if I needed to add to my work load I decided that another painting for the new year would be a nice idea. This current piece I'm working on is slightly different for me. The format is more horizontal and the size is bigger than the usual 9 x12. The process is also a little different, I usually begin with a quick painted sketch using burnt sienna and burnt umber. This sketch tends to be loose, almost no hints of lights or darks, just quick simple lines implying the shape, mass and composition of the different elements in the painting. With this new still life I decided to do a more detailed grisaille using raw umber and white, something that would help me establish lights and darks from the start. The last time I tried this process was about a year ago, and the underpainting was not as developed as this current painting. I found out then that this process helped stay focused, and it seems like it helped me to create a stronger painting.
I have started adding color by applying some glazes and some direct painting. The most difficult part is getting the right color for the background, this always tends to be my downfall. I'm not sure if I'll keep it light blue, knowing me it'll change to a pale grey or white. So far things are going in the right direction, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for smooth sailing. More to come.

New Painting: On the Pan

On the Pan, 2009-11, oil on panel, 24 x 20 inches

After two years and nine months I can finally say this painting is finished! I'm not sure what kept me from getting it done sooner, perhaps when I started working on this piece in 2009 I thought this would be my largest and most complex painting yet. This made me proceed with caution, perhaps too much, delaying the process and adding fear as I laid down each layer of color. Now it is finally done, and I can move on to bigger projects. As I've said before, painting is a learning process that will forever teach me a new lesson or two, I just have to keep on trucking doing my best with each new painting.

New Plein Air: East River

East River, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 13 inches

We are lucky that so far this fall has felt more like spring, I am not complaining at all about the warm weather, as a matter of fact I wish our winters were this warm, that way I could get to go out and paint all year round! I know this beautiful weather won't last long, and so I made it a point to do one more plein air by the East River, turns out it was pretty cold and windy soon as I got next to the water, but I tough it out and painted as much as I could on site. The light was fading, it got more windy, and the group of old Greek men that congregated around me made it difficult to finish the painting in one shot. Back in the studio I added the two bridges and finessed the sky a little more, all this was easy to do since all the colors and light effects were done from life.

A Little of Peru in NYC

It's October 18, and today marks a very special day in Peruvian culture. It is the main date of the celebration of Lima's patron saint el Senor de los Milagros (the Lord of Miracles). For hundreds of years the image of a black crucified Christ has been marched through the streets of downtown Lima, and Peruvian communities abroad have brought this tradition with them to their new cities.
This past Sunday, October 16, the Peruvian community of New York City celebrated this religious tradition with a procession of its own through the streets of midtown Manhattan.
Just as in Peru, faithful Catholics follow the procession at a slow pace to the beat of a marching band. For those who are not familiar with this celebration, the image of life size Christ in agony adorned with silver, gold, and flowers can have a powerful presence, some shy away, and some non believers laugh. No matter what, the Peruvian followers walk looking at the image of Christ with their heads high, praying for better health and a better tomorrow.
I payed my respects this Sunday, and was there praying for my family and to thank for my blessings. For me this procession is moving, there's so much attached to it, it's not just religion, it's a connection to my roots, an experience that brings me closer to my country of birth, the place I haven't been to for over sixteen years.
I grew up with this, I loved smelling incense in the air, and seeing the push and shove of the people trying to get close to the image. In Lima, over half a million people follow the procession from start to end, which runs some eighteen hours on both October 18 & 19; that is one large group of passionate people.
With so much going on in the world, Lord knows we all need something to believe in, something to make us feel that things will be alright. For the poor people of Peru this has been their strength, their hope for a better way of life.
For more information on this festival, please visit my post on the history of the Lord of Miracles here.

New Plein Air: Loeb Boathouse

Loeb Boathouse, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 11 inches

This is my latest shot at plein air in Central Park. I went out to paint last Tuesday hoping to enjoy the last few warm days of fall, and I must say for the most part it was beautiful warm day, that's until it got cold in the split of a second towards late afternoon. I'm not sure how many more times I'll be able to paint out doors, cold weather is coming and it makes me run and hide under multiple blankets. There's a big part of me that would love to paint out doors during the winter, trying to catch the cool light sounds fun, but I'm not a winter kind of guy, and the thought of painting with gloves, scarf, a coat, and multiple layers doesn't sound fun. At the moment I'm just playing it by ear, let's see how far I can take this.

Delacroix Said It

"I'm always having excellent ideas, but instead of working on them while they are still fresh in my imagination, I keep telling myself that I will do them later on - but when? Then I forget about them or, worse still, can no longer see anything interesting in ideas that seemed certain to inspire me. The trouble is, that with a roving and impressionable mind like mine, one idea brings another out of my head quicker than the changing wind alters the direction of a windmill's sails."
- Eugine Delacroix, journal entry April 11, 1824 -

Going through my notebook today, while looking for Velazquez's color palette, I ran into this Delacroix quote and it made me think "don't I know this too well!" I constantly find myself getting ideas for paintings or being inspired by things I see in day to day, but, just like Delacroix, ideas get lost in time if I don't take action. And even when I do take action, they don't get completed in a timely manner. That is my problem now, I have various unfinished pieces in my studio and can't get myself to work on them more until I can say it's finished. Instead I get "inspired" by another thing and yet again another painting gets started. I have a lot of things running through my mind, specially after coming back from a trip to Madrid and a two day visit to the Prado can awaken dreams, inspiration, and a lot of self criticism. My head is still spinning from all the breathtaking works of art I saw, and more ideas as to where to take my work in the future keep running through. It's nice to know that one the world's greatest artist felt the same way.

My Abstract Past

For Inna, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

I have been contemplating on going back to working abstractly. From time to time I come across beautiful gestural paintings and it makes me reminisce of my short abstract period. This painting is the outcome of a commission done for a boutique opening in the lower east side of Manhattan. In this painting my influences of Rothko and Frankenthaler scream loudly, and I hope it doesn't look like a terrible knock off. I respect both painters greatly because of their use of color, light, atmospheric effects, and because of their landscape qualities. Let's hope MISSiNNA likes having this piece hanging on their wall amongst designer clothes.

Inspired By John Henry Twachtman

John Henry Twachtman, Connecticut Landscape, ca. 1889-91, pastel on paper, 16 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches, Private Collection

When you least expect it changes happen, at times they are the kind that you may not have hoped for, and at times they are the kind that you needed to make you look at life with a better, positive outlook. Changes in how we approach art happen just the same, and we have the choice to go with it or resist it. Out of fear of change, artists stick to one specific medium, size, color, format, the list goes on and on; although knowing what works best for you, it isn't always good to remain closed to other possibilities. This has been my case. For many years painting has been my only focus, other ways of producing art were brushed off (no pun intended) because "I am a painter!" I realize now how silly of me.

John Henry Twachtman, House and Tree, undated, pastel on paper, 10 x 10 inches, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

At the plein air competition I took part of a week ago I was re-introduced to pastels. Artist Janet A Cook worked a few feet away from me in oils and pastel and I got to thinking about why I haven't given pastel a chance since 1998. That was the seed that was planted in my brain, and it took a book of John Henry Twachtman's art to make it blossom. In this book, I saw some of his pastel drawings done on site and I was blown away by their beauty.

John Henry Twachtman, The Ledges, ca. 1889-91, pastel on pumice board, 8 3/4 x 13 inches, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, New York

Connecticut Landscape and Spring Landscape made me realize that the effects I love in painting can also be achieved with pastel. I love a light red ground coming through the layers of paint, and Twachtman's pastel drawings made use of that technique with toned paper. I had limited myself by thinking that pastel, a form of drawing, has to be done on paper which by general standard is white. I have been aware of toned paper for years but for some strange reason it didn't click with me that I could used it for pastel and plein air.

John Henry Twachtman, Spring Landscape, ca. 1889-91, pastel on paper, 12 x 20 inches, Huntington Museum of Art, West Virginia

I remember doing some pastel work when I was 17, and what I can recall pastel was messy, and in a way hard to control. I am thinking now that maybe I was the problem and that I didn't have control of my hand and my technique. Through Twachtman's pastels I was able to see that I could also get the painterly aesthetic I enjoy so much about plein air painting. The medium does lend itself to broad and delicate applications, I just needed to be better educated. Now the blind fold has been stripped away and I'm looking to the future with excitement about the new explorations I will do with pastels. This has come at a good time since my plein air easel broke just after the competition. Carrying with me small pieces of paper and pastels to the park, I know, will be easier and I'm even thinking that the working time will also be shorter, allowing me to get more done in one day.

John Henry Twachtman, Three Trees, ca. 1888-95, pastel on paper, 14 x 18 inches, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York

I haven't researched much on Twachtman, coming across his book this week introduced me to his art and so far I am loving it. This has also reiterated the fact that I love Impressionist landscapes, and how my use of color and brushwork keeps getting closer to the way Twatchtman, William Merritt Chase, and other Impressionists worked. It was actually a treat to find out that Chase used to paint in Central Park, and it was very interesting to see how some of the places I'm familiar with looked in the 1800's.

Berthe Morisot, A Village (A Village of Maurecourt), pastel on paper, 18 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches, Private Collection, New York

In my search for Twachtman's pastels, I came across this beautiful pastel landscape by Berthe Morisot. There is no denying I love color and loose applications, just like her.
After so much inspiration I have started applying acrylic ground for pastels on 4 ply museum boards. I have cut down large sheets into small manageable sizes that can fit in my messenger bag so that I don't have to carry other unnecessary bulk. Things happen for a reason, and this new interest will be a great solution to traveling with paint. I am heading to Madrid in a week and I would love to get some plein air work done there, but I was skeptical about carrying oil painting supplies. With a few prepared light weight boards and a small selection of pastels traveling light is feasible.