Feeling Ambitious
Study of Central Park, 2009, oil on paper mounted on panel, 8 x 10 inches
I've been slaving on Asheville Trail and it's gotten to the point when I'm no longer able to judge the painting. I have become frustrated due to loss of spontaneity, which the painting had in its early stages. Working with green became a problem and trying to distinguish foreground, middle ground, and background within the space became difficult to manage. Tonight I made some progress, but not as much as I would like. I can't rush it though if I want it done right. To unwind after so many hours of working on one painting, I decided to make a quick sketch for a larger landscape I will to tackle soon. This will be an ambitious painting since it will be the largest I've painted since 2004, and the subject I've chosen is a dense, layered composition. I'm hoping that working on a larger scale will help me loosen up again, I know for a fact that this one will be a fun painting to make. Big brushes, bigger blobs of paint, and constant body motion is what I've been missing for so long.
Comments
http://www.pafa.org/Museum/Exhibitions/Currently-On-View/George-Tooker-Exhibition/130/
I say so because, although he does not work in landscape (mostly portraiture and interiors), he has a wonderful way of developing an atmospheric composition that is full of form and beautiful color detail. Reading your blog for a while, I notice you mention often that you tighten up quickly. While working large can assist with that, Tooker is a great example of working in a small-ish format (no painting is much larger than 30" square) but developing a large depth of field and forms which fill the field with breadth. His use of color (which, in egg tempra, you have to see the painting to appreciate) is so sensitive and defining: illuminative. You really should not miss it - there has not been a retro of his work in 20 years and most of it is in private hands.
http://www.progressiveliving.org/george_tooker_bottom_frame.htm
He's rather obscure but a painter's painter. Do yourself the favor and go see him.