Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Nitty Gritty

We're getting down to the nitty gritty. I have a few details in mind that I would like to add before leaning back on my heels and saying, "Finished!" We're not quite there yet.

For one, the desert sky was too dark. So, I introduced some white and glazed it over the blue as well as swirled it to create some atmosphere. It works for me.


I eyed the canvas and am questioning the darkest mountain in the range. It just might be too dark, but I was in no mood to mix up that crazy concoction of colors I came up with to hit the rosy hues of the desert. Sometimes you just have to be in the mood for color, and I wasn't in a rose kind of mood tonight.

There was something I needed to tackle. In order to get into the mindset to push myself outside my comfort zone, I needed some music to smooth the road ahead. I set my iPod to Karunesh. Take a listen - I cannot get enough of this guy: Karunesh. His music penetrates deeply and is so soothing. I can almost drink it.

Karunesh, whoever he is, and I returned to the far right side of the canvas. From the very beginning, I had wanted to paint an airplane in this Mediterranean scene. The last flight I made from Israel to Chicago was pivotal. That was back in the day when I could walk onto the tarmac and place Chipper in her dog carrier directly on the conveyor belt leading into the belly of the airplane. Can you imagine such a thing today? After I watched her crate disappear into the abyss, I returned to the terminal, boarded the plane, and popped a Tylenol PM in my mouth as soon as I fastened my seatbelt. I could not bear thinking of her alone in the dark belly of the plane. Her tranquilizer was good for only 10 hours and we had at least that much time in traveling ahead of us...I knew she would wake up mid-flight, alone in the dark and frightened with all of the noise. I simple couldn't bear thinking of it. So, I tranquilized my dog, and then took one for myself.

The plane was important to include in my painting. It is what transported us from there to here, literally. When I ordered my paints,  I already had this in my mind, so I ordered a small bottle of silver paint. One doesn't have the option of painting with silver when using oils, so if I have to use a medium I'm not so crazy about, I may as well as take advantage of some of its benefits. Silver paint sounded like fun.

I painted in the airplane's shape in a very transparent white. I had to rework it a few times to get the proportions down - and some might say I still haven't gotten them - but I was satisfied. And then I got out the silver paint. Nice. It had a nice creamy texture and the sheen came through even when I mixed in other colors. I enjoyed this little interlude...but not enough to convert me to acrylics from oil.



This session lasted just shy of one and a half hours. Zeke came home from work while I was painting and plopped himself down on the couch behind me with his iPad. At no time since January when I gave him his birthday present, has this iPad left his fingertips. What you may not know is that Zeke is an artist too, and here is proof of it. This is a drawing he made on his iPad with his new stylus. I assure you I was painting while fully dressed, though you would never know it from this drawing. The only thing I can say about that is, "MEN!"

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