Simply Painting/Painting Simply

Two Figs & a Strawberry
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
6 x 8 in/15.2 x 20.3 cm
Copyright 2013

Although Fall/Autumn has officially arrived here in the northern hemisphere, I wanted to post my painting from earlier this Summer when everything was blooming and bearing fruit.

At that time, I was working on several small still lives in both acrylic and in oil; this one in acrylic: Two Figs & a Strawberry.

The point I'm making is that the subject of a painting does not have to be an elaborate set-up or some breath-taking natural phenomenon, such as a canyon or waterfall. It can be as simple as two figs and a strawberry. The figs came from my backyard, and the strawberry from the local grocery produce department.

The other aspect of simplicity is how you apply paint to the canvas. I was just reading about the techniques of John Singer Sargent, and how he mastered the economy of form and brushstroke. He knew how and where and in what value and color to precisely place each brushstroke. He placed each one deliberately, nothing more.

I will make every effort to employ his method in my future paintings.

A View in Florence

A View in Florence
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
6 x 8 in/15.2 x 20.3 cm
Copyright 2013

Today's image is a small acrylic painted from a photo gifted to me by an artist friend. She had recently visited Italy and returned with dozens and dozens of photos, many of which will make beautiful paintings of Italian land-, sea-, and cityscapes. Although not my original composed photo, I am so glad she allowed me to paint from this.

Some painters and/or art leagues frown upon using another's artistic vision (photo) as a motif, as if it were somehow immoral.

The act of rendering a painting is difficult enough--the inspiration, the imagination, the execution, not to mention the angst many painters feel in making that first brushstroke--without invoking some provincial code of what is or isn't acceptable.

Please. To those I would say, life is too short, and there should be no place in painting for such pettiness.

No. 1 Rule for Selecting the Best Motif

Kinston Ave., Culver City
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
8 x 8 in/20.3 x 20.3 cm
Copyright 2013

Here's a California street scene I recently painted. A simple motif, it was a hazy morning, and I liked the atmospheric view of the Baldwin Hills in the background.

Selecting a great motif, or even a good one, is about the most important thing a painter can do, other than the actual technique and talent in laying down the paint.

I often have trouble selecting a motif that I think (and hope) will make good painting. I'm guessing most painters have the same kind of trouble.

What makes a good motif? The cliche of art being in the eye of the beholder holds true. What many would agree is a great motif may be frowned upon by other painters with just as much of an artistic eye as you.

So, my no. 1 rule for selecting the best motif is that it first pleases you, the painter. You must have some level of excitement about spending your time re-creating the illusion; otherwise, you will quickly become disenchanted. You will not give it your best, and you may even give up.

Of course, a good composition, color palette, and your ability to paint go a long way, too.

Plein Air Painter's Paradise

On Santa Monica Bay
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
8 x 8 in/20.3 x 20.3 cm
Copyright 2013

I'm back after a week spent in West LA. It was warmer than usual in Southern California but still very pleasant and, as always, sunny. If you don't live around or have never experienced a sunny climate, too bad.

Each and every day starts the same way--with golden rays of sun. And it lasts all day. No clouds or almost no clouds allows for the most brilliant light and color. As I've said before, there are only a few places on the planet with that kind of light that plays off the mountains and distances and allows for hazy, atmospheric perspectives.

Of course, there is occasional rain, but the sunlight is quite extraordinary. I must say, it's a plein air painter's paradise.

Today's image is actually a painting that I painted a second time on a smaller scale just because I like the view of Santa Monica Bay from Venice Beach. I hope you like it, too.