I am very interested in the process that artists use to create a painting. Beatriz Milhazes is a Brazilian artist who is know for her bright colors and paint collages. She uses a different approach to applying paint to the canvas than some of the traditional ways of painting that I normally use. She basically collages with paint. Beatriz uses acrylic paint and paints on a piece of plastic so that after it dries she can remove it a apply it to the canvas with a medium. I thought this would be fun to try out myself!
After the paint dries and is removed from the plastic, you can cut it or peel it in any shape you would like. This was the fun part! As I started to apply the paint pieces to the canvas with my medium I noticed it started to create a ridged texture that I wasn’t expecting. I actually really liked this effect and decided to paint over top of this as well. This created an interesting dimension to the painting. After a few days of looking at it I decided to just paint over the whole thing because I didn’t like the colors I was using from the beginning. I still really like the texture of the underpainting I just decided to push it further in a new direction.
I am currently trying to understand how to use color. Color harmonies are just as important in all types of paintings. So I chose to look at a piece by Pierre Bonnard to create a color study of his Dining Room on the Garden. This was is a great way to really understand why the artist has used certain color choices. Putting myself in Bonnard’s shoes and studying the decisions he made allows me to think more like he does in my future paintings. Bonnard is a master colorist and I appreciate how well he uses the magentas in a lot of his work. I was not attempting to make an exact copy of his colors or composition but more as just something to look at to make my own decisions in addition to his.
Although I did end up steering away from my original process, I learned so much more than I thought I was going to. Sometimes trying a new process can trigger your brain to explore more options. Allow your painting challenge you and see what happens!
Pierre Bonnard. Dining Room on the Garden. 1934-35. Oil on canvas. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Modern Art. 3rd ed. New York: Prentice Hall and Harry N. Abrams, 2000. N. pag. Print.
Sketchbook Drawing of the Week:
Hello, I like your work. On contrary to my blog post today, I am intrigued to hear the process of others processes. Your results are very well done!
Thank you! I like your work as well. I agree with you, others processes are interesting because it gets our mind thinking in a new direction. We can borrow a process from someone else and shape it with our own ideas. How much fun! I really appreciate your response!
Thank you Darian. It is fun and I agree that viewing others art does spark a light onto our own creations.