Paint My World

Paint My World

16 x 20 acrylic paint

This recent painting is a bit out of my comfort zone. It features some realistic elements, but has combined them in more of an abstract style.

I like painting realistic historic buildings, like these:

but I usually paint the entire building.

In Paint My World, I decided to show just a section of the stonework of an old building, receding into the shadows of “times gone by”. I showed the young girl painting her ideas (plants, flowers, florescent colors) over the dull cold stones of the past.

I like the combination of buildings and people to tell a story or show a viewpoint. Using this kind of “story telling” lets me indulge in painting “some of my favorite things”. I also like the idea that, in our own minds at least, we might color the world to express our dreams.

I can't seem to stop myself....I HAVE to tell a story

Detail of Raindrops Keep Falling on My.....

I started out working as a “fine artist”.....i.e. I painted for myself and to enter juried shows and sometimes show at sidewalk art fairs. I painted in one of the three standard genres....still life, landscape or portrait. I loved realistic painting, and painted mostly from my photos. So far so good.

Then little bitty stories began creeping into my compositions. At an early age I'd been exposed to all the great historical illustrators thru National Geographic magazine, with lush many page painted spreads. So in my own painting, I began to go outside the “fine art” genre, and painted things with historical themes. In painting historical, I was well on my way to telling stories.....about history.

Fair enough. So.......I began to segue over to illustration. Here, I was commissioned to actually “tell” stories, whether for magazine covers, cards or children's books. But I was still using the “fine art” style to tell stories. This is both good and bad. Good because the “fine art” look did indeed find favor with certain publishers.....bad 'cause it takes a LOT of time to complete final artwork.

Lately I've been having my cake and eating it too, (no calories involved)! I've been planning colored pencil pieces that combine aspects of (still life, landscape or portrait) with a quicker “illustrative” style I.e. “telling an itty bitty story.” My style is still mostly real.....sometimes with just a bit of artistic license. And I'm working hard to “find my whimsy”.

Case in point,this recent colored pencil piece......”Rain Drops Keep Fallin' on My.......”.

It has elements of a still life (leaves), landscape (surrounding ground) and portrait (chipmunks), yet these three things put together, with some red coloured rain drops dripping off a polk berry branch does tell a itsy bitsy story.

To the great amusement of his grinning friend, a busy, full cheeked chipmunk is about to get splashed with a colorful bit of nature. I showed how I got such highlights on the top leaves in this post: http://lyneartblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/white-on-blackhow-do-you-get-there.html

It's a side step from other work I've done..... I'm learning a lot......and it's a lot of fun to boot.

So I guess “it's a good thing” that I just can't stop myself!

 

All my Ducks in a Row

Detail of All My Ducks In A Row (left side)

This is just a bitty post about a recent coloured pencil piece, All My Ducks in a Row.

7 inches by 20 inches

Colored pencil (with a dab of gouche) on black illustration board

(This is the full piece.....it's a bit long for the blog format.)

I finished it just in time to get into the U.S. Bank Celebration of the Arts 2014 Art Show, at the Kentucky Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky....and even managed to score a itty bitty award for “Works on Paper”. I so appreciate the Kentucky Museum's and U.S. Bank's hard work to make a lovely show “happen”. 

Detail of All My Ducks in a Row (right side)

I wrote a brief post http://lyneartblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-not-to-draw-to-make-your-picture-pop.html about this piece, while it was a WIP.