Tonight I was able to put in 3 hours of work on my double portrait, Progress Thomas, despite the brutal heat. After making thousands of hatch marks in a muted violet gray mixed from ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and titanium white, I have the painter's equivalent of writer's cramp--but the background is already beginning to have that quietly energized egg tempera aura. I'll need to remember to stop occasionally to give my hand and eyes a break--but when you're in the zone, its so easy to overdo.
I'm still thinking about the Graham Nickson show I saw at the Monmouth Museum (on the campus of Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ) a few weeks ago. Jewel-like water colors of "the edge of the day" in vibrant colors painted in a manly way. Brilliant colors laid down with the authority of the oil painter he is--a show worth seeing. I encountered Mr. Nickson nearly ten years ago when I attended the Drawing Marathon at the New York Studio School. He is the dean of the school and the originator of the Drawing Marathon--an amazing artistic experience. Every artist should do it at least once in his or her life.
Time to turn in.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment