Day Fifteen: "Murder Of Crows"

Today I thought I'd just take a walk around the canvas and see what's going on that I like and don't like...

As you can see the characters are all finally in their places (for the most part).   Redrawing the fifth black crow has brought him from behind (and looking like a penguin) to a more involved position.  Now he looks to be a part of the action and is holding his own in the overall circular composition.  However, I still am not completely settled on the shape of the fabric.  Moving this crow forward has interrupted the reference back to the original sketch, in effect cutting off the right hand.  I've attempted to readjust the shape, but I don't like the result... so far.

It just seems predictable.

One thing I am very pleased with is the color pattern developing in the bush shape.  NOTE: I've just realized that if you double-click on these detail images they will expand to a greater size allowing you to view the brush work really closeup...COOL!

On my latest junking foray I found another great selection of art books; (most exciting!!) the 1987 MOMA, Paul Klee exhibition book... all 344 pages; and an Oxford Press, Matisse, by Nicholas Watkins from 1984.  I'm not usually that into Matisse, but with this book I realized I'd only been looking at the images that are most published.  This book has quite a few landscapes that I've never seen; and seeing them alongside the old standards, has given me cause to reexamine his work.  One quote that has caught my attention is:

"Seeing is of itself a creative operation, one that demands effort... the artist must see all things as if he was seeing them for the first time.  All his life he must see as he did as a child."

I thought this quote fit my current situation with this project rather well, as I've more than once talked about really looking at what your looking at.  Though I still haven't come to a conclusion about how to really look at what's in your head...

These last few images will give you an idea of how the surface is building up as the painting progresses.  You may recognize some landmarks from earlier posts that are still visible here (like the signature marks from the wallpaper brush).  Another thing to look at is the variation in texture.  See if you can recognize the difference between the impasto marks made using a palette knife and the mark of brushwork, then look for drips and washes of thinned paint.  All of these textures add interest as well as depth in your painting, because heavy texture will come forward, smooth texture tends to recede.

 Remember though, there are no rules!

If you look closely, you'll notice I've purposefully been leaving the black crow forms smoother than the heavily textured bushes... my attempt will result in a kind of optical illusion were the crows will look darker and out of context from their surroundings.  Kind of a comment on the story I'm telling, you know the in crowd picking on the supposed 'outsider'... whose the weird one?

Paint well...