Back in the Paint
I’ve been in a bit of a painting slump for many months (dare I say years?), but recently I’ve been inspired to finish off a few abstracts that I had begun quite a while back, These are all non-representational works using acrylic paints and media, on 30 by 30 cm (12×12″) canvas.
I am expecting/hoping to exhibit these works as part of a group show in September 2022.
The “2012-08” Series
In August of 2012 I started a small series of large canvases. This series of abstract paintings were all done on 91 by 121 cm (3 x 4 feet) canvasses. I used generous amounts of gel with the acrylic paints for think, juicy textures. The color palette was restricted to the primaries, plus black and white.
“2012-08-01” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
“2012-08-02” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
“2012-08-03” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
“2012-08-04” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
“2012-08-05” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
“2012-08-06” acrylic on canvas, 91 by 121 cm, 2012
Whales Atrium (a Painting Series)
One of my weirdest (and by weird I mean quirky and fun) painting series was the abstract group of paintings that I did in 2010 and which I called “Whales Atrium”*. In this series I played around with various acrylic media and additive in a very exploratory and undirected way. Other than the lack of any direction other than to experiment, the common element to the 12 paintings in this series is the size – all works are on 30 by 30 cm (12 inch) hardboard panels.
“Eggman”
“English Garden”
“Ga Joob”
“I am He”
“If the Sun Don’t Shine”
“I’m Crying”
“Penguin Singing”
“See How They Fly”
“See How They Run”
“Sitting on a Cornflake”
“Smile Like Pigs”
“The Joker Laughs”
Don’t try to read too much into the titles of these works, they were largely an afterthought.
* I am still waiting for someone to “get” the significance of this series title. Let me know if you think you do.
Twitter Art Exhibit 2016
I am participating again in the Twitter Art Exhibit. I mailed my postcard-sized painting today. It should comfortably get to New York by the March 11 deadline.
Here’s an image of my piece, entitled “Restless”:
This, the sixth, Twitter Art Exhibit runs March 31 to April 21 (2016) at the Trygve Lie Gallery in New York City.
Like all of the preceding Twitter art exhibitions, the works are donated by artists from around the world and sold, with proceeds going to charity. There is no theme for the exhibit (the only thread connecting the exhibit is that all of the artists are on Twitter), so the range of works is mind boggling. To get a feel for the diversity, look inside the book featuring the works from the 2014 Twitter Art Exhibit that was held in Orlando.
The first Twitter Art Exhibit was held in 2010 in Moss, Norway, the hometown of founder David Sandum (@DavidSandumArt), after he called upon his many international artist friends on Twitter. The rest as they say is history.
My Twitter handle is: @RandallTT
Artistic Retreat
For the second year, the first week of July has been an opportunity to escape the city and normal responsibilities for the serenity of the countryside and the inspiration of being around like-minded artists.
My makeshift outdoor studio
A group of 12 painters gathered at the Lazy M Lodge in rural central Alberta for five days of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Alberta countryside near the Lazy M
The North Raven River beside the Lazy M
My main goal for the week was to focus on painting but I knew my eye would be drawn to many more sights than I could attempt to paint. Therefore my camera would be close at hand and be put to good use capturing references for current and future landscape paintings as well as for some things that are just more suited to photographic images than paint.
My goals for the week were pretty loose but I did want to focus on landscape painting and I did want to work larger and looser with acrylic than I had done the previous year. So I did away with the backpack and pochade box and working on by 9 by 12 inch boards. This year I wouldn’t be packing my gear – I brought some medium size (22 by 28 inch; 56 by 71 cm) stretched canvases, a portable easel and a (5 foot long) folding table. I pre-mixed my acrylic paints half-and-half with a heavy gel to help hold the texture and to extend the working time. I also would use a couple of stay-wet, sealable palettes for color mixing. I used a split-primary color palette and would do mos of my painting thick and with a palette knife)
Paint for the week
Lazy M Driveway
Of course, my eye was looking not only for landscapes that I could paint quasi-en-plein-air but also for inspirations for future studio abstract paintings. I re-visisted my long-exposure with camera-motion technique to generate some of these ideas:
Green Between Pink
A project that the group of 12 painters undertook during the week was to produce this composite canvas (4 feet square) to be left at the Lazy M Lodge:
Lazy M Group Project
It wasn’t a highly productive week in terms of completed canvases. In fact I completed only 2 (and one is not a keeper). I got a good start on another couple of canvases forming a landscape diptych. Nonetheless, it was a very beneficial week – the rest and rejuvenation benefits can not be understated.
For more photos visit my Lazy M 2014 Flickr album.
A Series Experience – Color in the Landscape (part 1)
Last week (2011 July 11-15) I attended an inspiring painting course: “Color in the Landscape”. The course was one of eleven courses running in the Series program that week. Series is a long-running summer visual arts program put on by Red Deer College in the City of Red Deer [map]. Each July for the college offers a selection of week-long learning experiences in the visual arts. There are courses in every imaginable visual arts media from painting and drawing to sculpture, glass blowing, photography and jewelry-making. I have taken advantage of these programs many times over the last twenty years. It is always wonderful to get away from home and immerse oneself in art making (and learning of course). In conjunction with the courses, students have the option to book accomodations in the on-campus townhouse residences, which really helps to avoid distractions and to keep the focus on the art.
Typical color in the landscape around Red Deer as seen on the drive there
Red Deer College Residences
My week started with the 2 hour drive down from Edmonton, late on a Sunday afternoon. After a quick and efficient check-in at the residence office I had my keys and was unloading my stuff into my room. The courses start Monday morning at 0900 so after finding our classroom/studio I moved in with my boxes of painting and sketching supplies, canvases, etc. The instructor for our course was David More, an excellent landscape painter whose style I have admired for a long time. He was taught courses in the series program for many years and I consider myself fortunate this year to finally get into one of his popular courses.
After introductions, and a slide show/discussion we were off to do some painting for the day, out in the countryside in and around Red Deer. This would be our daily schedule for the week – meet in the class, critique the previous day’s work, discuss some aspect of color theory, get a map for the days destination and then by mid-morning be on our way.
Student painting en plein air
The first day we went to an urban park in Red Deer, Bower Ponds [map]. While most of my classmates, promptly set up their easels and got to work painting, I chose to wander about the park with my camera(s) looking for interesting view points and capturing some reference photos for future use.
My sketch bag, book and markers
I chose not to bring along a french easel or pochade box on this course. One of my goals was to see what I could accomplish for field sketches with a much lighter and more portable set-up. In particular I was interested in using pens, watercolor sticks and oil pastels. On this first day, after doing a lot of walking around the park I eventually did four ink drawings in my small sketchbook and then captured the values and local colors using grey and Pitt colored brush markers.
Path sketch
This Path sketch would be the inspiration for an acrylic painting done in the studio later in the week.
Bower Pond Bridge sketch
Monday evening featured a welcome dinner put on for the Series particpants which was an opportunity to get to know a few students in other classes taking place that week. Following dinner I wandered around campus with my camera taking some photos of the dramatic skies as a prairie thunderstorm rolled into the area.
Storm Cloud Approaching Red Deer College
Disconnected
Here is an non-representational painting I completed in January 2010:
- Disconnected, acrylic on hardboard, 71 by 61 cm (28″ x 24″)
I created this on a black-gessoed hardboard panel. It involved the application of numerous layers of acrylic paints applied with a palette knife. I also used a squeegee to apply and spread the paint. To give a rough texture and hazy effect I added fine sand to clear gel and spread it over sections.
Randall Talbot - Artist 