This is the beginning of a collection: examples of painted grass.
When I paint grass I usually start with large shapes first, light swathes of masses break the canvas into smaller segments. I use a rag sometimes to form the first shapes, then a bristle brush so the bristles scrape away the paint as much as they apply it, leaving hair-like light lines in the color. Upward strokes starting from the top (the farthest away) and working down the canvas helps the lower grasses cover the blunt feet of the brushstrokes higher up, and the overlap gives the illusion that the lower forms are closer. Masses, or swatches, vary slightly in color so I don’t end up with a wallpaper effect, and grass in the background is heavily mixed with the sky color so atmospheric perspective can help me get some air in there. The second layer has a bit more definition, here and there an upward stroke in dark (shadows), then color (bold), then light (highlights) on top. Foreground has the most contrast. Don’t do every blade. Let the viewer’s eye do the work. When it comes to detail like this, less is more.
Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavia-born performance artist based in New York. Her work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. I realize not everyone admires the work of Marina Abramovic. She’s been called an attention seeker, a bullshit producer, an egoist. Dr. Lisa Levy, …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10521″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I posted some paintings of feet recently. Here is something to cleanse the olfactory palette: Flowers in pots, by Odilon Redon – a French symbolist painter who lived from 1929–1983. Symbolist painters believed that art should reflect an emotion or idea rather than represent the natural world with realism or …
It’s time for me to introduce new experiments into my paintings. I’m taking a look back at surfaces, and how to alter the surface to have a different effect on my final painting. How can I get more finely tuned? How can I get more playful? How can I get more volume or color so my …
Today’s OBSERVATIONAL Challenge: Make a quick gesture drawing from observation without lifting your drawing utensil. Instead of moving around the outline, let your line wonder across the surface of the form. Think about how to translate 3 dimensional form to a flat piece of paper. Post your work To be eligible for prizes, (yes prizes!) …
Painting Grass
This is the beginning of a collection: examples of painted grass.
When I paint grass I usually start with large shapes first, light swathes of masses break the canvas into smaller segments. I use a rag sometimes to form the first shapes, then a bristle brush so the bristles scrape away the paint as much as they apply it, leaving hair-like light lines in the color. Upward strokes starting from the top (the farthest away) and working down the canvas helps the lower grasses cover the blunt feet of the brushstrokes higher up, and the overlap gives the illusion that the lower forms are closer. Masses, or swatches, vary slightly in color so I don’t end up with a wallpaper effect, and grass in the background is heavily mixed with the sky color so atmospheric perspective can help me get some air in there. The second layer has a bit more definition, here and there an upward stroke in dark (shadows), then color (bold), then light (highlights) on top. Foreground has the most contrast. Don’t do every blade. Let the viewer’s eye do the work. When it comes to detail like this, less is more.
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Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavia-born performance artist based in New York. Her work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. I realize not everyone admires the work of Marina Abramovic. She’s been called an attention seeker, a bullshit producer, an egoist. Dr. Lisa Levy, …
Flowers in a Pot, by Odilon Redon
[image_with_animation image_url=”10521″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I posted some paintings of feet recently. Here is something to cleanse the olfactory palette: Flowers in pots, by Odilon Redon – a French symbolist painter who lived from 1929–1983. Symbolist painters believed that art should reflect an emotion or idea rather than represent the natural world with realism or …
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It’s time for me to introduce new experiments into my paintings. I’m taking a look back at surfaces, and how to alter the surface to have a different effect on my final painting. How can I get more finely tuned? How can I get more playful? How can I get more volume or color so my …
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Today’s OBSERVATIONAL Challenge: Make a quick gesture drawing from observation without lifting your drawing utensil. Instead of moving around the outline, let your line wonder across the surface of the form. Think about how to translate 3 dimensional form to a flat piece of paper. Post your work To be eligible for prizes, (yes prizes!) …