Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Retreat Update

On Friday morning the painting began, and three separate canvases were worked on. However on Saturday, I was forced to give in to the sickness that had been oncoming for the last two days. I regrettably had to leave the studio Saturday morning as I was ruining my current painting due to my departing energy.


I can show you the start of one of the paintings from Friday evening. This painting had been in the plan ever since it looked like I'd have the weekend alone. It was a painting that I'd promised my husband for our anniversary, but never got around to starting. It is a 16x20 oil wash on linen - unfinished as you will see. And, of course, there is a story behind the painting.





While I was in grad school, I pulled an all-nighter with my roommates during finals. Two of us were art students and the other was music. We spent all night painting and writing papers. I had 3 paintings to complete in one evening - my own fault, I'm sure.



Well, I did it, and to my surprise they ended up being 3 of my best and strongest paintings. One of them was purchased by the college. And my husband has commented since then that it was one of his favorites and how he wish I hadn't sold it. So I am attempting to recreate this painting in style and subject matter. The style is a sienna wash of a subject matter that is lit only by a candle. I thought that I would have to add at least a little artificial lighting, but I can see it very well. Here is the setup.




Any light you see that is not coming from the candle is only from one small lamp set up so that I can see my canvas.

I am still on the mend and hope to be painting again on Friday. Thank you for your patience, and I apologize for the wait.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, it's so great to see how well you have stayed on track as a painter. Your work is beautiful. Ben must really be proud.

Do you do daily paintings? What do you think of the whole daily painting movement?

Rebecca Finch said...

I'm not a real "daily painter". Mostly because I can't paint everyday with my job. I like the daily paintings. It keeps people coming to your site everyday and is good for that marketing side of it. But I don't think I would ever strive for only daily paintings.

I think it's really great to have your work in all sizes for everyone who wants to be able to afford your work. But if I got into that, it would not be my sole output.

Also, gallery representation is still very important, I wouldn't rely solely on my blog and small paintings. It certainly works for some artists, though.

Rebecca Finch said...

It's great to be in contact with you, again. I always wonder what my buds are up to.