A Couple More Small Pieces

Orphee

Untitled Arabesque (Me)

Just for fun.

Maroon

This year I have rediscovered some Napthamide Maroon that I had on my paint table, a delightful color that makes gorgeous washes and is strong and bold in masstone also.  I fell in love. 

Unfortunately, my jar of paint was pretty old and the acrylic had kinda tarred up and it was difficult to get it in paintable condition, despite adding flow agent, water, and medium and mooshing it all about with my palette knife.

So I decided to buy some more . . .

EXCEPT I couldn't find it anywhere.  On the web, I looked at Blick Art supplies and Amazon and did a general search.  I called local stores, Dakota Arts, Tri-Dee, Michaels.  I even double-checked the pronunciation of "Napthamide."  Nobody had any. 

I kept searching the web and found the answer: 

it hasn't been made since 1997
when the single supplier went out of business!!! 

My poor, poor, old paint!!

My Maroon was a single-pigment color but I found advice on a mixture that was supposed to approximate the color:

"11 parts Quinacridone Violet
12 parts Quinacridone Burnt Orange
2.0 parts Dioxazine Purple

This makes a great replacement for the undertone and washes. Reduce the Quinacridone Burnt. Orange to 11 parts and add 0.7 parts Carbon Black to create the masstone."

OK........

Lately, I found a "permanent maroon," also a mixture of pigments, that is somewhat similar.

But it's just not the same,
you know?

Paintings

D. in Wig

Fish World Gnosis #6

Fish World Gnosis #7

Can't quite get these finished, for some reason . . . time to keep moving . . .

Palette

My favorite colors at the moment: Pthalamide Maroon, Indian Yellow, Quinacridone Violet, Quinacridone Red-Orange, Lime Green, Turquoise, Cobalt Blue, Pyrrole Orange. And of course Hansa Yellow.

Charles Begins the Painting Season

Chaz:  "I am pooped painting is a lot of physical work."

Fish World 5

Fish World 5

Studio in Springtime

Studio in situ

Fish World 4 (sans fish)

Just about finished with Fish World 4.  Ah, Springtime!

Green

Fish World 2 (sans fish)

Fish World 3 (sans fish)

The color green is proving a challenge this year. In the past I have been uninterested in it, and largely ignored it in favor of yellows, reds, blues (which are stiill my favorites.)  But this year it wants to break out, it seems, or rather . . . break me down. It is always too blue, or too yellow, or too brown, or too bright.  I spent weeks on the green in "Fish World (Glory)" that I have on exhibit at the Edison Eye, painting over it again and again.    (Tim says the human eye can perceive more variations of green than any other color.  Damn!) 

I try mixing from scratch, using ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, yellow ochre, Hansa yellow (medium and light), cadmium yellow medium, transparent yellow oxide . . .or I try toning standard shades of green: green gold, emerald green, phthalo green (yellow and blue), Hooker's green,Jenkin's green, permanent green (dark and light), veridian, chromium oxide, even -- if I get desperate -- teal, turquoises, cobalts.

But nothing works.

I turn the studio lights on, turn them off, place a light directly over the painting, and even take the painting outside into natural spring light. 

Nothing works.

I glaze with yellow and red oxide . . .

Variations of green now comprise over half of my total inventory of paint.  And I still don't like the color.

Fish Show

John with "Fish World (Glory)"

The Bro's, Spencer and Eliot with fish on shoulders

Panorama of the smaller gallery room, Fish show

Last night, the Edison Eye hosted its last ever art show, a benefit for Skagit Valley Fisheries.  I have been exhibiting with this seasonal gallery for over 20 years!  Spencer came up and attended with Julia and I.  Eliot, Kyra and Charlotte dropped by and checked things out, listened to the music.  "Bye-bye, Edison Eye . . ."

Edison Eye Opening Group Show: Dance

Nice opening last Saturday night, complete with some dancers! My
painting, large one at center: "I don't dance but if I did I would do
it like this."

July 9th, 2014: Charles is in the studio

Chaz is Painting!

"Three Bees After Monet"
((The Artist in his studio . . .))

Uli Day writes on her blog: Solistice dawn

Uli Day: Solistice dawn: Raucous bird song rose up as the gold, orange, raspberry waves of colors streamed from the eastern horizon, squeezed under the lid of clouds...

Studio

Charlotte's New Quilt Handmade by Auntie Lynne

Sun

A sunny, hot day at last!  And what do I do?  Weed the flowerbed, clean the gutters and hose them out, mow the lawn . . . then get a bit of painting in.  85% done with my second painting of the year:  "Family (The String Theory of)."  Oh, and doesn't my studio just look fabulous? 

85% Done

I am almost done with my first painting of the year 2014: "Tango/Tangle
(It's Complicated)". Feels good.

Cross-Posting from Lynne's blog

Inspired by the birth of Charlotte Elana and divine Bhakti poetry.

http://uliday.blogspot.com/

Chaz in Part 1 of his "Picasso and the Nazi's"

Charles's Cabin at The Lake

Charles and Melanie have been vacationing at their cabin on Cain's Lake, only 5 miles from here.  Here are some shots of their cabin and a final shot of Charles in his little studio there.