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| Rooftop Scene Oil on Canvas, 2015, 23 1/2" by 34 1/2" (unstretched) |
Eons ago, in Post #19, I
wrote about the six weeks I spent in my daughter’s spare bedroom recovering
from a broken ankle. With nothing to distract me, I made “lemonade” out of the
down time by drawing the view from her large window on the 11th
floor overlooking West End Avenue. For the first time in my life, I was able to
fully concentrate, go “into the zone” (Post #71: Flow and More Flow). I
spent at least six hours a day drawing and redrawing the same buildings, getting
“better” all the time. I felt like Monet or the Italian artist, Giorgio
Morandi, who did endless, exquisite images of rows of bottles.
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| Rooftop Scene Charcoal on Toned Canvas, 2015 24"x36" |
But then I recovered, came
home and went back to my usual large, satirical paintings, “Weimar in
Stamford.” The West End Avenue rooftop drawings lay untouched in a portfolio
for several years. A couple of months ago, however, after completing a series
of eight canvases (6’x4’) that cover the walls of an entire room, I found
myself depleted. Since I needed some downtime, I decided to go back to a
‘dropped thread,’ the scenes from my daughter’s window, to turn the sketches
into actual paintings.
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| Untitled Oil on Canvas, 2015 - 40"x36" (unstretched) |
Architectural renderings are
not my thing - I barely passed Drafting in college. I needed to concentrate
on the expressive quality of the views, rather than how they actually looked. I
found some pieces of canvas in the closet, much smaller than what I usually
use, toned them with a sepia wash and proceeded to place charcoal versions of
my drawings on them. The first few were pretty realistic, like the originals,
but then, the paintings began to take on a life of their own. Size
relationships no longer mattered; perspective came out of my head, not a
formula. Color? Not much. By the time I got to the fifth and sixth paintings, the
work became even more surreal; in fact, when I started them, I had no
idea what I was going to do. These were dream states, not photographs.
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| Rooftop Scene, Oil on Canvas 2015 |
I love your rooftop paintings and think they are as good as your over endowed women and lecherous men. It does not matter what you write I just like your style because you write like you speak and that is a gift. So just keep on writing about what ever!
ReplyDeleteYour rooftop paintings are great Renee! and I love your writing as well. Carry on!
ReplyDeleteAs far as your text is concerned,Definitely maintain your own style...it's wonderful.
ReplyDeletePersonal comments,on past experiences,are what make your blogs unique.
I recently heard a lecture about "The Hermitage Museum" in St.Petersburg.. ..It was fascinating ! Due mainly to the speaker's personal experiences. He was a cultural consultant & worked there for many years. Also, his delivery style was as if he was having a personal conversation with a few friends, rather than talking to a room full of 120 people.
Conclusion: It's not just the grasp of the subject, but the personal & often intimate details, that make for a successful dialogue.+ good visual images help.....DGP
Your love life!
ReplyDelete