Landscapes

Painting a Symphony?

/ lipkingallery / Leave a comment

Sometimes, I think making  a painting is a bit like conducting a symphony orchestra. You say to yourself – maybe a touch of orange over here. Then let’s bring up the violins a bit. Tympani, but subtle, soft. You don’t want to drown out the melody, just pull it up a little.  A tiny bit of yellow, but not too bright. The brightness goes just here, in this spot.

Reminds me of that Sondheim song from Sunday in the Park With George –

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a part
Having just a vision’s no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together
That’s what counts

I took a lot of time with this one – just like Stephen said. A wide flat brush, lots of medium, dab here, sweep across there. And here it is – Alpine Symphony. Let me know what you think.

Alpine Symphony, Acrylic, 20 x 20

Winter

/ lipkingallery

Winter is not my favorite season. The cold, the early dark–make me want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed until Spring. But that way lies madness–right? So get up and paint, I tell myself. Remember the warmth and color of the sun. It’s still out there, even though it’s doing its best to hide from us right now. So I reminded myself of the Caribbean–the lush islands, the beach, the sea. And I got out my paints, squeezed out a pile of yellow, grabbed a brush, and started smearing paint on a couple of canvases. And guess what? Today, after a couple of weeks of intense cold, the sun did come out and the earth warmed up a bit. So I guess my ploy worked, for today, at least.

First, I did a little vignette.

Sand and Sea, acrylic, 12 x 12

Next, encouraged, I branched out into something a bit more substantial, focusing on the light, the sun filling the sky. So that’s how this landscape came by its name.

Light, acrylic, 16 x 20