Thursday, August 30, 2012

Just Another Rainy Day at the Studio!

Rain every day for the past several weeks with cloudy skies and hot humid temperatures. Not weather that you'd want to be outside painting in, so the studio has become a second home. Yesterday I cleaned, organized and set up the classroom for next week's painting class. Can't wait for everyone to arrive and jump into painting again!

A recent trip to the Atlanta zoo inspired me with the thickets of bamboo growing along the pathways. Walking thru the bamboo, you can lose sight of everyone and feel like you're in the jungle all alone. Here's three small paintings (12 x 12 oil on gallery wrap canvas) that came from that inspiration.


 
 
I had to take the images indoors without a lot of light because of the rain but I think you get the idea.
 
 I often am asked, 'how do you get inspired if you're not painting outdoors or from life?'. well...often I'll put on music, pick up an oil stick and just create a mass of lines, dabs, and shapes on the canvas. Here's today's outcome, taking an older painting that wasn't working, adding some background color, and then while Adele sang about Rumors Having It, creating a mass of color with strokes. Sort of like  aerobics for the imagination.
 
 
Can you see the music?
 
Until next time, keep the music loud and the canvas covered with paint!