Blue Bolts, egg tempera on calfskin parchment, 4 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches.After working on my last painting, which was a disappointment, it was a pleasure to turn to this blue painting. I like the bulging planes over flat ones, broken by dark lines, the mysterious dark at upper left sheltering curving cylinders. It was not without its difficulties however, primarily owing to the blue pigments being transparent. I used Ultramarine blue, Cobalt blue and Manganese blue cerulean, none of them opaque. In order to achieve a moderately even surface in the light areas, I had to paint many many layers of color. The resulting surface has some texture to it, but I hope it's not distracting. In the dark areas, transparency is a plus because I can glaze thin layers of color easily to get a depth of shadow that retains some light.
Looking at this painting makes me think about the emotional resonance of color. Most of my paintings have a dominant color. How are our responses to a painting tied to the color of the work? are we able to go past the "I love yellow, therefore...; I dislike red, therefore..." judgment?
I think Spring sort of whips us into shape regarding color prejudices.
ReplyDeleteNatures has so many colors to offer including "neck ache" pink.
This is a brave color statement. Blue is bolting off the canvas.
myrna
I like blue. It didn't used to be a color I liked I think becasue I had to wear a blue uniform for years. Poor blue got the brunt of my resentment. This I like a lot. I think the shadow brings it alive.
ReplyDeletethanks, Myrna. I didn't think of the color statement as brave, simply as what was there. (I like your pun.)
ReplyDeleteLisa, it's too bad that a uniform had turned you against a color, but certainly understandable. I'm glad you like the shadow. I found it interesting that it curved alongside the mostly straight lines of the composition.
it would be nice to see this one along side some others - the size somehow implies conjunction with others - not necessarily your own others but other others... this strong bolt out of the blue (!)
ReplyDeleterappel, I'd be very curious to see how this, or other of my tiny paintings, would look in a group show. Would they hold their place or be overwhelmed?
ReplyDeleteThis painting seems to encourage puns. Fun.
What a glorious blue you have given our eyes...so rich and with such depth. Inviting and alive. Lovely painting.
ReplyDeleteI think all the work of layering the transparent colors was well worth it! This is one I could stare at forever, getting lost in transcendent blues. I find few colors to dislike, and I work at that -- to make sure I'm not hating pink because my older sister did when she was 12 and I was 7. For sure, there are some I don't want to look at in quantities -- band-aid pinky-tan, olive drab, a mucky ochre -- but they can all look good in the right company, or on the right surface.
ReplyDeleteSusan, now you've made me want to make a work with pinky tan, olive drab and mucky ochre. Maybe not a painting, but a textile, as a challenge.
ReplyDeleteIt can certainly be done -- I've put bits of all those into quilts, and I've seen them look great in Tiffany-era stained glass. I would love to see what you do with them! After considering my sister's too-powerful influence, I got over my pink-aversion, but I never made a quilt with much pink in it.
ReplyDeleteAltoon, the blues in your painting are wonderful, and thanks for listing out the pigments you chose.
ReplyDeleteI've had the worst problems with manganese blue powder pigment (mixing, unanticipated color shifts on a painting, etc.), and after this I gave up on it. Is there a brand of manganese you recommend, as it is such a lovely color?
thanks, Mona.
ReplyDeleteAs for pigments, I get all of mine from Kremer Pigments and have never had the trouble you mention.