January 16, 2015

A New Painting: "Upright"


Upright, egg tempera on calfskin parchment, 6 x 8 3/8 in.


I realize this is pretty ridiculous, but while I was painting Upright, I kept thinking of Steve Martin and his "A Wild and Crazy Guy"....because I felt a little that way. "Why?" you ask: it's the color. I changed the the color of the source photograph, which was a John Deere green, into a color that was inspired by a new pigment I bought last spring, Ultramarine Red. I felt alternately elated by the wackiness of the color and despairing of the ridiculousness of it. It was also one of those paintings that didn't make sense until the final form was painted and it all snapped into place. In retrospect it was fun, not so much while painting it. I think I like it, though the color still throws me off a bit. 


Upright, detail

9 comments:

  1. Altoon, I get what you mean about the color, but I love it. And I always like looking a the juxtaposition of slight shifts of hue in similar-value neighbors. I think it buzzes with some kind of energy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can understand your confuschian.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hah, hah....it's good I stayed away from purple prose.

      Delete
    2. Surprising you'd lilac that.

      Delete
  3. Well, purple is one of my favorite colors. So I adore this piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roberta. The funny thing is that I'm not so fond of purple myself; I used to steer my painting students away from it.

      Delete
  4. Altoon, I thanked you today on FB for your questions about "challenges," but for quite a while I've been wanting to say how much I admire your work. I saw your recent show at Mackenzie and loved it. (It led me to your blog, rather than the other way around.) I appreciate your range of approaches and the direct way you write about them. And I particularly like the color in the "Upright" above.--best, Leslie Roberts
    aka lesliejaneroberts at gmail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Leslie, I appreciate it very much.

      Delete