Small changes, big impact

 

It's interesting how just a few changes can have a major impact on a painting.  After painting the first turtle, which was portrait style piece, by that I mean just the turtle, I decided I wanted to put the turtle in a landscape, after all I love to paint landscapes.  So I had the idea that the turtle would be searching for the right beach to lay eggs, which happens at night, I think.  But now, the painting looks more like an illustration (not that there's anything wrong with that) for a children's book than a painting. Maybe just too............. cute.  But not sure how to change it or if I want to.   Here's the first turtle pic for comparison.

 

SOLD

This is not as good a photo as the one above,  it is washed out and not as sharp for some reason.

What's in a name?

 

Sometimes it seems harder to title a painting than to paint one, and titles are important.  They give you a second chance to make a connection with the viewer.  The first with the image, the second with the title.  But I am clueless on this one.  But it will come to me in time.

 

 

 

But one thing I want to share about this painting is that is started out as a Robert Burridge style drip painting.  He usually demonstrates "drip trees", but I turned it into sailboats.  For those of you not familiar with the technique,  you put a band of very loose paint across the top of the canvas, you turn the canvas upside down and let the drips run down the canvas.  Then you let the drips become the tree trunks and do some negative shape painting at the top to define the tree shapes, then paint on until all your areas are resolved.    I did the same thing but I flipped the canvas so that the drips became the sailboat masts.   Now, back to the title dilemma, something about dawn? something about a fleet?  Maybe "White Sails in the Sunrise", too corny?  Oh well, I have to get to work, everyone have a great day.

I needed a little "me time"

I spent most of the summer in a serious study of painting fundamentals, (most of the results were not blog-worthy) and most of the fall making pottery for Margaritaville,  so Sunday I grabbed a few quiet hours in my painting studio and busted out a turtle.  I don't think I ever painted one before but it was fun and maybe a little self-indulgent.  My goal was to stay loose but not forget the fundamentals, (or rules or best practices, whatever you want to call them).

I call him Calypso, very Island-y and also the name of J. Cousteau's boat.  And I see the tutle as an explorer of the seas and this painting as an exploration of fast and loose.  He'd be perfect for a child's room or that white room that needs a pop of color.

Calypso SOLD
acrylic on canvas
20" x 24" 
unframed
$450