Hope all of you that read my ramblings have checked out
Terry Miura's blog. I sent him this farm truck sinking into the ground in response to a farm truck he painted sinking into the ground that he posted on his blog. He then suggested that we both do a painting interpretation from said photo and compare the results. I got to determine the size and target date for the finished. His painting will be in oil and mine in acrylic. I have also distributed said photo to my college drawing class after a lecture about the phenomenon of derelict farm trucks slowly sinking into the ground after many seasons out in the open weather. They are doing their interpretations in charcoal on newsprint. Naturally, since I teach two classes of art per semester, I'm having my watercolor class do an interpretation in h2o. By secret ballot, both classes will pick a winner that will, sometime in December, be posted on this blog with Terry and my paintings. Should be FUN!
OK...so here's the "I'll be damned!" part. The preliminary oil wash you see here is Terry's "start" ( his working title is "Lobentruck" and it's the 2nd photo). That's "start" and not "finished" painting. My reaction when I saw this start posted on his blog today not only was "I'll be damned" but "Am I too easily please?" I should have replaced "pleased" with "impressed" because impressive it is. At least I think so. Howbout you all, dear readers? The 1st photo with the over all red is mine painted on cradle board.
Hope all of you that read my ramblings have checked out Terry Miura's blog. I sent him this farm truck sinking into the ground in response to a farm truck he painted sinking into the ground that he posted on his blog. He then suggested that we both do a painting interpretation from said photo and compare the results. I got to determine the size and target date for the finished. His painting will be in oil and mine in acrylic. I have also distributed said photo to my college drawing class after a lecture about the phenomenon of derelict farm trucks slowly sinking into the ground after many seasons out in the open weather. They are doing their interpretations in charcoal on newsprint. Naturally, since I teach two classes of art per semester, I'm having my watercolor class do an interpretation in h2o. By secret ballot, both classes will pick a winner that will, sometime in December, be posted on this blog with Terry and my paintings. Should be FUN!
OK...so here's the "I'll be damned!" part. The preliminary oil wash you see here is Terry's "start" ( his working title is "Lobentruck" and it's the 2nd photo). That's "start" and not "finished" painting. My reaction when I saw this start posted on his blog today not only was "I'll be damned" but "Am I too easily please?" I should have replaced "pleased" with "impressed" because impressive it is. At least I think so. Howbout you all, dear readers? The 1st photo with the over all red is mine painted on cradle board.
14 comments:
Less is more. He should sign it and move on! I thought this was a watercolor! I used to do tonal under paintings in gouache when I worked in oils. Half the time I just varnished them and sold them that way.
I was sure it was yours, and thought it had wonderful looseness to it, greatly captured in watercolor... So, I share your "damn!" reaction.
I do hope you are not assuming the position of the cool dude I painted in my very recent post... hey - we haven't seen yours yet.
Damn, What a stunner.. I agree no need to go further...although I would be curious to see what he would apply and/or leave out.
He should sign it! Miland Mulick ( a fantastic painter in India) remarked on terry's blog that it looks like an Andre Wyeth, and it does.
I have very, very, very little hair on the top of my head, so I ain't gonna assume the position of your cool dude.
Theresa: You and me both! I can't wait to see his next move.
I love this dueling trucks post!
About yours: the way you start with that bright under wash is da bomb!
I'm always doing the " I coulda had a V8" smack to the head when I see how you start.
And Terry's. Wow! Whatever funk he may have been in is now declared over over over.
It could stop right where it is and be done.
Great post- this one. Really enjoyed the mutual challenge.
Hi David,
...a remarkable divergence of approaches united by a single subject (the horiz. v vert. formats for one).
Terry's composition in the landscape format (apt to a sense of calm, equanimity) is here nonetheless animated by those strong lines of linear perspective that sweep from the left to the R-middle horizon— it makes the 'bogged truck' look like it's in a kind of 'blur of motion' coming in the opposite direction (from right towards left foreground). The 'wet-in-wet' blurred underpainting adds to this sense of 'continuum' (like portamento in music). I agree with Myrna you and others who feel that he could sign it at this stage!
Your approach, David, is so remarkably different. The vertical format is immediately strong, punctuated, like a chord in music that falls on a precise beat. The colour 'ground' is very clever, and I actually looked at this work last night and realise just how clever it really is: it seems (to me at least) to 'hover', in a chromatic and value sense, neither advancing toward nor receding from the viewer. Now that's subtle and it's hard! So it immediately establishes a sense of balance not only across the plane of the picture but also in the 3-D space that engages the viewer: the connecting lines between the viewer's eyes and the picture plane. Also critical to the feeling of 'suspension' and 'floating' is (IMO) the transparency of the colour and value. I will correct myself in calling this a colour "ground" (see above) and rather call it a colour "air"!
A fascinating and thought provoking post,
cheers,W
You asked the wrong person here David. I'm a sucker for the red -- colour, composition.
Like it. Terry's sketch is great too.
Barbara
Wayne: Damn you are good with your comments! Very well articulated, and I love the use of musical terms. Isn't it fun that I went close and vertical (maybe I wanna hug that truck!) and Terry went horizontal...he really knows how to reel in a great composition! His piece will most likely be confined to a few colors while mine will be broader in color. Milind Mulick wants to do a similiar exercise (he calls it a "dual", but I'm not so sure that I like that word choice). Would you be interested in joining us say for the months of Jan. and Feb.?
Boy are you right, Barbara!...you are a sucker for red, and you use it so well!
OK David, you've done it again. The black and white truck image you passed out in class (Davis campus) two weeks ago was roughly square with the truck slightly above center. It was, not surprisingly, about the truck. The color image posted above is twice as tall as it is wide. The truck is entirely above the center. The image is about mud, with incidental truck. Make up your mind. Since I have to leave early this week I am going to pick one and paint it.
Fancy meeting Wayne here - lucky you, David, he's the baddest there is. And yeah, that second one is killin'!
Nick: Yeah, he does some great stuff, and I love to read his comments.
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