Saturday, April 20, 2013

'on my Easel' NEW PAINTING FEATURED









                                           'SUNRISE SUNSET'
Hey folks... new painting is featured on my first 'on my Easel' post.  For this post I will be writing about my painting 'Sunrise Sunset'. This painting is a triptych (meaning three separate panels).  The size is 33 x14 total.  Each separate panel is 11x14 each.


When I first began this painting, I was unsure about the direction I wanted to go in.  I knew I wanted to do a triptych, however I was in uncharted territory. I was using acrylic latex paint (known as interior room paint) and I was a little unsure about how it handled. I had a vision in my mind of the way I wanted these paintings to look but I was not sure how I was going to get there. I started by creating a starburst on the canvas with my three colors.  I was using buttery, creamy yellow, bright fire engine red and textured sage green paint.  The green paint had texture because the glitter that was in it had disintegrated into something like a sand or gritty feel. The green paint was really cool and interestingly textured so I knew it would make the painting look different than I was used to working with.

I started with a canvas and I painted a starburst pattern with the yellow paint and then I went over it with the red which created somewhat of an peachy pinky color. You can see some of the starburst pattern on the outside edges of the canvases and underneath the top layers. I used a brush to swish the paint around because it was runny and was flowing quickly on the canvas.  After I finished the starburst pattern, I decided to take the leap and began to pour the paint onto the canvas because I couldn't wait any longer to get to a place that I felt comfortable with.  I have only poured my paint a couple of times however, I felt that it was a safe way to go. I poured the green textured paint onto the canvas first and around the edges of the canvas, then the red colored paint and the yellow color.  I let the red and yellow colors drip down as I started to see what I wanted to happen with the colors.  I began to turn the canvas every so often to control the flow of the paint.  The trick was knowing when and how to turn the canvas. This was key. It took some time and I patiently waited for the colors to run and integrate with each other.  I then took my palette knife and stroked the paint as I moved it into a different direction as it flowed.  Again, I turned the canvas.  There was a lot of paint on the canvas at this point so I had to balance it out all over the canvas so it would not be too thick.  I moved the paint around some more and I turned it again.  Whenever it dripped too much, I'd turn it so it would go the other way. This enabled me to create these beautiful patterns on the canvases.

To finish up with this painting I used a palette knife to create more texture by mixing the colors together around the canvases.  The tricky part again was creating three canvases that would look good together as well as good on their own. I scraped, scratched and then just turned them every which way until I felt they looked the way I had seen them in my mind.  I painted the sides yellow and put my signature on the side of the third panel.  Then it was finished!

Ooops... I fibbed a little about how I created this painting.  Although this is section is called 'on my EASEL', I did not create this painting solely on my easel.  I created it a little on my easel and a little on a table and a little on the floor.  Please forgive me!

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please visit my etsy shop here

Friday, April 19, 2013

 New etsy shop is opened. Seriously, it's finally opened!

new etsy painting shop banner 
Holy cow. I wanted to let everyone know that I have opened my new painting and illustration shop on etsy.  Yeah!!!  Above is my new shop banner.  I love it!  So far I have just listed a few smaller works, but stay tuned.  I will be listing lots of paintings for sale that will be 16x20's and 24 x 30's.  Yowza! that's big, 24x30's.  But for now, I will be listing small little gems that are inexpensive and don't require special shipping.  So, take a peek over at my shop on etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LorenFidalgoArt  and have a look at my new works.   Don't forget to check back in to read my 'on my Easel' where I will talk about the play by play'  (no pun intended or maybe it was...) process I go through when painting a painting.  I may be discussing the process of a painting that you are interested in purchasing, so take a peek in on 'on my Easel' to learn about your painting..

   Hey, I'm on Facebook now,too. Come by and discuss.  

new Facebook cover
Now here is some really big news. Facebook!  Yeah that's right.  I opened a Facebook site for my artwork. Yippee!!! I'm singing and dancing!   You can get there here .   I am so new to this social media platform and I hope I get the hang of it soon.  It does seem overwhelming with all the information every where.  I think I might need some assistance for this project?  If you have any suggestions or would want to leave a comment or post something that interests you or something that is on your mind, please do.  Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Loren

    

Sunday, April 14, 2013

'ON MY EASEL' HOW I CREATE MY ART








Hey, folks.  I'm starting a new section on my blog called 'on my EASEL'.  This will feature new work that I will be creating, as well as recent abstract work from 2012 and some earlier works that I have yet to feature on my blog. I thought to create this section to share with you the whys, the whats and the hows about my process of painting. The hows and whys about  coming up with the ideas, colors, forms and the how I approach a painting from technique to thought process.  

I think an artist's thought process is so important to get to know the artist's inner soul.  It helps you to get to know how the artists thinks and feels.  I thought I would like to start this section to give you a 'play by play' of the world that I go into when I am creating.  I will talk about what I am inspired by.  It could be colors, shapes, memories of certain experiences, patterns and emotions/feelings. conversations with other people, reading, looking out my windows at nature and so on...  For me, when I am approaching a conceptual piece it always starts with a feeling or idea in my mind.  When painting abstract, it starts with some things more ambiguos like colors, shapes and patterns that I am imagining in my head.  Some days are  feeling like a yellow day and some days a crimson day and so on.... Some times I see a beautiful color and need to paint it out to see how it feels. Some times circles or squares keep nagging at me until I put the paint on the canvas. I never know what will capture my attention and be in the fore front of my mind when I am painting or creating anything so follow along with me as I try to explain my unexplainable process of creating art.

Check back to see what's 'on my EASEL'.  I hope to see you here again!

Cheers, Loren