Just a rushed note as we head off for more tests. You all know I love to work with geometric shapes and color. I had never used an ATC for one of these pieces. I like to have ATC’s to send to my family with their Christmas cards. Here is my first ATC sized Geometry painting. Simple and small.
Geometry 1 - ATC
When I posted my “Sentinel” pieces Leslie asked me if I had anymore good stuff tucked away. I have talked so much about my interest in geometry this year that I thought I would show Geometry #1. This painting was done in 2008 and was my original attempt to incorporate geometry into my art. You can see the curves and lines, circles and trapezoids. I donated this painting to our local PBS station for their silent auction and received a wonderful note from the person that bought it. It now hangs in her office at the home of Indiana Historic Preservation. When I look at it I think of spinning planets or an overflowing treasure chest full of gold and colorful jewels.
Geometry #1 , 12" X 16" on Illustration Board
I made a commitment to myself…I promised that I would get busy on my next Geometry painting and not allow the pesky triangle to defeat me! Starting on Thursday I made dozens of little idea sketches and then took a couple to a more complete level. No go! Yesterday I sat down with renewed determination and idea led to idea. I finally came up with a design I like. The top sketch is a detailed planning sketch and the second sketch is to size and I will use it with colored pencil to establish the color scheme and think through final tweaks (clean up those chevrons!) before I draw it on my watercolor paper. I am working on an 8″ X 10″ size for this painting.
Triangle Sketches
On November 11th I posted a discussion of my Geometry paintings. Keith followed up with a question about how I developed the design so I looked through some of my sketchbooks to see what I could find to do a show-and-tell. First of all it begins when I decide which shape – circle, square or triangle – I want to work with. Then I begin to doodle and sketch ideas.
Working sketches for a Triangle based painting
I usually sit watching TV and doodle as I watch. You can see how really terrible some of the ideas for the triangle were but I don’t censor myself. I even tried combining a triangle with other shapes. I just keep working at this process until I find something that seems close to what I want. I then do a more refined drawing – still small and not ruler perfect but close to the real thing.
Working sketches for Circle and Triangle paintings
This page from my sketchbook actually shows two things. First it includes my to scale planning drawing for my circle painting. It is colored with colored pencils so I can work out the best color plan and you can see two prismatic color approaches below the completed drawing. It also shows my “getting close to being final” design for the triangle painting. I have started to think about a larger set of paintings but I still need to do an 8″ X 10″ triangle to complete my set of 8X10’s. Better get to it!
Another page from my book of stories:
Geometry
I must admit that I am clearly a left brainer. I am rational and organized and love precision and logic. My undergraduate degree was from Purdue University in Mathematics. Math has been a pleasure for me since I was a little girl. I still remember the joy of unlocking the keys to trigonometry. But I also recognize my natural limitations. I work to free my right brain so I can be spontaneous, creative and experimental. I have had some success by striving to combine both my love of art and mathematics. For four years I have been working on a series of paintings devoted to geometry. I love the power of basic geometric shapes and tried for about 18 months to find a way to combine the beauty of geometric shapes with prismatic color. A year ago I made a breakthrough and have created five small paintings that have achieved my vision.
Geometry #4 - First in the new geometric Series
To develop these paintings I would choose a shape and work out a strong design in my sketchbook. My focus was on the design and the way the shapes interlock to create variety, interest and a clean simplicity.
Geometry #5
After finalizing my rough drawing. I used a ruler and protractor to make a scale drawing . This allowed me to work out any final design changes. I finished my “to scale” drawing by using colored pencils to determine the color scheme for the painting.
Geometry #6
The final design was then drawn on watercolor paper and painted with pure color using watercolor paint. The design for the triangle shape was by far the most difficult to develop. The circle and square lend themselves to beautiful, symmetrical design. The triangle is much more difficult to “balance”.
I will continue with this series that gives me so much joy. My next objective is to scale up even further – to do larger paintings. I hope the results are spectacular!
Jakob and Ian working on their Geometric Fantasy Paintings
Yesterday the grandsons and I worked on our second watercolor painting exercise. We did the same type of activity as the day before EXCEPT we developed a plan after we painted our colorful underpaintings. I had them use my engineering templates to develop a drawing using geometric shapes. Then they had to number each shape based on the layer they we in. (You can see Ian’s drawing in the photo.) We did negative painting to pull out each layer of objects. We were actually pretty rushed for time since they had to go home yesterday so they learned all about using a hairdryer to dry your watercolors faster and the painting was a little sloppy. I was really happy with what they did! I like the “Cherry” look of Ian’s painting and the abstract expressionist quality of Jakobs. Great day! Fun exercise!
Ian's Geometric Fantasy
Jakob's Geometric Fantasy
Oh yes, we also talked about how “framing” can make a painting more attractive and how to link objects together. Fun but we covered a lot!
Grandma's Geometric Fantasy
Yesterday was my birthday – not one of the big milestone ones and as I get older they just blend into any other day. My grandsons visited and swimming was the major activity but we also talked about our next art project. They couldn’t quite “get it” so while they were in the pool I made this sample with watercolor markers.
Art Exercise 2
As you may have heard (ok MANY times) I love geometry so I had to incorporate a little of that and the feather is inspired by my friend Wric (visit his blog by clicking on 19 Planets in my Blogroll) who has been doing fun things with feathers. We decided this was a little too complicated for them so the next time they are out we are going to create a simpler version of the same thing. It was so much fun!
Horrible, busy week! Today I do my fifth tour of the week (at the art museum). Five tours and all different! I am also plugging away but not happy with my Iris painting. So now I will stop whining! So sorry…
I thought I would share another 2007 painting that shows how I incorporate my love of geometry. I did three paintings in this series. This particular one was one of the first paintings I ever sold. I still love this design concept (by the way, courtesy of Judy Betts) and am thinking about whether to use it again in combination with the florals I am currently fascinated by … ah, the wheels they are a’turnin’.
Apples & Circles #3
I hope to have something new to show Sunday or Monday. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend painting!
I spent the last two days mapping out the competition schedule for the balance of the year. It is time to register for the major competitions and I have to be careful about where I show my paintings since most of them forbid paintings that have already been in a juried show. Now that I have this planned I can begin working on framing those I know will need framing. The only year I competed actively was 2008. In 2009 I took time to study drawing, color theory and composition. I made that my focus and I feel like I have shown improvement…and have continued to improve through more frequent practice, drawing and painting this year (and thanks to all of you for your inspiration comments and support). Even with the ATC’s I make myself think about composition and color selection. I would be in heaven if I have a work accepted by the Hoosier Salon or Watercolor Society of Indiana for their annual juried show this year. Very difficult indeed…but if you never try…well you know how the saying goes.
Now just a comment on my poor little neglected circles and triangles…I think I mentioned that I struggled for a couple of years to find a good way to combine geometric shape and prismatic color. Last fall I found a way that I think is pleasing. I have done five paintings in this series and I started small (5″ X 7″) so I could work on the concept and not get overwhelmed by the size. The first work was a circle and NOT my ubiguitous square.
Geometry #4
The design is pretty simple. Next I tackled the square. Again I kept the design straight forward and simple in concept.
Geometry #5
Then came the triangle. It took me at least 2 weeks of sketching possible designs to find one that “felt right” and looked balanced. This type of work gives me great joy. I hope your find it interesting.
Geometry #6
Last week was again a very busy week and yesterday morning I was going through my internal, whiny dialogue. Then I decided to quit whining and get busy painting. I set up a full sheet of Yupo, got out my acrylics and got started. I have always appreciated color field paintings and wanted to do a painting of a square. As many of you know, I love geometric shapes as subject matter. I chose purple and yellow/gold as my color palette to give the maximum energy and interest. I finished last night and the painting is in the “living with it” phase. The main question I am debating is whether to leave the edges of the square rough or make it more clean and crisp. Opinions? Here is The Square #1.
The Square #1, Heavy Body Acrylics, 20" X 26" Yupo
Richard Naughton (see his blog on my Blogroll) has proposed a second virtual paint-out with the lighthouse as the subject and the posting to be June 21. Take a look. The last one was really fun. Won’t you join us?
Linda Halcomb's Blog 