Almost two decades back when I was just settling into my painting venture, I called my experiments "Splashes." For example, here's a 2003 Splash featuring an anthurium painted quickly in iridescent paints on collaged paper.
As I finished the last two of the Il Giardino Italiano series, I couldn't get out of my mind the prospect of splashing around in the manner of UK painter Hashim Akib who I've recently discovered. I even played a little bit with the paint left on my palette after each morning's session.
At last the time arrived as I finished "Sound of Silence" and as the real garden was coming to life under the sun (Local readers: Please refrain from exclaiming, "What sun?!?!?"). I set two parameters for these Splashes: (1) I would try to work in the manner of hero Hash; and (2) I would aim to finish each piece in one hour – an exercise posed by another artist-teacher, Craig Nelson. I've had this book for 15 years and had never yet risen to the challenge!
So away we go! It's certainly a different way of working – mixing faster and looser on the palette and trying for distinct blocky brush strokes.
My models are from print advertising – cultural events and retail catalogs. Here's my first session.
It felt good to have anything to show after an hour. But after the second session, I saw how easy it was to revert to standard practice.
This shows some of my typical failings – head too long, ears and eyes not quite right. By the third session, I was losing confidence.
Here's the last in this series of Hash-Splashes.
Do you love her toothy smile? She's ecstatic about LL Bean's latest selection of sweater colours!
Summing up: I didn't quite make a hash of it… (couldn't resist that). I stuck to my plan. I "actualized" the very different way of working – without painstaking layout, without scaling up, and without careful mixing of paint before dipping the brush. However, I slipped into old habits of blending paint on the canvas rather than using distinct blocky strokes. Maybe this would have been easier if I'd worked at Hash's scale?
Coincidentally, about the time I began these Splashes, I spotted a yellow magnolia tree in a nearby park. I'd actually forgotten that there is such a thing and that one had been planted there just a couple years ago. I broke off a short, low branch with one bud and brought it home to a vase of water.
Just as the petals were beginning to open, I placed something on the table, slightly brushing the vase --- and petals, stamens and pollen came tumbling down.
Ah, well. It's a cycle, isn't it? And here's a seed thought: My splashy experiments have suggested how it might help me to work somewhat differently with paints. Who knows what might burst into bloom next?
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