Painting Update

It has been a crazy week around here! I have been be painting a lot at night. I am sure the lil old neighbor ladies are wondering what I could possibly be doing at two and three in the morning. Ya know, it's funny they will come over and ask when I'm going to mow my lawn, but never what it is that I do.



Well anyway, I am back to work on the Barred Owl painting. It is coming along nicely (at least I think so, but what do I know I thought parachute pants were cool in the 1980's). I have added some green to the background to help draw out the reddish tones in the browns of the feathers and the eyes. I am also trying to loosen up a little and only put a lot of detail in the areas that I want to focus attention on, like around the eyes.



This is something that one of my professors had mentioned to me years ago. I had understood what he was saying at the time but I don't think I wasn't ready to "see" things that way. I was to fascinated by the intricate details and complex beauty of nature close up. After doing so many detailed miniatures this past year I have begun to feel the need to express more feelings and emotion in my paintings. I think I am content to leave the behind my attempts at highly detailed images. Not to say that I wont still paint in detail, but that it will become secondary to the thoughts and feelings I will be trying to express in my up coming work. I used to express my feelings and emotions more in words. Occationally some little bit of writing scrwaled on a napkin or scrape of paper would lead to a painting, that often was better than it would have been on its own. I don't see this as much of a new direction, but a home coming.