Daily Commute No 1

Just a view of the daily commute here in Singapore.  

I was very happy with the way that this turned out. The differences between the images in my head versus what I am putting down on the canvas are getting smaller.  After I finished this I felt a sense of accomplishment I haven't felt in a while.  It was really difficult to work with because I decided I wanted a cool light.  Trying to wrap my head around cool midday light rather than the warmer light you see the rest of the day is tough to wrap your head around.  And I didn't want the painting to get too cold too quickly.  But overall, I'm giving myself a pat on the back.  I think I'm going to open a bottle of wine and toast to a Happy Friday!

Newspaper Man

One of the artists whose work I am currently drooling over is Karin Jurik.  One of the things I really love about her work is how she makes her colors just punch, for lack of a better term.  My own paintings seem to often come out kind of muddy and dull.  Part of this is I am still trying to master color mixing, and part of this is that I am constantly afraid to bring too much color to the table and make things garish.  

So, one of the things I am working on a bit to help, is art challenges from one of Karin's Blogs.  She is no longer doing the challenges, but I have been mining the archives to see past topics.  What she did was post a picture, and have people submit their interpretation of the picture.  Nine times out of ten, I prefer her rendition to any of the others, but there have been some really beautiful alternatives.  I'm using the pictures to work on my own painting, and then comparing what I like about it vs. what she did.  It is a fantastic self-teaching tool.  

Ha, but as soon as I have my own photo, I still feel like I have been dropped in the middle of the ocean with no paddle.  One great example is my last entry, Respite from Prayer.  I had the scene all sketched out, but as soon as I put the first color on the panel, I almost froze.  That one was quite the struggle.  I want to go back and do it again, hopefully to learn how to do it differently.  

In any case, things are going well, I'm learning so much.  I found another artist's blog, 120 Paintings, and I really loved his concept.  He had been told by another artist that "it takes 120 bad paintings to know something about painting."  I am totally working through that right now.  My paintings aren't bad, they are so much better than they were even a few years ago.  But I still have such a long way to go.  It is exciting and daunting, all at the same time.  

Okay, enough with the novel.  Happy Hump Day!

Respite from Prayer

This painting is from a scene that was in Chinatown a couple of weeks ago.  There is a Hindu Temple, and I saw this gentleman resting in the shade, waiting for his service.  Even though I was walking around at 5pm, it was hot.  

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and I hope the sun isn't too hot for you as well.

Ready for Rain

Today was a mostly cloudy day, which kind of bummed me out, because I went to Orchard Rd. a bit early to try and snap some good pictures.  Of course, because I was kind of looking to take pictures, the conditions were less than stellar.  Nevertheless, I saw this worker waiting to cross the street and I couldn't help but think of the past rain we've had on Orchard.  Two floods in the dry season!  Who'd have thought? Well, needless to say, at least someone is prepared for rain!