Repost: Day 4
Stephen Eidson • May 1, 2020
Day 4. Making the Sausage
I only had one oil painting course and two watercolor and neither of them focused too heavily on technique. My oil class had a guest instructor from NY who spent more time belittling my subject matter than giving any constructive criticism (his student assistant would’ve easily been the better choice for instructor). The watercolor courses had great instructors but they focused more heavily on principles than technique.
All of that to say I cannot teach anyone how to paint like Rembrandt. I mostly learned by looking at other artists I admired and through trial and error to find what works for me.
When I approach an ink drawing or watercolor I’m more conscious of my rendering. I’ve seen many artists create really refined and amazing under drawings for their paintings. I am too inpatient for that. If I’m there to paint, let’s get to painting. I don’t want to cover up a really refined drawing.
This means I will also not have Davinci-esque precise compositions. I like the element of peril waiting around the corner and trying to find the painting as I go sometimes leaving a bit of the history of older decisions behind.
Acrylic is amazing in that it can be used like watercolor (if you use paint with a high pigment load like Golden) or oils. If I’m painting on paper I like to begin in thinner layers and build to thicker ones playing with line, and broad strokes.
I’ve been working with slightly tighter under drawings for these pieces because of scale. It’s easier to overwork the pieces at this size for me, but (see earlier statement) acrylic can be layered as many times as you care to do so. A fun/danger duality for me.
When I paint in watercolor it’s about decisive, no turning back kind of strokes. I try to make the same choices in acrylic, but especially at this scale and with the desire to get the likeness I spend much longer on the pieces when things aren’t right.
I use three sizes of brushes when I paint these. I’m happiest when I only use the two large ones or can at least get away with absolute minimal use of the small one. Not only does it feel like some kind of concession to me, but my small brush doesn’t have the same balance of firmness and spring that I like in the other two.
The images take you through the initial sketch (which is semi loose and not terribly accurate) , my two stopping points and to the completed work with brushes in frame for comparison.
Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the inevitable…when things go wrong.
CONSOLATION PRIZES
Analytics show the site visits for the website are good but that most folks found it from Instagram so blog visits aren't strong. It's good to occasionally drop some kind of record of ongoings here even if it's not well seen. What have I been up to? Primarily smaller paintings like the one above where I reference music or, films that resonate with me. The above is Lee Marvin's version of Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) Parker character.
I've once again neglected this blog for Instagram and Facebook. Reasonable enough I suppose since I'm not sure how many readers of this blog there are. What I should not have allowed to happen is getting very behind on updating the website with current work. That has been corrected. Find it within!
As been my habit of the past year, I've allowed my Instagram account to take the forefront as the record of what I've been up to on a weekly basis. So i'm caught playing catch up again. Above is the most recent larger scale piece I've done. It's a portrait of our daughter in younger days in one of her more spirited poses and uses the brass ring symbol I began using in the last series. Below are some other pieces that were intended as tributes to people who made my days easier.
I was informed on the 11th of this month that not only was my piece, Unrequited, showing at the beautiful (take a look above for yourself) Callanwolde Fine Arts Cente r from that day until April 9th but also juror Peter Ferrari selected me for a solo exhibition. I am excited and grateful to be given this opportunity by Mr. Ferrari and Callanwolde and look forward to making the most of it. I posted the day of the announcement on my linked social media because that's where I believe most of my posts are read. However, since I set up this blog I should be posting here as well. Apologies for my negligence and for lifting Callawolde's official photo from their site.
It's been a very long time since I've posted on the web blog. I'm not entirely convinced it's being read, but I'll post to keep myself honest. Haha. Since last post I've painted several more portraits, the entirety of which can be seen on Instagram. I've curated the portrait section, replaced some old ones and added new favorites. Also, I can announce that the above piece, Unrequited, will be on display as part of the juried member show at the Hudgens Center for the Arts beginning this Saturday, November 14 through January 30. So very nice to be back in galleries again. Please come and see the show if you are able.
Sadly we lost the great Ennio Morricone this week. He will be missed but we are incredibly fortunate to still have his music. Six new portraits can be found in the section including this one of Rose Stone. Also new: Fred Wesley, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash and Cynthia Robinson.
Freshening up this blog with another reminder that, while this feed may be quiet, I'm keeping busy on Instagram making portraits. This is the most recent, but I added eight new ones in the portrait section.
Realized I forgot to repost this one after I finished the Facebook post on Sunday. Here it is in all it's glory (or lack thereof): Day 7. The measuring stick This is it. My final day of the seven-day process challenge. I talked about why we shouldn’t hold ourselves to the idea of perfection on day 5. What happens when we look at our art heroes through the prism of perfection? All of their work is amazing, they do forty highly skilled drawings in an hour that are better than one drawing we could do in forty hours. If you let it, that intimidation will nourish the little devil at the back of your mind making it twice as hard to turn out something satisfying before you’ve even begun the work. The great Teddy Atlas often talks about a point where you can see two exhausted boxers making a silent pact to not put out much effort and how something similar happens to all of us when we go down this road mentally. You decide you’ll never get there, or everything you do looks like garbage. It could make you happy IF there wasn’t any point in trying. You burn more energy feeding that self-loathing and finding reasons to avoid those feelings of disappointment than you ever possibly could have actually making art. To make it worse you burn up even more energy hating yourself for ducking out on making art, but it really feels like you’re giving it all… because you have. You just gave it all to the wrong things. You can lose years of your life to this. If it remotely sounds like I know what I’m talking about here, I do. I never stopped making art, but I really fed that beast for far too long. I’m not currently bullet proof by any means. I still get intimidated when I approach comics because I feel like I’ve still got so much to learn, but time is precious and I’m looking at it speed by. I’m choosing the paths that feel most right for me at the moment and that is all I can do. I have kids to guide and I want to be the best example for them that I can. I may be well past the expiration date of getting where I always dreamed of, but I’m still here and I’d rather go out fighting for it than live in that silent resignation. If you’re there, please do the same. Make work. Start as big as life allows. At any speed you can handle, but commit to it. Recognize when you’re making unnecessary excuses and do your best to change. Forgive your mistakes. Let your own progress be the only measuring stick you use. Thanks to anyone that took the time to read this. I know there are plenty of things on the internet vying for your attention and I’m flattered if you chose my ramble to give some of it to. Here’s the link again to the work that prompted this challenge: https://www.instagram.com/eidsonart/
Analytics show the site visits for the website are good but that most folks found it from Instagram so blog visits aren't strong. It's good to occasionally drop some kind of record of ongoings here even if it's not well seen. What have I been up to? Primarily smaller paintings like the one above where I reference music or, films that resonate with me. The above is Lee Marvin's version of Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) Parker character.
I've once again neglected this blog for Instagram and Facebook. Reasonable enough I suppose since I'm not sure how many readers of this blog there are. What I should not have allowed to happen is getting very behind on updating the website with current work. That has been corrected. Find it within!
As been my habit of the past year, I've allowed my Instagram account to take the forefront as the record of what I've been up to on a weekly basis. So i'm caught playing catch up again. Above is the most recent larger scale piece I've done. It's a portrait of our daughter in younger days in one of her more spirited poses and uses the brass ring symbol I began using in the last series. Below are some other pieces that were intended as tributes to people who made my days easier.
I was informed on the 11th of this month that not only was my piece, Unrequited, showing at the beautiful (take a look above for yourself) Callanwolde Fine Arts Cente r from that day until April 9th but also juror Peter Ferrari selected me for a solo exhibition. I am excited and grateful to be given this opportunity by Mr. Ferrari and Callanwolde and look forward to making the most of it. I posted the day of the announcement on my linked social media because that's where I believe most of my posts are read. However, since I set up this blog I should be posting here as well. Apologies for my negligence and for lifting Callawolde's official photo from their site.
It's been a very long time since I've posted on the web blog. I'm not entirely convinced it's being read, but I'll post to keep myself honest. Haha. Since last post I've painted several more portraits, the entirety of which can be seen on Instagram. I've curated the portrait section, replaced some old ones and added new favorites. Also, I can announce that the above piece, Unrequited, will be on display as part of the juried member show at the Hudgens Center for the Arts beginning this Saturday, November 14 through January 30. So very nice to be back in galleries again. Please come and see the show if you are able.
Sadly we lost the great Ennio Morricone this week. He will be missed but we are incredibly fortunate to still have his music. Six new portraits can be found in the section including this one of Rose Stone. Also new: Fred Wesley, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash and Cynthia Robinson.
Freshening up this blog with another reminder that, while this feed may be quiet, I'm keeping busy on Instagram making portraits. This is the most recent, but I added eight new ones in the portrait section.
Realized I forgot to repost this one after I finished the Facebook post on Sunday. Here it is in all it's glory (or lack thereof): Day 7. The measuring stick This is it. My final day of the seven-day process challenge. I talked about why we shouldn’t hold ourselves to the idea of perfection on day 5. What happens when we look at our art heroes through the prism of perfection? All of their work is amazing, they do forty highly skilled drawings in an hour that are better than one drawing we could do in forty hours. If you let it, that intimidation will nourish the little devil at the back of your mind making it twice as hard to turn out something satisfying before you’ve even begun the work. The great Teddy Atlas often talks about a point where you can see two exhausted boxers making a silent pact to not put out much effort and how something similar happens to all of us when we go down this road mentally. You decide you’ll never get there, or everything you do looks like garbage. It could make you happy IF there wasn’t any point in trying. You burn more energy feeding that self-loathing and finding reasons to avoid those feelings of disappointment than you ever possibly could have actually making art. To make it worse you burn up even more energy hating yourself for ducking out on making art, but it really feels like you’re giving it all… because you have. You just gave it all to the wrong things. You can lose years of your life to this. If it remotely sounds like I know what I’m talking about here, I do. I never stopped making art, but I really fed that beast for far too long. I’m not currently bullet proof by any means. I still get intimidated when I approach comics because I feel like I’ve still got so much to learn, but time is precious and I’m looking at it speed by. I’m choosing the paths that feel most right for me at the moment and that is all I can do. I have kids to guide and I want to be the best example for them that I can. I may be well past the expiration date of getting where I always dreamed of, but I’m still here and I’d rather go out fighting for it than live in that silent resignation. If you’re there, please do the same. Make work. Start as big as life allows. At any speed you can handle, but commit to it. Recognize when you’re making unnecessary excuses and do your best to change. Forgive your mistakes. Let your own progress be the only measuring stick you use. Thanks to anyone that took the time to read this. I know there are plenty of things on the internet vying for your attention and I’m flattered if you chose my ramble to give some of it to. Here’s the link again to the work that prompted this challenge: https://www.instagram.com/eidsonart/