Author: coffeehousejunkie
A sketch a day
At Mulfinger’s Art Studio
November breeze rattles the brown leaves on the tree
A perfect day for reading books and drinking tea
Autumn in the Piedmont
Coat rack collection
A record of days
Reading at bookstore
An afternoon reading comic strips
Lost confessions
Some days all you need…
October quickly fades
I raise my cup to invite the bright moon
Haiku a morning in a thousand pixels
Gather ’round the radio
Legend
After the storm
15 year anniversary
Vision in motion, an exercise
Never waste money on purchasing a tube of black paint, I was told.
With three or four colors you can mix a pigment as dark as black. And a richer shade of pigment. Is black even a color?
These thoughts remind me of color theory and composition class at the university. My professor was a student of Josef Albers. At the time, that fact did not have a great impression on me. But I wonder about the lessons he must have learned. Not so much the academic rigor of craftsmanship and applied fine arts. That is important. But lessons of integrity and legacy. Was it Albers who taught him that quip about black paint? Or did that come from Willem de Kooning?
A couple days later, the middle child looks at this project. “What’s this about?”
I do not answer. It is an exercise. It is practice.
Vision in motion, paint big
This is practice. An exercise. Form and color.
Do you see a character? As in, a letter of the alphabet.
Or do you see a character in human form?
The daylight quickly fades for this January afternoon. I chose a larger brush to apply pigment. At the university, the art professor instructed, “If you can’t paint well, paint big.”
It was not criticism, but rather a modernist declaration. He provided an atmosphere that allowed guidance rather than dogma.
I load the larger brush with the muddy water from the tray and a touch of pigment found between two watercolor cakes. The transparent layer is applied to the dry paint. A technique called glazing.
This is not an art lesson. It is a conjuring up of an image.
Vision in motion, layer upon layer
This is an exercise. Form and color. Loading the brush with pigment and applying it to the paper. Quick strokes. Vision in motion.
Painting by the light of the apartment’s living room window. The sun light is best in the morning. But I have continued this project well past the noon hour.
“Why do you keep painting,” asks my child.
“It’s underpainting,” I say as I clean the brushes and prepare for an afternoon walk. “The lighter tones provide the base. When the paint dries I add more color layers.”
It is January. It is Winter. The outdoor temperature is above the freezing point. We walk to the library and return books. We continue to talk.
Vision in motion
Trying something new. Or, rather, returning to something old.
Here is a first draft for consideration.
Will provide details as updates are available. Let’s see how this turns out.
What is the story?
A picture is worth a thousand words. A common expression. Or common illusion. The story behind the image used in a post, “Meformer” (vs “informer”), does not tell the whole story. Not even part of the story. The post deflects the writer’s fears and anxiety. What do you see in the twenty minute sketch captured by an outdated iPhone photo?
![DSCN3428[sqr-tilt-dallas]](https://coffeehousejunkie.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/dscn3428sqr-tilt-dallas.jpg?w=560)
Another images portrays an artist’s workspace. An unfinished ink and watercolor painting. The related post reveals part of the story. Fear motivates. But there is a whole story arch of dreams and desires. Hopes and aspirations. And failure. If you were to write a thousand words about this photo, what story would you tell?
![DSCN6003[DSCN6002[sqr-basic-lomo-dusk-tilt]]](https://coffeehousejunkie.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/dscn6003dscn6002sqr-basic-lomo-dusk-tilt.jpg?w=560)
Notepads capture interesting details. To do lists. Contact information. Grocery lists. Project tasks. Appointments. Or this photo of an anatomy of print advertising. Why this list? What story does this relate?
The illusion of these photos is the framing. The information that is cropped out of the image is equally as important as what is framed within it.
Coffeehouse Junkie 