First thing: I decided to do something else than what I originally planned. At first, I was going to paint the interior of a cathedral, but I've decided to go with a landscape instead. The particular location is one of meaning to me, on the Chickahominy River. As a continuation from the last project, this follows a similar vein. The themes are sense of place, beauty, color, and spirituality. The difference is that this subject is based on the natural world, while my first idea (the cathedral) was based on the man-made world.
Progress is being made. I abstained from beginning this project because it was incredibly daunting for me. The hardest part is always starting. I felt like any paint I put on the canvas would look out of place. After overcoming that, I let go of my anxieties and jumped into it - which I think is the only way to get into a painting project. With more time, I focused on recreating the reference less. I wanted to let my process flow more naturally and I realized I preferred to live in a more whimsical world. I learned to let the richness of the medium speak for itself, mixing on the canvas to create beautiful color layering and transitions.
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light & color The concept for this project is based heavily on my project 38.929571, -77.070679, in which I painted a cherry tree in front of the Washington National Cathedral, and my developing thoughts on spirituality after working at Duke Chapel. From these two experiences, I came to see spirituality and religion as very disparate things. I came to understand how light and color so moved my grandfather, the late master craftsman at the National Cathedral.
The above reference photograph was taken at the National Cathedral. I remember how my grandfather was always interested in how the iridescent shadows cast by the windows moved and changed as time passed. I noticed the same thing when I visited the Cathedral. And that's what I'm trying to paint in this next project. I'm attempting to debase spirituality into the simplest terms: color and light. Technically, I want to try oils again. Big canvas. Direct painting and layering. Bright, shimmering colors. Conceptually, I'm still interested in sense of place and spirituality. And I think there's a lot there for me to work with. |