A Conversation With Myself...

"You know those letters that you did with the dark blue edging and light blue center were far to bold for mural?  They real drew too much attention."

"Yes, I know.  That's why I changed the centers to green and posted pictures.  I thought the green would blend in a little bit better."

Dark blue edging with a green center

"Weeellllllll, it's still not working.  That dark blue edging with the dark green is still too demanding."

"Oh, it's fine.  Just live with it a little bit.  You'll get used to it."

"Come on, who are you kidding?  You should know to trust your instincts by now."

"Do you realize how long I've spent hunched over on the floor doing these letters over and over?  My back is sore, I've got a kink in my neck..."

"Yes, I know.  But, I think you're making excuses.  Do you really want to drive by the mural for years wishing you had changed the color?"

(Grumbling...sigh)

"Alright, you win.  I'll repaint the letters AGAIN.  I'll use a dark green/light green comination so that it is more harmonious with the background...BUT THIS IS THE LAST TIME!"

Dark green edging with light green center

Making a Splash...

I've been working on a couple of different things lately.  I've stepped back into the chef panel, doing a little here and a little there.  I put in a layer of color on the architectural elements and started the grape leaves creeping across the top.  I added a couple of minor veggies and filled in the purple grape at the bottom. 

My challenge here was the splash.  I originally started using cerulean blue and was horrified - blech!  Switching to ultramarine was much better...but, wait a minute!  I didn't try pthalo.  Might have to try that tomorrow.

Another thing I started was a study of a tree - the type of tree that will go in panels 1 and 2.  This is especially challenging because it's a truck load of green, green, and more green.  I have 3 different greens in the hillside and another 3 (or more) greens that make up the tree.  I'm having to find ways to create contrast, even though in the reference pictures that I'm using, it does blend together at times.  I need to work on it a bit and work out the kinks.

Not very accurate color, but wanted to share
what I have so far

I think I have a studio guest at night.  I'm not sure, but I think it might be this guy:

I've heard him rustling around here and there.  I suppose we can share the space for now...so long as he doesn't start using my paints.

Pumpkins!

Getting tired of painting with so much green and brown - luckily today was orange (and a little green).

Notice anything new?  After I'd submitted my original proposal, I'd thought about adding some leaves around the pumpkins and along what will be a vine between the plowed field and the band of light green along the bottom.  So, I did...and I'll probably add a few more.

It's a 3-day weekend - no soccer games, to events!  Just time to relax and paint, paint, paint!  Oh, and probably BBQ.

Venturing Into Panel #3...

While I continue to play around with the layers in the first two panels, I've also been laying in base colors on the third panel.  Things have slowed down a teensy bit because of time off to celebrate Easter, but also because color needs are a bit more demanding. 

The first couple panels depict a scene we're all familiar with here on the Central Coast - a John Deere in the midst of rich brown soil and green hillsides.  There will be a little more color added in this part, but the limited color is intended for a sense of calm, familiarity, and contrast with the energy that's in the rest of the mural.



Each container is labeled with the different colors
used to mix that particular color

However, as I enter the "celebration" part of the mural, you can see that my collection of color mixtures is growing quickly.  For every color you see on the panels, there are usually 3 or 4 versions of it ranging from dark to light.  I'm also trying to mix a quantity of each color so that I won't run out right away.



Going for more bluish leaves on the cauliflour wave to stand out agains the warmer
green hillside and the green crops that will eventually be in the fields.

Today, I spent a bit of time playing with greens.  I have many different greens in this part of the painting - cauliflour leaves, broccoli, grape leaves, a strawberry plant...some are bright, others deeper, and still others, bluish.  Catch a wave...

"Green" - as promised...

As I mentioned before, I did another study in acrylics that I'm sharing here.

I've been working on this because (1) I need practice with the acrylics, and (2) it's part of the project I'm working on for my Saturday Community College Illustration Class. I won't go into too much detail about it at the moment, but I'll give you a little insight.

The project is sort of a memoir of illustrations based on several single words that I've chosen to represent different time periods. It took a lot of thought, a dictionary, and a thesaurus to pick the best word to describe each period. It's kind of an Illustration Friday approach to a project.

The word that inspired this particular study is "Green" - definitions used: not mature or ripe; young; lacking training, conditioning, or experience; undisciplined; unschooled.

I hope the nurturing adult, a child at the moment of discovery and wonder, and the springtime colors have captured the idea. The previous study used the same image, but the colors were darker - it didn't express the more joyous and carefree nature of youth very well. Instead, it seemed more solemn and dreary.

This was a challenging word to do. Again, I'm trying to loosen up and explore a more painterly style with the acrylics.